# Malawi eye biter



## JoeLasDome (Apr 2, 2017)

Hey guys, I have an eye biter in one of my tanks and it seems as if he is not getting any food. The other cichlids eat it before it can get to him and he does not seem overly interested in the pellets when they get to him. Is there anyway to get the food to him more efficiently? And should I be feeding him anything else besides the pellets? Thanks.

I am learning a lot from this site and seem to have been fed lie after lie from my local stores. And they aren't even generic Petcos, they both "specialize" in fresh and saltwater fish and aquarium equipment. Anyway thanks everyone for all of your help.


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

What else is in the tank? Normally they are pretty aggressive eaters.


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## Starm (May 17, 2017)

Hi, have you seen anything odd about its other behavior? What kind of food are you feeding them? More details may help out.


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## plug (Nov 10, 2013)

I have 3 of the Eye biters in my Malawi Tank, and they are very aggressive eaters, and are not easily intimidated by other fish
It seems like there may be something wrong it possibly


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## JoeLasDome (Apr 2, 2017)

Hey guys thanks for the advice and sorry for no response, but the little guy died the next day. I have since gotten another one and he eats fine. Thanks again.


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## BlueSunshine (Jul 13, 2014)

As others have stated, these are normally very aggressive. Our 9" male eats anything that hits the water and backs down from no other fish. 
Thank you for the update.


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## JoeLasDome (Apr 2, 2017)

No Thank you so much. So I have also recently put a sulfur head in there and have had the same problem. Everyone else seems to be eating fine (about 20 fish) and the water has tested very well. He or she seems much more active then the Eye Biter was when it wasn't eating,

Still, I have seen similar problems such as food almost hitting it in the face and it not going for it. It is part of the newest additions to the tank and has been only a week. A local store has suggested some type of method where I fill a clean bucket with tank water and put the fish inside with some sort of medicine for an hour and repeat the process the next day (I don't know how many times) Is this too drastic of a measure? or should I do it before it suffers the same fate. I am going to post this on a forum, but I have been having a terrible time navigating this site and figuring out how to post new messages. So I figured I would ask here.

Thanks again to everyone.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I would wait it out...it can be a month before some new fish eat. The Sulphur head IS a timid fish, so totally expected that he will get less food.


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## Ajannellee (Jun 11, 2017)

Hi. Give it 3-4 days. They take a bit to feel comfortable to start eating. Some of mine had done the same. By day 3 they r hungry and will start. They won't be so shy or scared by then. Also. Add a variety aside from pellet. Maybe he was given flakes or too small to chew up your pellets. Also a problem w newbies and smaller fish. I feed two to three different kinds of food. Due to some might eat better different than others. Due to size or their known feeding diet. Also. Stress Guard in your water. It helps truly releive stress and helps with the community. Hope that helps.


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## JoeLasDome (Apr 2, 2017)

Thanks so much I'll use the flakes I use for my other tank and mix them in. I also have granules, anything else I might want to mix in? And How do you Stress Guard a tank?

Thanks again


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## Machismo (Feb 24, 2016)

I have A 125 g ALL Male Peacocks and Haps. I put in 12 Fish the first wave FROM 6" to 3". They were in there around 4 Months. The next wave I put in 7 Fish that Included an Eye Biter that was around 3.5" still silver with a hint of red on the Dorsal. While the new fish fed heartily the Eye Biter was very shy, hung around the corners of the Tank, did not come out and socialize with the others hardly at all although he was in good physical condition, a little skinny than I'd like though. I was worried about it cause I had not seen him eat in around 4 or 5 days. I called the breeder I get the Fish from and he said that in his experience they are shy and stand offish for a while just watch him. 
Within a week or so he began eating, Flake and pellets but just a little bit at a time he wasn't voracious like the others. At least he was eating so I felt a bit better. after 3 weeks I'd say he was feeding normally like the rest. 
It is now 8 months later and he has great color and getting better, patrols the Tank and holds his own with 7" Insignus, Super Red Empress, Tangerine Tiger, 5" German Red and Rubecens that have been known to be very aggressive.
I've read that they prefer low level Lighting I have a Current USA Satellite Plus that runs for 2 hours on the lowest setting. Plus the Tank is in the basement as well so the lighting is very dimly lit unless the drapes are pulled open.


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## Machismo (Feb 24, 2016)

JoeLasDome said:


> Thanks so much I'll use the flakes I use for my other tank and mix them in. I also have granules, anything else I might want to mix in? And How do you *Stress Guard a tank?
> *
> Thanks again


If you mean Aggression between the Fish you can try to do the common thing by trying to get fish that do not look a like. IME low lighting has been good for me although that's not possible for a lot of Folks.

