Flory
03-01-2009, 12:40 PM
My male bn has been hardly eating for several weeks. He appears normal in other respects, though it's hard to tell how he's feeling since he's such a shy fish. I give him a piece of blanched zucchini every other day and he normally eats most of it within several hours. Now, however, the zucchini is barely eaten, though I do see him working on it. It's like he's unable to rasp on it? However, the tank walls continue to be clean, so he evidently can rasp flat surfaces. He is not going for algae wafers at all. He does have bogwood to eat in the tank.
Three things occurred during this period that might have contributed to his changed behavior.
1. I was away for three weeks and my neighbors fed the fish. They dropped in algae wafers for the bn rather than the zucchini; he loves those wafers too, but there's a lot more competition for them from the other fish. I noticed his changed feeding behavior when I returned (4 weeks ago).
2. While I was gone two other fish must have died and been eaten: a cory cat and an oto cat.
3. After more than a year of ignorance, my [feline] cat suddenly noticed the fishtank. Now she occasionally jumps up at it and frightens the fish. The bn is so shy anyway--perhaps this added stressor has completely unnerved him. But I wouldn't think he'd have the intellect to remember it continually; the cat only does this once in a while.
I checked the tank chemistry when I returned from my trip and everything was within normal parameters. I've resumed normal water changes.
Ideas, advice, insights? Thanks.
Three things occurred during this period that might have contributed to his changed behavior.
1. I was away for three weeks and my neighbors fed the fish. They dropped in algae wafers for the bn rather than the zucchini; he loves those wafers too, but there's a lot more competition for them from the other fish. I noticed his changed feeding behavior when I returned (4 weeks ago).
2. While I was gone two other fish must have died and been eaten: a cory cat and an oto cat.
3. After more than a year of ignorance, my [feline] cat suddenly noticed the fishtank. Now she occasionally jumps up at it and frightens the fish. The bn is so shy anyway--perhaps this added stressor has completely unnerved him. But I wouldn't think he'd have the intellect to remember it continually; the cat only does this once in a while.
I checked the tank chemistry when I returned from my trip and everything was within normal parameters. I've resumed normal water changes.
Ideas, advice, insights? Thanks.