Auriga not eating! Victim of the blue hippo tang! HELP!

[Francois]

Hello!

Two days ago, I added a threadfin butterfly to my 55 gallon FO tank (running with a 20 gallon sump). In addition to the threadfin, I have an ocellaris clown and a blue hippo tang.
I am a little concerned with the threadfin butterflyfish because it is not eating. The food goes by him, but it does not eat it. How can I do to get it to eat? It's about 2-3 inches long.

I gave the fish a freshwater dip because my LFS had already isolated it for me. He assured me the fish was eating.

Also, I'm very annoyed because the tang (also 2-3 inches long) is being quite territorial and aggressive to the butterflyfish. Would a tang be able to kill a butterflyfish? What can I do to stop that.

Thanks!

[leebca]

It's hard to second guess 'Nature.' The Tang may be territorial as you have reported, but it could also be that the Tang knows there is something wrong with the AB. Animals (including fish) try to kill the weak and sick in order that resources be maintained for those that are healthy and 'qualified to breed.'

The best way to teach a new fish to eat is to have it in quarantine where it is not distracted by other tank mates. There are many other reasons to use a quarantine process which you should read about here: A Fish Quarantine Process

It could be the fish is not acclimating properly -- even a fish that was previously acclimated to the LFS tank system.

Seeing is believing. Always watch the fish during feeding time or ask your LFS to show you the fish is eating, before you acquire a fish.

Now, getting it to eat is often a matter of reducing stress on the fish (which is another valuable aspect of the quarantine process). Check water quality. Make sure everything is top notch.

Then try some of the suggestions given here:
My New Fish Won't Eat! Tips