Harlequin Not Eating And Rather Thin

[hanny93]

he seems fine in himself, chilling with the rest of the pack, he occasionally goes and hangs out by the filter outlet, its becoming more often now that he does that, but never eats.

ive not added anything but plants and daphnia in the past two weeks, and ever since then he hasnt eaten. he looks very thin compared to teh rest of them, shall i separate the little one into a breeder net with a load of plants or something or would that stress him out even more?

 

[Tizer]

You cant force a fish to eat but you can vary the diet a little, that would be the first thing i would try.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

He may have an internal bacterial infection or internal parasites- both of these can put fish off their food and/or cause them to loose weight.

 

[This Old Spouse]

+1

 

[hanny93]

Fed three different varieties of food over the past couple of days, didnt eat any of it.

Found him stuffed under a snail a couple of hours ago anyway, thankyou for your help anyway

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Fed three different varieties of food over the past couple of days, didnt eat any of it.

Found him stuffed under a snail a couple of hours ago anyway, thankyou for your help anyway

I would keep a very close eye on the other fish. It does sound like he had an internal bacterial/parasitic infection, and the prime time for other fish in the tank to get infected is when the old host dies and the bacteria or parasites exit the dead body to find new hosts. I would advise doing some regular partial water changes with dechlorinator over the next week to help bring down any background levels of bad bacteria lurking in the water.

 

[hanny93]

Yeah im just about to go and do one now, i think it shouldnt be too bad because i removed him as soon as i saw that he was dead, and he cant have died more than 2 hours before.

should i go and buy an anti parasite treatment just to be safe or is there no point?

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

I would get some meds so you can have something immediately to hand if the other fish start showing symptoms, but i wouldn't actually treat the tank for the time being if they aren't .

 

[hanny93]

just went to my lfs, she said there was one treatment which she would recommend, but only if the others show signs of it, because she said it reduces oxygen levels and can do more harm than good, but if theres any signs of it tonight or tomorrow ill go and get it, im quite happy with that actually because it wasnt a cheap treatment so she could made some money off it!

what should i be looking out for?

not eating obviously, sunken bellies and loss of colour?

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

what should i be looking out for?

not eating obviously, sunken bellies and loss of colour?

Yep those are the main symptoms. Also look out for letharic behavior, hanging around away from the other fish & fish having an inflamed looking anus (classic internal parasites symptom). Sudden deaths is also a symptom of internal bacterial infection.