feeding potters angelfish

[crete456]

Hello and happy holidays to all...I resently puchased a fine looking potter but It doesn't seem to be eating just nibbles at a few scraps and picks at the live rock and back aquarium glass...has anyone had any experience with a potters that they could share...I would appreciate any advise...Thanks Denny

[leebca]

Denny,

Potters A are fairly easy. If they hesitate to eat or eat little, there is more than likely some sort of stress working. If the fish is new as you said, it could be just that. You didn't say how new the fish was. The advantage of a quarantine process is to get the fish to pay attention to its new owner and getting eating before it hits the main display. I hope you've got it in a quarantine tank.

Keep trying to feed pods, algae, bits of shrimp flesh, a fresh frozen and thawed clam on the half-shell and gut loaded brine shrimp. It should come around, unless the stress continues.

[Rare Angels]

Lee,

On the theme of this thread. I buddy at work bought a Potter's angelfish last week, Dec 28 or 29th I believe. He has the fish in a 15 gallon QT with the following parameters; Temp=78, Salinity=1.015, pH=8.2, ammonia and nitrite are =0 and nitrate are 0 also.

The fish is about 2.5" long, the aquarium measure 24"x 12.5" x 12.5" tall. I stopped over tonight to look his set-up over and the fish does not seem stressed by our presence, in fact it swam up to me when I looked in on it. The problem is that it hasn't eaten anything that he has seen and it seems to almost constantly pace the aquarium. He has a few PVC pieces in the tank and the fish occasionally stops and hides in them, it also hides under the sponge filter in the tank occasionally.

To me this seem like it is stressed from not enough space, do you agree with this? I have a empty 40 gallon breeder I was going to loan to him but I wanted your thoughts on if we should wait awhile since its so new or do you have any other thoguhts?

Thanks for your time
Dave

[leebca]

Was there a history of the fish having eaten before your friend acquired it?

The pacing is too soon IMHO for a space stress. Not impossible though. It depends upon the answer to the above question.

If the answer is "No" or "I don't know" then I'd suspect the fish is disoriented -- in an early stage of acclimation. It's a mental condition that some fishes recover from in some time frame, others go through in seconds or minutes, and some just go on like that until they die. If you will, it's an internal stress that aquarists can't do much for.

I recently had a Raccoon Butterflyfish do this. These fishes are relatively easy. I've never lost one. It was 'alert' up to a point, but paced in my 180 gallon aquarium! It wasn't space, it was mental. Never really ate, though picked now and then. Kept pacing in the QT, then in the display tank, until it died. Bottom line, the fish never acclimated to captivity.

Unless it is known the fish was eating okay in the past, then I wouldn't change tanks for now. I would ask why the specific gravity is below normal?

[Rare Angels]

Talking to him it seems he doesn't know if it was eating. The LFS that the fish was from kept their water at 1.015 and he hasn't raised it, do you recommend full saltwater levels for angels even though they are in QT? 1.024 or?

Thanks Lee
Dave

[leebca]

I don't recommend changing the specific gravity without good reason (regardless of fish). If that is the salinity the fish came from, then that is a good place to start. I'd keep it there until the fish eats, then raise it slowly. The overriding importance is to keep change to a minimum.

With the "I don't know" response, I'd keep things as they are and keep trying to get the fish to eat. Your friend might try to find the food that is formulated for dwarf angelfishes (by Ocean Nutrition, I think). There are some ingredients in that food that may induce the fish into eating.

Although I have never found garlic to be the direct cause of a non-eating fish to start eating, it cannot do harm. Try soaking some food in garlic juice.

In the meantime, I would add vitamins to the QT water. One of the best for this type of application is Vita Chem.

[Rare Angels]

Lee,

The potter's continues to pace the tank and we have tried the Pygmy Angelfish formula food, along with Sea veggies rubberbanded to a rock, garlic, etc and nothing.

We did put a small piece of live rock in the tank and he nipped at it a few times but nothing of any significance. We then tried applying food to the live rock that he nipped at and he don't go anywhere near it. Does anyone have any other suggestions?

Do you think its time to move him to a bigger tank, again he was purchased on Dec28-29, 2006.

Thanks for any advise.

Dave

[leebca]

My opinion is that you have a fish that has not acclimated enough to captivity. A few do this and snap out of it; others die from it.

I don't object to changing tanks, but if it is as indicated above, it should have little effect. Although, there is something to be said for the 'shock' of another transfer. Shock can sometimes alter a state of shock.

Very smart moves on trying to get it to eat. You did and are doing all I can think of, at this time.

[Poseidon]

Can you get live mysis, or maybe live brine? I know that live brine is not all that nutricious (sp?) but it may wake up a feeding response. Also what about Cyclop-eeze flakes, they have a very strong odor that can trigger a feeding response as well.

I have not had good luck with Potter's Angels myself, they are beautiful fish, but I had trouble getting them to eat when we got them in at the LFS. (So I quit ordering them.)

[Rare Angels]

We had tried live brine shrimp before with no luck and we don't have access to live mysis loacally

After stopping at the LFS we came home with some live brine and live black worms. Adding the black worms to the tank caused the potters to investigate them and I actually seem it eat some. He still paces but stops now to hunt the worms. We then added some live brine and this was also investigated and comsumed.....at a very leisurely manor.

I am very relieved to see some feeding responce even though he still paces some. Now we just need to wean him onto some nutritous foods.

I will keep you guys updated.

Dave

[almostdiva]

Good luck!

I've always loved this fish, but never wanted to try one, because so many sites and much of the literature says they are "delicate" or "touchy" and difficult to acclimate.

Have you tried a freshly opened raw clam or mussel? It's what I have successfully used in the past to get other "picky eaters" (like copperband butterflies) on the right track.

Rebecca

[Rare Angels]

Thanks!

The potter's has calmed down alot today. It isn't pacing nearly as much as it was before. We had tried live clams and mussels and had no luck. We tried again tonight and it was ignored again.

I use live clams with all the butterflyfish I have tried before and it seems to be a sure fire way to ge them eating.

Dave