fish won't eat

[zygote2k]

I just got a Longnosed Hawkfish that has been in captivity for a while, but it won't eat the following- cyclopeeze, rods, freeze dried brine, flake, new life spectrum baby pellets, osi pellets, or freeze dried rotifers.

Should I get some live brine? Should I feed the fish to the squirrel?

 

The weird thing about this fish is that whenever it's feeding time, it'll swim around looking at the food and ocassionally tasting a tiny morsel, but that's it.

Edited March 17, 2011 by zygote2k

[scott711]

Have you tried mysis?

[zygote2k]

Have you tried mysis?

not yet.

[paul b]

I am not surprised your hawkfish will not eat those foods you mention. In the sea they eat small fish but you could feed it pieces of clam, fish or as was mentioned mysis. It needs meaty foods and it will probably never eat pellets, flakes or freeze dried rotifers.

[Coral Hind]

I would try the live brine but remember they mainly eat shrimp in the wild so something with more meat like cut up table shrimp work better. As a last resort to prevent it form starving you can try some ghost shrimp or similar. If it doesn't eat that then feed the fish to the squirrel.

[gmubeach]

I hope he eats I had a yellow tang that never ate and it got eaten by an anomee my clownfish were so mad!

[Jon Lazar]

I add a few drops of garlic juice to mysid srimp and let it soak in several hours. Makes all the difference to my copperband butterfly when she gets picky.

[Jim]

My longnose goes crazy for PE Mysis.

[extreme_tooth_decay]

My longnose goes crazy for PE Mysis.

 

+1 on PE mysis. Never failed for me with picky eaters (mandarins, diamond gobies, etc).

[Jager]

the garlic tip above is gold.

 

take the food you want them to eat, soak it in garlic and then add the garlic and the food to the tank. the garlic is a very powerful feeding response smell to the point that almot dying fish have perked up and eaten when used at times.

 

it is your best bt if that fish gets thin and still turns up its nose at your offerings.

 

if it isnt thinning at all, it may be more comfortable eating when you arent there, or once the food has settled in the tank.

you can turn off the room lights set a chair farther back from the tank. feed and then try to sit still and just watch. eventually you may see him go nuts eating off what has settled.