Fish With Eating Problems!

[LolaLouie]

Ok so 1st theres my gold nugget plec who comes out as soon as i put food in but never seems to eat. I have had him now for 3 weeks and have not seen him eat a thing despite the fact he's out all the time and never hides away and i've been in all the time coz i'm revising so see the tank all day. He also swims round and round the tank in the exact same pattern all day stopping in the exact same places .... any ideas?

Also I have an angelfish who isn't eating, he sometimes goes up to the food as if to eat it but doesn't open his mouth. Other times he eats and then spits it out. And a couple of times i have seen him eat and actually keep it down but this is rare. I was going to just leave him to die (as i have tried all medicines) but it has been 2 weeks and he's still going strong (but skinny). Any ideas what it could be?

Thanks!

 

[Colin_T]

Possibly water quality or they just don't like the food you are offering. What are you feeding them and how old is the food? Try some different food including frozen brineshrimp, bloodworms & marine mix (prawn, fish & squid).

 

[LolaLouie]

I feed frozen bloodworm, daphnia, tubifex & brineshrimp, peas, live bloodworm, daphnia & brineshrimp, dry bloodworm, pellets and flake.

I only feed flake and pellets as a small amount as their second feed in the evening.

The problem doesn't seem to be his dislike for the food or lack of hunger as he goes to eat all the time.

 

[Colin_T]

fair enough, it sounds like the food side is fine.
how old is the fish?
how long has the tank been set up for?
is the water quality & temperature ok?
how often do you do water changes & gravel cleans, and when did you last do it?
is the angelfish breathing heavily, gasping near the surface or showing any unusual signs besides not swallowing food?
What medications have you used on the tank and why?
it could be too many chemicals in the water from the medication or the fish might have a really bad case of gill flukes but it would be breathing heavily if it was gill flukes.
It could have a bad case of intestinal worms but they usually eat even when infected with worms.
It could have a fungal infection in the gills which would make it hard for the fish to swallow food.
Has the fish done a stringy white poo recently? if so it might have a internal infection like hexamita

 

[LolaLouie]

Ok lots of question...
1) The fish is still a juvenile, I have only had him for a month so not sure on his exact age.
2) The tank has been set up for 6 months.. all other fish are happy and healthy.
3) All water parameters perfect, the temperature is a little high at the moment due to the rare few days of sun we've been having but only 30C which shouldn't really be a problem for an angelfish.
4) Water change 40% once a week, last change was yesterday (but the fish has not been eating for 2 weeks)
5) No gasping or any unusual signs other that skinnyness but he was kinda skinny when i got him.
6) I have used meds such as wormer plus, protozin etc. as i had a lot of trouble with my tank because i added an infected fish, this was about 1 or 2 months ago and i have had no problems since.
7) No strigy poo, but i haven't actually seen him poo in over a week!

Thanks for taking the time to reply colin!

Any ideas based on the new info?

 

[Colin_T]

all I can think of is hexamita, coccidiosis, trichodina or tapeworm
Hexamita affects cichlids more than other fish and is a likely candidate
Coccidiosis affects everyone in the tank so is unlikely
Trichodina causes the fish to lose weight but they also breathe heavily and should have been killed off with the Waterlife Protozin
Tapeworms will cause fish to lose weight but don't normally stop them feeding. And the wormer plus might have treated them but not sure if it kills tapeworms or just threadworms.

The other thing is to contact Tolak, send him a PM and ask for his help. He breeds angelfish and might have a few ideas.
http/www.fishforums.net/user/2323/Tolak/

 

[LolaLouie]

Thanks for the advice colin. I fed daphnia today and he ate about 4 or 5 fleas which is a lot compared to normal!

I think i will wait another week try him on some live food again and if still no luck pm Tolak.

Thanks again for the advice!

 

[WILDER]

We have been here so many times, have you treated for internal parasites.

 

[Colin_T]

if it is eating live food then offer it some each day for a week just to build its strength back up. Then try it on frozen or dry food. Quite often once the fish is feeding again they will be more willing to accept other foods.

 

[LolaLouie]

Wilder- yup i treated for internal parasites. WHat i'm confused about is the fact that he's not dying or getting better!

Colin- I will try out the live foods next week and see if he eats them, just 2 more exams to go and then i can invest a bit of time into my fish!