Like I said in an earlier post my tank is downstairs, my windows are large but have sheer drapes covering them so some light gets through. The room is 20' x 15' with two windows, one on each end of the room, the tank being at one end by one of windows. During research I came across Jay Wilson's video on You Tube about lighting so I blacked out the window by my tank with foil cause I didn't want any trouble. My lights run for 1.5 Hours a day on the dimmest setting, I feed them when I get home from work during that time.

I have Look a likes, 4 different Protomelas - Insignus, Super Red Empress, Tangerine Tiger and a Taiwan Reef. The German Red and Rubecens are very much alike. Electric Blue Ali, Iceberg and Azureus look alike. I also have some timid ones like the Sulpher Head, Bi color 500 and Cobue. The Big ones do the normal chasing and nipping but overall live pretty well together. I change out 45% heated aged water once a week and rinse the Filters in aquarium water. IME a clean Tank and water will prevent a ton of sickness issues.Since these fish are always nipping fins clean water is a must for healing.

After 9 months of no issues I decided to take the foil off the Window by the Tank to allow more light in the room, the Fish have done well all this time so it should be OK right? WRONG!!

After around 4 days I came down to feed them and the Rubecens was beat up, struggling in the current up by the corner of the Tank by the Circulation Fan. His Fins were pretty torn up and missing some scales on his back. Plus the Tiawan Reefs Left Eye was puffed up pretty bad, he got hit pretty good. I don't have a Hospital Tank so I isolated the Rubecens which is pushing 6" in a plastic storage box, perfect holes cut out for water flow. He was in there for 3 days while I medicated the Tank with Melafix and Pimafix that I make out of Tea tree Oil and West Indies Bay leaf Oil.
I put the foil back up and finished treatment. The fish is all healed up now and back to being himself. All is well again, no issues.

The only time I turn on the Lights to the brightest setting is during feeding and Tank Maintenance. when in Downstairs watching TV or whatever I turn on the lights on a mid range setting so I can watch them. It's surprising how the aggression level escalates when the Lights are on the brighter settings. It takes around 10 to 15 minutes for then to start testing each other. There is no way my Fish would get a long if the lights were left on the an extended period of time. I'm lucky I guess.


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## joeyo (Jul 2, 2012)

I know we all have different goals with keeping a variety of cichlids. If you need to keep a tank and surrounding room dark so your aggressive fish can coexist together, its clear your pushing boundaries.

It takes time & energy to maintain a proper aquarium. I enjoy lighting up the tank to display my efforts to friends and family.

Not being able to do so, seems obvious that it's an unhealthy habitat. And isn't that what we try to recreate - a healthy habitat?


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## Machismo (Feb 24, 2016)

joeyo said:


> I know we all have different goals with keeping a variety of cichlids.* If you need to keep a tank and surrounding room **dark so your aggressive fish can coexist together, its clear your pushing boundaries.
> *
> It takes time & energy to maintain a proper aquarium. I enjoy lighting up the tank to display my efforts to friends and family.
> 
> Not being able to do so, seems obvious that it's an unhealthy habitat. And isn't that what we try to recreate - a healthy habitat?


It is not an unhealthy habitat, they are growing and very healthy, brightly colored and water quality is pristine. There is more than enough indirect Light coming through the sheer Drapes so the fish can be viewed without the Tank light on. I do light the tank when I'm downstairs,when there are Friends and Family over at the house but that isn't very often. I just don't light it for 6 or 8 hours a day when there is no need. Most of the time there isn't anyone around the Tank. Why would anyone light a Tank anyway when there isn't anyone to see it, It works so I do it this way. You have a lot of nerve assuming I have an "unhealthy" Habitat when you no nothing about house my tank is set up or exactly how the conditions are at my Home.
I was merely explaining what works for me. You do what works for you and I'll do what works for me .


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

When you said this: There is no way my Fish would get a long if the lights were left on the an extended period of time.

It could be interpreted as too much aggression when the lights are on more than 15 minutes. Glad to hear that is not the case.


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## Machismo (Feb 24, 2016)

If I ran the lights 6 to 8 hours a day with sunlight coming in then I think there would be a problem. I run them for a few hours at a time as long as people are downstairs. Once in a while some of them do a little chasing but that's it, they don't get physical. I guess I should have clarified that.
The way I'm doing it now works for me, all tanks are different as everyone here knows. I have t had to juggle fish and re home them and all that stuff, that's the way I like it.
During the day they just kind of all hang out together at one end of the tank. At night they all take their spots and it's all good.


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