lima shovelnose not eating??

porkchop · Post by **porkchop** » 27 Nov 2003, 20:24

hi there,i recently purchased a 5" lima shovelnose from my lfs,i visited the shop a couple of times to see how he was doing and saw him feed on bloodworm a couple of times before buying.anyway since i got him home he has not fed in three days, i've tried cockle bloodworm brineshrimp prawn and pellet with no luck

he is housed on his own in a 30 gal which has the same water chemistry as the shop i got him from and has plenty of hiding places ect

temp 78 ph 7.2 ammonia 0 nitrite 0 nitrate 20ppm

any thoughts on what i may be doing wrong or how i can get him to feed??

cheers

magnum4 · Post by **magnum4** » 27 Nov 2003, 22:58

how much did you feed three days ago?

porkchop · Post by **porkchop** » 28 Nov 2003, 17:41

sorry,what i meant was i saw him feed the day i bought him 3 days ago and he has not fed since

Post by **Silurus** » 28 Nov 2003, 17:43

Wait a few more days. New acquisitions usually take a while to get used to their new environment before eating.

catfishcrazy · Post by **catfishcrazy** » 01 Dec 2003, 18:58

S.limas dont like being moved about and will often refuse to eat for a week or so until they become used to their new surroundings, i have two and when we moved house last year i didnt see either of them eat anything for 2 weeks, they broke their fast by eating 3 of a breeding group of congo tetras

porkchop · Post by **porkchop** » 02 Dec 2003, 18:00

cheers guys and just to let you know,he ate some bloodworms yesterday and whilst i was thawing out some whitebait for my freshwater stingrays i spotted a small one in the bag (about 2") so thought i'd give it a go.wow,what a mouth! he darted out from behind a peice of bogwood he was hiding behind and swallowed it in one.fantastic to watch i'm well chuffed.

cheers

sand506 · Post by **sand506** » 03 Dec 2003, 03:01

when mine was smaller it liked to eat rosies, would not eat gold fish but loved those rosies, don't know if you have those over there

porkchop · Post by **porkchop** » 03 Dec 2003, 15:09

never heard of rosies? perhaps i'm being dumm!

what size is your spicemen now and what are you feeding it on?

ps. any idea if sexing is possible with these fish?

sand506 · Post by **sand506** » 13 Dec 2003, 22:49

not sure of the exact species but they are a common feeder fish over here along with golds.
my lima is about 10 or 11 inches now and will eat golds with the best of them.

everything i have read on them, there has not been any sexing on them