Gramma not eating

wattsd

AC Members
Mar 22, 2005
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Anyone have any suggestions as to why my gramma has suddenly stopped eating? I have not introduced anything new in months. Chemistry is all good with the exception of my hardness. I have since corrected that. He is usually quite piggy when food is present but today he just kind of hung out at the back of the tank.

He looks great. Brightly colored purple/yellow. The purple stripe down its anal fin is bright as well. (I had heard that NOT seeing this is sometimes an indication of stress)

I believe I have an overkill in the filtration department so I don't think water quality is a problem. Corals are all looking good.

I had wondered if the pH dropped last night and upset him. Aren't they pH finicky?? Any ideas?

Here are who his tank mates are:
1 small goby
1 clown (same size as gramma)
cleaner shrimp
clean up crew
40+lbs live rock/sand
Polyps, leather, buttons. NONE of these appear to be creating any irratating slime but I am running some charcoal anyway.
30g tank with americle sump, HOB bak pak skimmer.
temp holding at 78F
 
also, he seems to be breathing a lot more difficultly. I have a skimmer and a wet/dry sump so I don't think the dissolved oxygen in the water is a problem. Lots of water/air exchange.

I have had him for about a year, which I think would rule out cyanide poisoning. Any suggestions??
 
What foods have you tried?

What are your water parameters? You said that "I don't think water quality is a problem", but have you actually tested the water?
 
It might just be dying of old age, you never know how old he was when you bought him.
 
wattsd said:
Chemistry is all good with the exception of my hardness. I have since corrected that.

I have tried cylcopeez, frozen fresh shrimp/scallop/garlic, and shrimp pellets. He will usually eat all three. I'm not sure age is a problem either. He was maybe an inch and a quarter when I got him. I supppose he could have been a small adult though. Will keep an eye on him...
thanks
~d
 
He may have digestive blockage or constipation.
Is he kind blown up?
Cuz that would be a sign.
 
Well he didn't make it. A couple days ago he was seen kind of lying on the sand. He would only move when the emerald crab and electric blue crab approached. He didn't look that old. My lfs has one in a display tank that is literally 5 inches long and about as big around as a half dollar. I'm not making this up. It looks mutated somehow. Not sure what they feed it...
 
I lost my royal gramma the same way. He hung out at the back of the tank for a couple of weeks. No matter what I tried to feed him he wouldn't eat. I didn't quarantine him for fear the stress of a net would have been to much. He eventually came to the front of the tank where, like yours, he would only move if he was bothered by a crab. I finally took him out and euthanisized him.
sickr.jpg
 
yep, I had to do the same. Its shocking how fast he went down. One day he was fine and the next he was on his way out.
 
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