Blonde Naso won't eat

[petrasb]

I got a show blonde naso 1 1/2 weeks ago and he has not ate yet. He is about 8" plus the 2" streamers on his tail. I have waited a long time for this fish, now he may die. He is getting a "pinched belly."
I have tried pellets, dried nori, mysis, krill, silver sides, keen reefs "barf", cheato, and some grape alge out of my fug.
Does anyone have any suggestions?
I have been overfeeding the last few days trying to get him to eat, which of course, is creating some issues.
The lfs has offered to give me half store credit and try to get him eating. I am thinking of taking him up on the offer.

 

[phoenix20]

if you can, try to pick up some red Gracilaria.
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=490+1127&pcatid=1127">http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=490+1127&pcatid=1127</a>


Swing by the Warehouse Aquarium. I know kevin had a tub full of this stuff. Sandwich a biiig clump of it between a mag float and cross your fingers. This is the stuff they eat in the wild.

Good luck!

 

[mockery]

Have you added garlic to any of the food? That is an appetite stimulant for fish.

 

[spike]

Was he eating at the LFS? If so what was he eating? I would try the garlic.

 

[james s_]

A pinched belly doesnt necessarily mean he will die...it took me a couple weeks to get mine eating, and when he did he would only eat nori. Dont overfeed the tank, it wont help. Just keep some nori in the tank during the day, and eventually the other fish will teach him to eat. Good Luck!

 

[petrasb]

Thanks,
Good news, he just started picking at some "grape cheato" from my fuge. Sorry, but I don't know the proper name for it. It sounds like these guys can go a long time without eating.
So this is the down fall from buying a large adult fish, they are difficult to get adapted to captivity?
I may go get some of the red cheato from Warehouse Aquarium Thursday. This is a dangerous lfs to visit, my wife worries when I go there.

 

[smoothie]

Glad he's eating the macro. Definitely get on the garlic and nori. If there is another tang in the tank already maybe try adding his own seperate clip until he becomes comfortable.

 

[ricksconnected]

alot of times folks fail to ask the LFS what the fish has been eating that they just bought. be sure to ask, take some of the guess work out of situations like this.

 

[jennm]

Only a few fish eat Chaetomorpha. Many will eat caulerpa. Red or brown gracilaria or ulva are good to try. I have the brown gracilara.

Offering foods that they will encounter in the wild are your best bet to stimulating a feeding response. Once they start, then introduce other foods.

Have you observed the fish nipping at rocks and such? If so, it's eating. If it's not grazing, then it's not eating.

And yes, always a good idea to ask to have the fish fed at the LFS first - find out what they are eating and start with that. If they aren't eating, don't buy until they are. At least then if you take it home and it doesn't eat right away, you know when and what it ate last. Good rule of thumb for all fish.

Jenn

 

[smoothie]

It's probably grape caulerpa.
And Jenn- great advice as always