A really picky eater.......

[Tangs Rule]

I have a golden butterfly, currently in my QT tank because he was showing signs of ich. I have had him for about 3 weeks and he has yet to eat. I've never had a fish go this long without eating. I bought 2 golden butterfly's together and the other is doing very good, eating everything I put in the tank. I have tried the below to get the butterfly to eat:

Flakes with garlic
frozen mysis soaked in garlic
frozen butterly formula (with and without garlic)
all sorts of flakes (ocean nutrition 1 & 2, spirulina, brine shrimp)
frozen brine shrimp (with and without garlic)
frozen squid (with andn without garlic)
pellets
a fresh clam from the supermarket
prawn

What else can I try? He no longer has ich (or he never had it.) He seems very happy in the QT tank only he's not eating. I want him to start eating again before I move him back to my other tank. Any suggestions?

 

[marrone]

They usually do better in pairs or small groups and that he is being kept in a small tank may have stressed it out, which could have caused it to stop eating. If the fish is ok now I would move it back into the main tank, with the other Semi-BF. Being in a bigger tank, and with the other Semi-BF, may get it back to eating.

Question, was it eating before you got it?

 

[Tangs Rule]

He was eating before I got it. He was in the bigger tank as well (the QT tank was set up only about 10 days ago.) In my bigger tank, he was not eating and the other Semi-BF was chasing him and harassing him, which is why I moved him out.

 

[marrone]

They can be really delicate fish to keep and if the other is bothering him, then it's probably not going to make it when you place them together in the same tank.

What was it eating at the LFS when you brought it? I would try feeding what it was eating at the LFS. If it doesn't start to eat I would then move it back into the main tank and keep the lights off for a day or two, as this will give it sometime to settle in and may stop the other from attacking it.

 

[Tangs Rule]

This fish was shipped to me, but I was told that both fish were eating while they were at the vendors. I trust both people that told me they were eating. The 1 butterfly starting eating after about 3 hours in my tank. The other one always came out at feeding time and looked like he wanted to eat, but never did. Then he started getting chased and he just stayed in his hiding spot. He got chased to the top of the tank so I grabbed my net and removed him.

Would it make any sense to try and switch the two of them meaning move the aggressive fish to the QT and this guy to the main tank and let him settle in for a week without the other guy? That would mean removing a lot of rock to catch the other guy but if it will help I may have to do it.

 

[marrone]

You could try it but they are delicate and you could take the chance of something going wrong and losing the one that is doing well. The thing is in the end they still may fight.

I would first try and re-introduce the one back into the tank, keeping the lights off for a couple of days, and See if that works. If it doesn't work then remove the one for a week or so and see if that works.

Also the one that isn't eating, you should look at it very closely and see if it has any other problems. Semi-BF come down with Red Spot dieases quite often, which could be the problem it's not eating.

 

[Tangs Rule]

I will take a look at it before I move it back to the main tank. Do you know a good medication for red spot disease so I can be prepared if necessary?

 

[marrone]

I'll have to look it up when I get home, as I don't remember off hand what is used.

Also how large are these fish and what size tank are you trying to put them together into? They do get to be pretty large and need a good size tank.

 

[Tangs Rule]

Currently they are 3 - 4 inches and they are going into a 150.

Thanks for looking it up. I am doing a search now and so far all I have found is:
Argent - Oxolium (Oxolinic Acid)

 

[NYPDFrogman]

http://animal-world.com/encyclo/marine/butter/GoldenButterflyfish.php

might want to try attaching some food to a coral skeleton and see if he picks at it

beautiful fish

 

[marrone]

The tank is a little small for such a large fish, even though yours are still on the smaller side. I think the fighting problem maybe because of the size of the tank. I would try to re-introduce the other to the tank and keep the lights off for a few days. Then slow introduce more light each day, you should then see if they'll settle in together and the other one will start to eat.

 

[Tangs Rule]

http://animal-world.com/encyclo/marine/butter/GoldenButterflyfish.php

might want to try attaching some food to a coral skeleton and see if he picks at it

beautiful fish

Thanks, I'll try this. And love the new signature.

 

[Tangs Rule]

I'm going to ask another question. When I first moved him into the QT tank, I noticed small tiny white spots on his tail. I thought it was ich. So I have treated the QT tank with copper. The spots have not gone away. They are 4 tiny white spots (if you don't look for them, you won't notice them. If you are more than 5 feet away from the tank, you can't see them.)

Any idea what this could be? I'll try to take a picture later when I get home, just thought I'd throw it out there for now.

 

[marrone]

It's really hard to tell without a picture but if it was ich they would have fallen off already. If it's on the clear part of the tail then it could be a Lymphocystis infection, which is quite common especially if the fish has been recently netted. It should go away with good water quality.

 

[duke62]

if u are treating with copper make sure to check the levels of copper.

 

[Tangs Rule]

Here are some pics of him, let me know what you think. He has these white marks on his tail. I also noticed that the one who is eating, has them on his fins. Doesn't seem to bother him though.

 

[Tangs Rule]

Marrone, does this look like Lymphocystis infection?

 

[marrone]

Yes

 

[Tangs Rule]

And it is common on the fins the use to swim as well(having a brain fart, can't think of the name of them)??

Thanks for the info.

 

[LongIslandAndy]

-I know you mentioned a live clam but I would get a small cherrystone or little neck and crack his shell (he should be alive) . I have never had this fail with butterfly's. They cannot seem to resist the clam.