problem with columbian shark

[TheDuBdoNe]

hes brand new from PetSmart... about 4-5 inches long... ate fine when i got him... now he is not wanting to eat... any suggestions?

[K_S_W_I_S_S]

he probably just stressed.... he will more than likely feel better if you turn the lights off for him. do you know that those are brackish fish and they can get up to 18 inches long???

[TheDuBdoNe]

i sure hope that he feels better... yes i know they become brackish and then salt water with age... right now while hes young he'll be good to go... and i have a 150 gallon waiting for him back in California that i will make brackish later on then eventually get him a bigger tank:)... he hasnt eatin in about two days that ive noticed... is this normal?

[damion]

When I got mine they were 2". Had them in a 10gal and they swam up to get floating pellets,frozen bloodworms/brine shrimp. Once they gotten 5" transferred to larger tank and they only accept anything that floats down to them, literally has to be next to them or when they comb the bottom and their wiskers feel pellets. Try various types of sinking pellets and drop them just prior to shutting off the lights.

[Firsttanks]

Try frozen Beefheart, or even frozen bloodworms, our sharky loves them (prefers the beefheart). We just cut a small chunk and thaw it in a shot glass of conditioned water, then drop it in front of him. It's heavy enough that it drops right to him (with a little practice), sends him into a gorging frenzy. Hopefully yours will react the same

[cdawson]

Originally posted by TheDuBdoNe
hes brand new from PetSmart... about 4-5 inches long... ate fine when i got him... now he is not wanting to eat... any suggestions?

It's a brackish water fish and requires some ocean salt. He's probably shocked being moved from salt to no salt.

[damion]

I think Petsmart has it in freshwater holding tank. Or aleast mine was.

[Bantam]

how long is it since he ate?

just a thought but is it possible he's 'full' from previous meals. they usually reach the fish stores on the verge of starvation but if he's been eating well since you got him maybe his interest in food has waned for a couple of days. it is natural for most predators to eat on a feast/famine basis.

if however it has been a few days since he ate follow the advice already given. live/frozen food placed as close as possible to him is probably your best bet. have you tried using feeders?

regards

[TheDuBdoNe]

yes it was in fresh water at PetSmart... i havent tried using feeders... you mean like fish or worms and such... i dont know what fishies would be small enough for him... but im going to try this beef heart... when i got him his belly was full... now it looks empty

[TheDuBdoNe]

well he just ate frozen salad shrimp... is this good nutritionwise? he sure looked like he loved it... and if he loved it i love it :D

[Bantam]

glad to hear he's eating

that'll be fine nutrition wise so long as its not the only thing you feed him.

[TheDuBdoNe]

well he loves beef heart too... glorious

[ChilDawg]

Beef heart is not a good thing to use as a substantial part of fish diets, since it is somewhat indigestible to all but those fish who regularly eat mammals in the wild.

[TheDuBdoNe]

oh that makes sense... what should i use as primary diet?

[Firsttanks]

Glad to hear he loved the Beefheart. :D Our Sharky gets it as a treat every couple of days. His staple foods are flakes, frozen bloodworms, frozen brineshrimp, frozen tubiflex worms (not as keen on these), Frozen Emerald Entree, and frozen Community Chow. We try not to give him the same thing every day, that way he doesn't get too used to one food.....being as he's an eating machine he hasn't refused anything we fed him yet (a little slower eating the tubiflex). We prefer the frozen foods because they seem to reach the bottom faster than the dried food and he gets a bigger share that way.;)

[TheDuBdoNe]

well mine wont eat flakes for some odd reason... but the Beef heart and the salad shrimps got me past the scare.. and now i have frozen blood worms and frozen brine shrimp... i guess he just wanted meat now... even though petsmart told me he was eating flakes... good thing you guys were here...

thanks to all you folks who helped me out...

first tank... what tank is your Columbian in?

[Firsttanks]

Sharky is presently in a 35 gal (3 ft) with a Pictus cat and a small Salvini Cichlid (the tank is theirs, there is also 3 tetras and some guppies as tankmates...he he he) right now Sharkie is only about 3 inch, and Picky is only 2 1/2 inches). I figure he has maybe a year before I have to relocate all 3 to a bigger tank.