# Feeding problem



## Jbaas558 (Nov 19, 2015)

I've got an Ndiwe fire hap probably 3 inches in length. He was always a great eater. Would always be the first one up to me when I'd come to the tank. He is not eating what so ever now. I had a 5-6" mloto that was being beat up in my show tank that I placed in there but is very mellow fish, doesn't pick on anyone. I feed them omega one small sinking pellets. So, my question is, is there something I should be trying to encourage him to be eating again?


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

Has his behavior changed lately? Is he hiding more or spending more time at the top of the tank?


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## tanker3 (May 18, 2015)

How big is the tank? How many other fishes? Is "his" poo OK? Was it OK? Is he being picked on? ect...


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## Jbaas558 (Nov 19, 2015)

Its a 55g. I've got five fish total in it, the biggest being the mloto at 5-6" long. No not being picked on at all. Only behavioral change I can see is that he will for the most part just stay in the corner of the tank ( Idk if that qualifies as hiding or not). I have not seen him poo in a while to be honest, that was my first thought is maybe his stomach isn't feeling well.


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

Which corner of the tank, top or bottom?


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## Jbaas558 (Nov 19, 2015)

He's in the back left corner in the middle to bottom of the tank. Was looking at him, and he looks like he is stress breathing (heavily breathing).


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## Jbaas558 (Nov 19, 2015)

Checked all my levels, ammonia is 0-0.25 nitrites are 0 and nitrates are 20-40. I know this is higher than I want and I plan on replacing my purigen. But even so, wouldn't the other fish be acting the same way if it is a nitrate spike?


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Nitrate 40ppm, although not desirable is still safe. Note for future reference, not all fish will be harmed at the same time with a water problem...so just because it's only one fish, don't rule out water as an issue.

He is clearly distressed but no symptoms to identify what his problem is. If you want to try adding some Epsom salts to the hospital tank it can't hurt.


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## Jbaas558 (Nov 19, 2015)

Well I don't have him in a hospital tank per say, he's in a 55gal grow out tank really. My Livingstonii is in my hospital tank (got beat up really bad, had roughly a penny sized chunk taken out of his side) - thats a different story. I'm just really worried, had to buy this guy offline and do not want to see him die. So I'd be okay to add the epsom salt to the whole tank then yeah? I've heard of people adding it after water changes and such.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Yes just add it slowly per articles in the CF Library.

And it will be hard to tell if the fire hap remains nervous with the livingstonnii in the tank.

Maybe a breeder net for a day or two to see if the fire hap improves?


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## Jbaas558 (Nov 19, 2015)

Okay, so put the fire hap in the 10 gallon hospital tank in a breeder box? I'm currently adding API Melafix to the 10gal tank to repair the stonii's wound. Will the epsom salt have any effect, or will the interact in a bad way?


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

That is what I would do. Are you sure the livingstonii is not infectious? Even if it started with a wound, it could lead to infection.


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## Jbaas558 (Nov 19, 2015)

No, not at all. He was fine when I looked at him in the morning. When I went past my tank I couldn't find him. Found him hiding in some plants, and when he moved thats when I saw that he had been beat up real bad. I've been treating the water since Friday with the Melafix.


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## Jbaas558 (Nov 19, 2015)

Well the Ndiwe fire hap didn't make it =(. Thanks for the help.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Sorry for your loss.

Keep a close eye on your main tank for 1-2 months in case what the hap had spread.


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## Jbaas558 (Nov 19, 2015)

Well and whats weird, I had a red empress that died for no reason as well and was not eating and doing a lot of hiding as well. Should I treat the entire tank? Its a 55g grow out tank.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

What would you treat it for? What is the stock list and sizes and genders? You may have some aggression that you cannot observe and a disease has taken hold due to suppressed immune systems. Bloat acts like that...fish seem fine for a while but die one by one with long periods in between.


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## Jbaas558 (Nov 19, 2015)

Stock list is as follows: Lethrinops Intermedius male 3-5", star sapphire male 3-5", tawain reef male 3-4", and mloto male 5-6". Idk what I would treat the tank for. But wouldn't I notice bloat in their belly area?


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

No, symptoms of bloat are not eating, clear/white fine/thread feces and death. Belly can be bloated, concave or normal.

You have multiple males of the same species in a 55G? Or am I reading your stock list wrong? Maybe you mean you have 4 males?

I would expect the Taiwan to be the boss. Maybe he and the empress were too closely related.

You might have trouble keeping a small number of males in a tank...more fish helps manage aggression. They still need to be in a 55G grow-out tank?


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## Jbaas558 (Nov 19, 2015)

Yeah, I've got two 55g tanks. One is my show tank the other is a grow out tank. In my grow out tank I've got the four males as listed in my last post. The taiwan reef is not the boss. There is 0 aggression between these fish for the most part. Very, very little chasing and fighting, very little. So, My lethrinops intermedius is having some clear/white fine feces right now, but I know yesterday when I saw his feces it was normal colored for the food I'm feeding them. So, how do I got about treating bloat?


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## Jbaas558 (Nov 19, 2015)

Yeah he is starting to get this yellowish color under his pectoral fins. So I'm adding some aquarium salt to the 55g grow out tank, and I'm going to run to the pet store to pick up either some clout or the metronidazole to start treating it.


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## Jbaas558 (Nov 19, 2015)

Okay, so I dosed the tank with some aquarium salt. I went to the fish store, they did not have either one of those two products. What they did have was microbe-lift herbtana- which is a 100% natural expellant for parasitic diseases and microbe-lift artemiss- which is a 100% natural expellant for bacterial diseases. I'm going to start with the herbtana which is the parasitic one first and see if there are any improvements, after ten days I will do a water change and then try the bacterial one after that.


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