Fish Feeding, Please Help

[svirid]

Hi guys,

I am very new in this area, I had tank for 3 month and before I had only corals and fire shrimps. Shrimps were running like crazy to get some tropical flake I was giving them. Now I have cardinal in my main tank and Coral beauty in quaranteen tank. It looks like none of them want to eat, coral beauty been there for more then a week already. I bought them Tropical Flakes, Spirulina Flakes, Marine Algae, Mysis and Brine Shrimps but it looks like they dont care. The only guys who eats its a Fire Shrimp who runs like crazy to get that food. I am trying to give them a very small amount not to overfeed but again...dont really know what to do.

Can fish just die of hunger even if there is food in a tank? I noticed cardinal was openning his mouth to get something from the water, sometimes he was throwing some pieces of food out but never seen him when he eats it.

Please need a very good advice maybe I am feeding them wrong? Also I can really give food right to the fish I have a water movement so as soon as food gets to the surface it goes aroung all the tank.

Thank you.

 

[tat2life]

you should call the place u bought them from and ask what he feeds them. my LFS tries to get all there fish onto flake foods before there sold but its always a good idea to ask, u tried frozen food yet or bloodworm ? u need to check first if marines can eat bloodworm or not i just remember feeding it to my piranhas and it was easy to spot in the tank it didnt all just float on the water surface like most flakes. they should eat anything though even if u drop like paper in by accident the chances are there eat it then probally spit it back out, so if there not even attempting to eat it maybe there still settling into the new tank or something

 

[chrissaysyes]

Try using garlic with the foods, that always does the trick for me, especially with mysis.

 

[svirid]

Try using garlic with the foods, that always does the trick for me, especially with mysis.

I store food in a plastic backet as frozen cubes, so should I just add garlic in the backet? or how does
the trick work?

Thanks for your help.

 

[chrissaysyes]

Here's what I do...take out one of your cubes, use a knife to mince the cube up, then add the mush to a little sauce cup. Then take a clove of garlic, mince it up with the knife, then turn the blade of the knife sideways over the garlic and pound it a couple of times with your fist. Scrape that into the cup of food as well. Then add some tank water and let it sit for about 30 mins. Then feed that muck directly to your fish with a syringe or baster, let it slowly flow out, dont blast them in the face with it

 

[svirid]

Here's what I do...take out one of your cubes, use a knife to mince the cube up, then add the mush to a little sauce cup. Then take a clove of garlic, mince it up with the knife, then turn the blade of the knife sideways over the garlic and pound it a couple of times with your fist. Scrape that into the cup of food as well. Then add some tank water and let it sit for about 30 mins. Then feed that muck directly to your fish with a syringe or baster, let it slowly flow out, dont blast them in the face with it

Ok I mixed garlic with Mysis, but is that fine if fish eats piece of a garlic?

 

[chrissaysyes]

Yup, it's good for their immune system.

 

[fiskkeeperpro]

the cardinal should eat the mysis straight away. Hopefully he does. I got told thats the food to ween them on to make them eat all frozen, not sure this is correct though.

 

[chrissaysyes]

How are they??

 

[svirid]

Oh man... I am about to give up or just have corals and inverts in my tank.
It looks like completely impossible for me to have fish. Even my cardinal, the easiest fish to keep, has died today.
I am looking for help guys, dont really know what to do.

Everything was okay with him, he was eating very well, I dont give them much but 6-8 pieces of shrimp, ussually.
2 days ago I was vacuuming the sand and I guess he got scared or something. I didi not do anything unusual.
He was in the corner whole day took one piece of mysis, thats it.
Today morning, I found him on the gravel but still breathing, fire shrimp got molted at the same time.
First I thought he is died so I was trying to get him out, but then I notice that he was moving, he was able to swim to the other
side of the tank made a big swim to the surface but did not get to there and died on the way. It was just heartbreaking.

I tested the water right away everything was normal. 0 - Am, Ni, Na, 8.4 pH.
Corals looks great, Shrimp is very quiet now but I assume its because of the molting process.

My guess is only stress, but then how can I cure them? If I will try to get fish out it will stress her even more.
Should I just leave the stressed fish in the tank ?

Thank you guys for your advices.

 

[chrissaysyes]

is it stressed or dying?

 

[svirid]

is it stressed or dying?

He is already dead.
I found him on the gravel but still breathing this morning. First I thought he is dead so I was trying to get him out, but then I notice that he was moving, he was able to swim to the other side of the tank made a big swim to the surface but did not get to there and died on the way.

I guess it happend because of the stress. He started to hide and stop eating after I cleaned up the sand.

 

[jeasko]

may want to check with your LFS as it could b the way the cardinal was caught ie cyanide fishing and find out a little more about where the fish came from.

Also what tests are you doing on your water? you mention nitrate nitrite ammonia and PH do you test for anything else? has the temp risen and is all your filtration running ok?

and do you add trace elements?

 

[svirid]

may want to check with your LFS as it could b the way the cardinal was caught ie cyanide fishing and find out a little more about where the fish came from.

Also what tests are you doing on your water? you mention nitrate nitrite ammonia and PH do you test for anything else? has the temp risen and is all your filtration running ok?

and do you add trace elements?

I test, phospate its 0 too, Temp is around 80F, I actually just cleaned up my skimmer completely not just a cap.
I have skimmer and ext filter running. I do not add any trace elements, only phosban I have in my filter.
I do 10% weekly water change.

 

[jeasko]

do you test KH?
whats the SG of your water?
what did you use to clean the skimmer?

Also hows your coral beauty doing? are things improoving there?