Damsels not eating

[paws03]

Hi,

I'm new to saltwater. I just purchased yellow-tailed damsels to cycle my new tank. They don't appear sick, but I haven't seen them eat since I brought them home on Sunday. Among other things, I offered them the same fish flakes that they were supposedly eating at the LFS before I purchased them. Is this normal? What do you guys feed your damsels? Do damsels have a time of day preference for eating (as in, would they rather be fed at night)?

Thanks in advance for your advice!

 

[Navarre]

First of all you mention you have got the Damsel to cycle the tank? I assume this means the tank is not cycled at all then?

This will be placing the fish under enormous stress as it has to now try and survive an ammonia spike, then the nitrite spike before the tank begins to settle down. I really would be surpsied if the fish would eat during this time, It might not even survive, damsels are hardy but ammonia is highly toxic and add this to the stress of a new tank might be too much. )

I would cut right back on feeding. This is only going to add to the amount of waste and toxin in the tank.
You would have been better off feeding an empty tank as this would have cycled the tank without placing a fish under stress.

Sorry to sound so negative, it highly likely you have folowed the advice of your local shop but i dont recomend this method of cycling a tank when there are far less cruel ways of achieving it.

Monitor you water very closely. )

 

[paws03]

Actually, I had a failed attempt at a fishless cycle, and on the advice of a friend with an established saltwater tank, decided to cycle with the damsels. After the failed fishless, I did a 90% water change and then 10% water changes (all with conditioned water) until the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH, and specific gravity were all appropriate levels for maintaining fish. The damsels have only been in the tank for 4 days, and the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH, and specific gravity have all been at baseline levels (I monitor every day) until today, when the ammonia went up to 0.1 ppm (not much of a spike, right?). Would that much ammonia stress them out?

 

[Navarre]

After the failed fishless, I did a 90% water change and then 10% water changes (all with conditioned water) until the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH, and specific gravity were all appropriate levels for maintaining fish.

Im not surei understand what you mean by appropriate levels? Do you mean the water has not got any? This indicates that the tank has to start its cycle again and which is why you seem to be getting an ammonia surge right now.

0.1 doesnt seem alot but it is undesirable. Probably not enough to stop your damsels from eating perhaps but it wont help.

What else is in the tank? any rock for them to hide among? Damsels are notoriously territorial, they need places to feel secure and this might help. Have you tried live foods? Perhaps a small amount of live food will entice them to feed.

I amstill concerned about the tank cycle though. Are you going to use live rock? If not then what type of filtrationare you using to cycle the tank with at the moment?