Shark wont eat

[Jesse]

I posted this in the newbie forum, but I thought I better put it here. In my tank i have a Bala Shark, a Red-Tail shark, an algae eater and a Knight Goby. I feed the fish flake food and all of them seem to eat it except the Red-tail shark. I found out that they like either Shrimp pellets or Algae pellets, so I purchased some Brine Shrimp pellets. I put some in there, but he did not seem to notice them. Should I be worried about him, or does he eat at other times I dont see him? Do they eat at night? Maybe that is why I dont see him eat.

 

[Kirstie]

Brine shrimp can only live in a huge amount of salt, so I imagine their food would be like that too. I dunno, it's a guess, but I don't know if those are right for your shark. Try the algae eater pellets, because ANYONE and EVERYONE eats those pellets. I have all livebearers in my tank, and I just got rid of my snails. My livebearers eat them , my snails ate them, and my algae eaters eat them! They're awesome! Good luck and let us know how those turn out!

 

[Amadaca]

Inspect the fish closely. Are there any abnormal markings or injuries? Is the fish still behaving as it normally would, eating aside? Watch the entire aquarium...are one or two fish bullying your Shark? Is the fish new & perhaps still settling in? Is your specimen simply being outcompeted for meals during feeding sessions? You should take time & trouble to have a clear answer for all of these questions.

 

[Jesse]

I have another question. I have a Bala shark also. On the top of it right behind his dorsal fin, there is a little more shinier scale then the rest. I think there are a couple scales next to it too that are a little more shiny. I am worried that it might be ich! Can someone please help me out on this one?

 

[Amadaca]

Would you be able to scan a picture of him, Jesse?

 

[Jesse]

I don't exactly have a picture of him, or a digital camera. Only if my USB camera would reach...

 

[Jesse]

Well, for my Red-Tail I put a piece of cucumber in the aquarium near his favorite hiding place. He loves it! If another fish comes near it, he will chase them away!

 

[mbu]

Red tails also love bloodworm.

 

[wherryj]

Hi, newb to your board here.

I'm freshly back into freshwater tropicals after taking about 15 years off from Dempseys.

I set up a tank with rainbow sharks and barbs. My informant states that rainbows are similar to red tails, so I thought that I'd chime in.

I find that my rainbows also don't seem to like flake food, even the small remnants left over by the sloppy barbs. They'll take it in, and prompty spit it back out. They do, however, seem to like algae tablets. Make sure to drop them out of another fish's territory or a small/new shark will often be intimidated and won't eat.

On another topic, I've been told to be careful with the amount of blood worms, at least with certain types of fish. My local store (seems to be VERY knowledgeable) states that barbs can become severely ill with large amounts of blood worms, though they'll do well with smaller amounts. Like everything else-EVERYTHING IN MODERATION.

I wish you luck with your sharks-mine are just reaching the 8 day point.