Master Shake

captain of tying knots
Location
Lawrence
Rating - 100%
53   0   0
Have a racoon and saddleback in qt now, tank paramaters are good as far as alk ph temp ammonia nitrate and phosphate. had them for almost 2 weeks this friday and when i originally got them within 2 days they were eating frozen not like pigs but were eating frozen, then as time went on they got picky with what pieces of the reef frenzy they were eating,shortly after they decided to stop eating lrs, then i tried black worms which they would eat one or two then want nothing to do with the rest, after a few days of doing that now they want nothing to do with black worms, so i throw a clam on a half shell in there and they are picking on that but after the 2nd or 3rd day of that (different fresh clams obviously) they decide to pick less and less at them. my next move is to grab some muscles if i can find any in less than a 3 lb bag anywhere near my house and to try fine cheese graded frozen squid as recomended by todd gardner (great marine biologist and fish breeder) but as i feel they are just slowly steeping down a slope of no return even though they look great otherwise, was thinking of just not feeding at all for a few days and see where they pick up after that any input?
 

marrone

The All Powerful OZ
Staff member
Location
The Big City
Rating - 98.8%
80   1   0
Try rubbing some of the food on a coral skeleton, as it may seem like it's in the wild and start to pick at it. Also, try and get some live food, that may make them start to eat more.

Saddleback are tough to keep, especially larger ones. It wouldn't be a shock if it died from not eating.
 
Last edited:

Master Shake

captain of tying knots
Location
Lawrence
Rating - 100%
53   0   0
no coral in the tank but i do have some skeletons lying around, the black worms are live and dont think theres any lfs near me that have brine or anything else. the thing is they were eating frozen then worms now they look at the food and think to them selves "i dont think i want that piece but il just stare at it" then not eat its the weirdest thing, ive been in this hobby for >10 years ive never seen fish degrade eating habits like these 2
 

marrone

The All Powerful OZ
Staff member
Location
The Big City
Rating - 98.8%
80   1   0
In the end these are things that they don't normally eat in the wild, so they're not use to eat it. Some fish make the transition without a problem, others not so, and in some case, never. I would also check out some of the different pellets, as they have some that are really good, pick the smaller sizes.
 

lo7100

Advanced Reefer
Location
Staten island
Rating - 100%
9   0   0
I have a 7 butterfly fish in my tank. I had tried 6 saddleback in a period of 8 months and finally got one eating pellet without training. For other 5, they all started eating after 1 week in QT on frozen food. 3 of them stopped eating after I dose prazi-pro. Then they just waste away. The other 2 stopped eating during CP treatment.
I think some of the butterfly are hard to maintain. It's also depend on the individual fish.

NOTE: putting a butterfly in DT without QT is a very bad idea. I think the chance of getting fluke, ich and bacteria infection on butterfly are higher than other type of fishes.
 

Sponsor Reefs

We're a FREE website, and we exist because of hobbyists like YOU who help us run this community.

Click here to sponsor $10:


Top