Green Terror Refusing To Eat

[idlefingers]

I bought a green terror on sunday and have been having difficulties getting him to eat.

He's on his own in a 50 gallon (will be upgrading when he gets a bit bigger - he's currently about 3"). I've tried feeding him cichlid pellets (Tetra Doromin), Tetra Prima, Tetra Vegetable Crisps and fresh food (cichlid mix - turkey heart, fish bits and bobs) and with pretty much everything, he slowly swims up to it, looks at it for a min and then slowly swims away.

I've been leaving the food in for a little longer than I would normally before removing it and this did work to get him to eat a little Prima, but not much.

I have no idea when he last ate, but assuming he ate on Sunday morning at the fish shop I know he's probably still fine, but I'm starting to worry. What if he doesn't start eating soon? How long do you reckon he can go without? I know community fish can last quite a while, but I'm sure I read that young cichlids need food more often?

Any ideas how I might encourage him to eat?

Thanks for any help!

 

[thegnu]

you could ask at the lfs what food they fed him on. depending what size he is you could try small pieces of garden worm chopped up and fed in single pieces to see if he eats it but be careful as it can quickly turn the water bad if not eaten. try bloodworm, i don't know a fish that wont eat this. if he refuses to eat for much longer there could be obviously something wrong with him. have you tested your waters nitrates?

 

[idlefingers]

the lfs said they fed them tetra crisps. I've tried the tetra veggie crisps (forgot to add to the list above), but he wasn't interested. I don't have any of the normal crisps to try and won't get a chance to get any 'till the weekend. I'll get some bloodworm defrosting and see if he goes for that. How long would be a maximum to leave it sitting on the bottom without polluting the water?

Stats are:

PH 7
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 10-20

 

[idlefingers]

well, bloodworm did the trick! He's still a little slow and seeming a little un-interested, but that was the most he's eaten by far since I've had him. I guess he's just not a fan of the cichlid mix frozen food.

 

[thegnu]

no, i tried that with my discus and they just turned up their noses at it. the same with the one that had the name discus on it. nothing beats bloodworm, especially if cut up into smaller bits so it aids digestion, goes around more and they all get their fair share

 

[Mystix212]

They say bloodworms are incredibly tasty. Dont laugh but I dont know when, but I can just tell that Im gonna try them in the future. Maybe 10 or so at once. If I hate them. Im an idiot. If I like them. Yum!

I could also see myself eating a few flakes.