Urgent: fish not eating
- Thread starter festaedan
- Start date
Hey fastaeda, haven't had an experience with these fish, but what is your temperature at? I ask this cus I found this online, not sure about how accurate it is though.
Temperature: Prefers water a little cooler than most other South American cichlids. Somewhere in the range 70-77°F (21-25°C) is best. Most experts agree that the species does best with an 'overwintering' period of 3-4 months, during which the temperature is maintained around 60-64°F (16-18°C). This simulates the changing seasons in its natural, subtropical waters. It's thought that the lifespan of the fish may be reduced substantially without this artificial 'winter'. It may be worth investing in a programmable chiller for a tank containing this species in order to maintain these very specific conditions. Unfortunatel,y this adds significant cost to the setup, making it an expensive proposition. - www.seriouslyfish.com
Temperature: Prefers water a little cooler than most other South American cichlids. Somewhere in the range 70-77°F (21-25°C) is best. Most experts agree that the species does best with an 'overwintering' period of 3-4 months, during which the temperature is maintained around 60-64°F (16-18°C). This simulates the changing seasons in its natural, subtropical waters. It's thought that the lifespan of the fish may be reduced substantially without this artificial 'winter'. It may be worth investing in a programmable chiller for a tank containing this species in order to maintain these very specific conditions. Unfortunatel,y this adds significant cost to the setup, making it an expensive proposition. - www.seriouslyfish.com
I would try some food soaked in garlic and see if they go for it, also do you see any sings of distress on them like clamped fins or bloated bellies.
These guys will still eat like little piggies when its cold, you as a fish keeper have to feed less as with the cooler temp as they don't digest it as fast.
Same with mine. It's already been a week for mine and he is still not really eating. He'll eat all the food that comes out of my Oscars gills. Tbh, I have only seen him eat 1 pellets. And the temperature should be cooler. For me I lowered my temp to about 77-78. But yeah, when I first got mine last week he was really skittish as hell. Not he comes up halfway. So he's getting more and more comfortable. Good luck with your geo.
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not sure on personalities of these types of fish because I've never ept an Eartheater in my life..
It can be disease to shy personality or to them being a picky eaters..
Ask the seller what they eat at their place.
Hope you find out soon and hope they are just scared.
It can be disease to shy personality or to them being a picky eaters..
Ask the seller what they eat at their place.
Hope you find out soon and hope they are just scared.
I don't use heaters at all with balzani (or any of the Uruguayan cichlids for that matter), and in winter, temps in those tanks dropped into the low 60sF, and even at that temp they are good eaters.
I find keeping any of the Gymnogeophagus at constant tropical temps seems to shorten their lives, and makes them susceptible to disease and fungal infections.
Below is one of my Uruguayan fry tanks in winter
I find keeping any of the Gymnogeophagus at constant tropical temps seems to shorten their lives, and makes them susceptible to disease and fungal infections.
Below is one of my Uruguayan fry tanks in winter
What are you trying to feed them? Geo's as a family tend to eat items much, much smaller than they are. Most hard core Geo people still feed their geo's 1mm pellets even at 12".