ok i got my buttikoferi 5 days ago and it still will not eat and ever time i come to the tank he gets scard and hide he is about 3ins and i have been feeding him tetramin tropical flakes do you think i should feed him live food and he is in a 29gal
what worng with my buttikoferi
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something is wrong with either fish or setup. mine came home 2 hrs in a cooler, hit the water, and instantly ate everything from live worms to flake and cichlid sticks. better check water and stuff. PS yes you will need minimum 55g-75g tank and they will get big quick
Mine was great, he would eat everything and anything as soon as I put him into the tank. He was way too aggressive and I had to take him out. You def need a bigger tank. Good Luck
woah everybody, its 3" and he just got it, maybe its a quarentine tank or a temp growout. Chill before your jump to conclusions and tell him about his setup or tanksize
well one thing he did after i put him in there was kill my black belt and dig pits all around the tank
If it's showing normal behavior (aggression, aquascaping his new home, etc.) then it's probably not sick. Try giving him something other than flakes, which probably aren't the most appetizing food for a cichlid with a big appetite. I always feed smaller newcomers frozen Hikari bloodworms. I've yet to find a fish that isn't tempted by those. Once you have them eating, then ween them onto things like cichlid pellets, etc.
If it hides every time you come around, maybe it's just still adjusting to its new home and it needs to settle in. Cichlids can be shy until they get to know you.
If it hides every time you come around, maybe it's just still adjusting to its new home and it needs to settle in. Cichlids can be shy until they get to know you.
I agree with Ryan on this. Give the Butti time to adjust to you and its new surroundings. Try feeding something other than flakes until you can get it on a quality pellet as a staple diet.
yeah i wouldn't jump to conclusions. i'd guess that he's probably just stressed to be introduced into a new tank. try switching up the food, maybe going with freeze dried foods? or other meaty foods like blood worm or beef heart. if that doesn't work then i've never seen a cichlid turn down live ghost shrimp.