New Clownfish not eatting.

[Thresa]

I bought a pair of tank raised percula clown fish this weekend and they haven't had much of an apetite since I've had them. Ones about an inch long and the other is a little smaller. I feed them a carnivore flake food and have tried to feed them a frozen carnovire food as well. I then tried feeding them sinking pellets that were stated they were ideal for clownfish on the label. They just pick at the food a little bit.

Can someone recomend something else that I can try to feed to them.

Could they have some sort of disease?

I really appreciate any advice that anyone can give me.

[OrionGirl]

Tank conditions? A few days isn't long for them to acclimate--I'd give them a few more days, and make sure to remove any uneaten food so it doesn't cause water quality issues.

[Fish_First]

is this a cycled tank?

[mogurnda]

My clowns were really finicky at first. Only small foods, like baby brine shrimp or particles of formula 1. Try breaking up the frozen food between your fingers.

[Thresa]

The tank has been cycled for 3 months now. Temp is 78, pH is 8.4, salinity 1.023. Ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite are all 0. I am removing all uneatten food and I plan to do a water change soon. I do a small water changes once a week. I am wondering if the pet store labeled them as tank raised when they were really wild caught. You would think that tank raised would take food no problem.

Should I try to feed them herbivore food? I was reading that marine algae is part of their diet.

Thanks,
Thresa

[mogurnda]

Mine were tank-reared, and still took a while to eat like the pigs they are now.

[Thresa]

Thanks for the info that makes me feel a lot better. My first fish were Chromis and they ate like pigs from day one. The clowns are my second set of fish so I was a little worried. What do you feed your clowns now?

[mogurnda]

They'll eat anything. Formula 1, Omega 1 flake, homemade coral food, bioblend pellets, frozen mysis, frozen brine.

How do their mouths look? Mine have slightly deformed mouths (one of the potential down-sides to captive-bred fish), and I think that may have slowed their eating down at first.

You should certainly still keep an eye out for any potential diseases, like ich or velvet. Lack of appetite may indicate a problem, but it may just be a phase they are going through.

[Thresa]

I haven't noticed anything unusual about their mouths. I'll have to take a closer look at them when I get home tonight.
Thanks again,
Thresa

[kcmo lawman]

My clown didn't want to eat for about a week after I got him. I finally got some liquid garlic from the lfs. The liquid garlic did the trick. Ever since that my clown has turned into a little pig.
Hope some or all of these suggestions work. Let us know how things turn out.

Good luck,
Bradd

[axepilot]

Garlic is the bomb! :D Fish love it and it will kick start appetites in finnicky eaters. I feed garlic soaked foods regularly.

[Thresa]

Was the forumula one that you used at first frozen or flake?

Are Kent Marine garlic extreme and seachem garlic guard about the same or is there one that works better?

Can the garlic be used with flake food too?

Sorry for all of the questions I'm just worried about the little guys. I'm going to pick some up right after work today and I'll let you know how it works. Thanks for all the advice.

Thresa

[kcmo lawman]

I am not sure what type or "brand" of garlic I used because the lfs gave me a liquid sample of it in a small ziploc bag. I put some flake food and some frozen shrimp in the bag and shook it all up and then put it in the tank...needless to say my fish went totally nuts and haven't stopped eating when fed now. If in doubt you can go to your lfs and ask them about a garlic supplement and see if they can give you more information or a sample.
Good luck, and hope everything works.

Bradd

[axepilot]

Here's what I do:

I fill a small bowl with tank water. I crush a clove of garlic into the water, letting it sit about an hour. I strain the garlic out and add the food, letting it sit about a half hour. I feed Formula A, pygmy angel food, spectrum pellets, and flake food. I add the flake food right before I put the mix into the tank. Any small pieces of garlic that go into the tank get eaten, also.


You don't need some overpriced LFS garlic formula. All you need is plain garlic, a garlic press, and a strainer.

[kcmo lawman]

I wasn't aware that you could use any type of garlic. Wasn't sure if there was something that was done to the garlic solution prior to it being shipped to the lfs....some supplements added and whatnot. Now that I know I can use garlic cloves from the store I will use that method in the future if I have any more trouble.
Thanks for the info,
Bradd

[Thresa]

Good news, the clowns like the garlic. They are both starting to eat a lot more. They still don't eat very fast, but I'm sure they their apetites will continue to grow. Thanks for the advice.

Thresa

[kcmo lawman]

I am glad to hear that the clown is now eating. Garlic seems to be a pretty good way to jump start an appitite on some fish. I know I was very pleased with the result I got when I used it.

Glad to hear things are going better now,

Bradd

[axepilot]

Thresa,
Good to hear that the garlic maneuver worked! :D I would continue feeding the garlic soaked foods for a while until they are established on the food. I don't use garlic at every feeding now, just about every other day as a treat. I use garlic for all newcomers, also.

Not only is garlic fine cuisine to the fish, it's also good for them. I've read that it helps them repel parasitic infections.

[nitrogenbubbles]

It has worked for me in the past...but if the garlic doesn't work.....you could alway go with coralife's "Target food" it is a phyotoplankten( dead of course) suspended in a goop..all my clowns have slurped this stuff up, I have a difficult time getting the food to the anemones....good think I feed them fresh sea life every four days. Still haven't been able to find a Material safety data sheet for this product:() But garlic has saved many a picky juvenille clown.....but to help avoid this....try to get them paired and at least 3.5cm in lenght...you might pay more for paired...but it is worth the extra when they produce offspring, but on another note....watch out...I have recieved scars from cleaning a tank area the spawn area, clowns are very fierce when protecting there eggs. it is the same way in the wild....very territorial. But, I have also learned in the past that every situation is different:( Hope this helped

[Crabbypatty]

there probally sick or stressed..
you can tell there healthy if they eat well and don't have a glassy coating on there eyes

[ricosuav71]

Hello,

I am curently cycling a 55gal fowlr. I noticed you mentioned paired Clowns.
How would I go about getting paired Clowns. My lfs doesn't have any. Do any
reputable online sites offer any?

I am hoping my tank will finish Cycling in about a week so I wanted to get
some info on what fish I should stock it with. I was hoping to stock it
with Clowns first and would really like to get them paired but don't know if
I could trust anyone who says they are.

Thanks,

sergio