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Re: Coaxing new fish to eat

Jason,
In your shoes, I'd be inclined to try some small feeder guppies although
there is a risk of introducing disease into your community tank, not to
mention the fact that the other community residents will probably decimate
them before he has a chance to take a shot.  With new fish going into a
community setup, I have often found it valuable to quarantine the fish for a
week or two, which lessens the hazards of indroducing disease both from the
new fish or from its prey if you find one that needs to acclimate with
living fish as an initial diet.

Alternatively, if there are bait stores near you or if you're in a climate
where the ground isn't frozen and you can dig your own, you could think
about trying him with small earthworms.  It's a rare cichlid that doesn't
accept worms vigorously.  Small mealworms would be another alternative
although they sometimes don't sink where we want them to,a nd they're not as
enticing as that wiggling brown thing.

Alan Slack
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jason Owens" <jasonvowens at hotmail_com>
To: <killietalk at aka_org>
Sent: Wednesday, January 02, 2002 8:30 AM
Subject: Coaxing new fish to eat


> Happy New Year everyone!
>
> I have a question that is not Killi-related, but rather refers to a new
> Cichlid I recently dropped in my community tank.  He's the male half of a
> pair of Cockatoo Dwarf Cichlids I put in my tank, and he refuses to eat.
> Going in, I knew he was a challenging fish, having been told his species
> wouldn't touch flakes (though the female readily gobbles them).  He also
> started out very timid, heading straight for the multitude of caves in my
> tank.
>
> Now he's no longer timid, yet he watches passively as brine shrimp float
> past his nose as his tankmates feast.  I just ordered some "sea monkeys,"
> but I doubt I'll have time to grow them in time to help this stubborn
fellow
> out.  Do you have any advice?  Is there a commercially available live food
I
> could try?  Should I put him in his own tank and risk the trauma
associated
> with such a move?  Should I just return him to the store?  He's a great
> looking fish and I'm not worried about the work involved with a special
> diet...if I can just figure out what such a diet would be!  Tell me your
> tips!
>
> Thanks,
> Jason
>
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