# help!! will not eat



## kribontherocks (Dec 8, 2007)

i have 3 mpimbwe. they are wild caught, the male is about 12" the females a lil smaller.
i bought them locally about 6 weeks ago. they ate a few krill the first 2 days i had them, then they got a fin fungus which was resolved in about a week. my problem now is they won't eat.
the big male has not eaten since i got him, and he is very emaciated. it has been about 5 or 6 weeks since the male has eaten and he was not exactly fat when i received him.
my question is, is there a safe way to force them to eat?
i have tried almost all food i can think of, nls pellets of all sizes, many frozen foods, many freeze dried foods, live fish....
btw the tank is a 6 foot 125
ph 8.4
temp 79
wet/dry with 9 gallon bioballs and
2 large cannisters filter the tank.
water is changed every week or so 20%
thanks


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## Furcifer158 (Feb 16, 2008)

When ever any of my tangs stop eating I Start putting Metronidazole Powder in the tank and treat them for a week doing a 25% water change every day. It has never failed me  . I also have wild Mpimbwes and it has work on them


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## Charles (Feb 25, 2003)

for 5 - 6 weeks , it is a long time without food. I will move this thread to illness section to see if you can get more response.

I usually don't feed for at least 2 days whenever I get new fish. And especailly with frontosa, I will keep the light off and cover the tank for at least 2-5 days so the fish will get comfort and settle in faster. Perhaps you have the fish in a high traffic, high light area? what kind of tankmates?

Was it only the male that is not eating?


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## Robin (Sep 18, 2002)

I agree with Charles that 5-6 weeks of not eating is too long. In answer to your question I don't know of safe means of forcing a fish to eat. Some people have reported success by using a product called Entice by Seachem. You put it on their food and it makes it irresistable. I suppose you could try that but unless you can get the product and try it fast then you may be wasting valuable time. Sounds like your fish is sick and unfortunately with most illnesses you only have a short period of time in which meds are going to be effective.

The fungus is completely cleared up--? No other marks, sores, growths on the fish? Are they swimming around normally or are they hovering in one spot/hiding? Any other fish in the tank with them? Are any of the new fish eating? 
First of all I'd do a 30-40% partial water change with a good declorinator. I don't know for certain what your fish are sick with. The fungus may actually have been a bacterial infection in which case they may still have it only its internal. It's also possible that they have bloat.

You could try treating with Metronidazole--that works against some bacterias and it's also effective on bloat or you could go with Jungle Parasite Clear. It has metronidazole in it.

Please post back with any additional information that would help us narrow down the possibilities. Do you know for a fact that these fish were eating prior to you getting them?

Robin


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## Furcifer158 (Feb 16, 2008)

I have forced my old furcifers to eat but injecting some brine in there mouth with a syringe.
I have tried Entice with no success


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## Oneeyedgeckz (Nov 30, 2005)

Have you tried garlic? Kent's marine makes a liquid garlic concentrate. try soaking the food in it. Garlic is a natural appetite stimulant. Everyone I've suggested this to has had great results. It can also be added directly to the water stream, but I find soaking the food in it is better.


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## kribontherocks (Dec 8, 2007)

sorry for the delay in response i was on a fishing trip...
the tank is in a low traffic area, my fish room/basement.
there is 3 full grown fish in the tank 2 female mpimbwe and 1 male
the females are eating but they only eat freeze dried krill, wont touch any pellets.
the male absolutely won't eat anything. he just sits in a cave and does nothing.
after the fungus cleared the females are swimming around normally but the male has not left his cave for more than a minute since I received him.
today i got 25 rosy feeders since i am at the point I fear I will lose the male if he does not eat in the next week or so. the females enjoyed the dirty little feeders but the male ignored them.
I am going to inspect him real close again and see if there is anything i can see on his body.


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## kribontherocks (Dec 8, 2007)

the fish were eating very aggressively prior to me getting them.
i am leary of treating them with most meds, how safe is this metronidazole? 
i will try to get pics of the male too


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## Oneeyedgeckz (Nov 30, 2005)

If your leary about trying most meds, try the garlic first. It's a natural product and won't harm the fish. Like I said, Kent marine makes a great liquid garlic and it is safe for both salt & freshwater. I've been keeping fish for close to 20 years and don't know anything about metronidazole. Never used it.


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## kribontherocks (Dec 8, 2007)

will try the garlic, i just assumed if he wouldn't eat live fish garlic soaked food wouldn't work.
will go to lfs tomorrow and try it out.


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## kribontherocks (Dec 8, 2007)

bump


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