When to Worry??

coffee1stlife2nd · Post by **coffee1stlife2nd** » 14 Oct 2012, 20:46

krazyGeoff wrote:Well done so far.
I don't know that the piece of shrimp is going to appeal when it is this young.
Being a bio film grazer and all.
I guess it just needs to recognize the food items as food?

Cheers.

Thank You,,,I haven't seen any poop today,and he is back in his corner. I hope he figures out his food because i dont think i will hand feed him anymore. his belly has plumped up and his color is better BUT i cant hand feed him the rest of his life. The good thing is I think he knows the feel of my hands because when i went to change the water and remove the left over food I brushed my hand on him and he didnt seem to mind. Ohhh he loves his Momma...LOL.. By the way tail fin is still gray what is left of it. it is like he lost most of it. I do not see anything else wrong with him, no ick spots or anything. Tina

krazyGeoff · Post by **krazyGeoff** » 14 Oct 2012, 20:53

Can you get a picture of the tail fin?

If it is missing, then this means that it has been eatin, rather than just dropping off.
If it has been eatin, then this explains why it is not eating, something is harrasing it.

Cheers

coffee1stlife2nd · Post by **coffee1stlife2nd** » 14 Oct 2012, 20:59

he is in a tank by himself. put him in there couple days ago. BUT it was Gray and splitting when he was in the 180, There are 12 Angles and 3 corey cats,5 long tail tetra`s, and 3 Bolivian Rams....

coffee1stlife2nd · Post by **coffee1stlife2nd** » 14 Oct 2012, 21:01

i think they are called corey cats??? little white catfish...

krazyGeoff · Post by **krazyGeoff** » 14 Oct 2012, 22:34

My guess would be the angels, especially if any of them have paired up.

If Trooper (and a great name by the way) is on his own now, then he has a better chance of eating when he is ready.

I also try and feed mine at the same time every day. They seem to get conditioned to look for food at that time, but of course this is a future goal.

Cheers

coffee1stlife2nd · Post by **coffee1stlife2nd** » 15 Oct 2012, 00:50

tank water is now 82f, driftwood, hang on back filter, sponge filter,maxi jet (that he loves)and i went to LFS and got him a bubble wand and some blood worms and some frozen algae squares. see if he likes frozen foods better.. starting to wish i was my fish,,,nothing but spoiled..LOL his own 10 gallon condo...

wijnands · Post by **wijnands** » 16 Oct 2012, 10:26

Excuse my ignorance but if it's a film grazer wouldn't the old trick of painting a pebble with egg white with some crushed goodies into it work?

coffee1stlife2nd · Post by **coffee1stlife2nd** » 17 Oct 2012, 00:46

wijnands wrote:Excuse my ignorance but if it's a film grazer wouldn't the old trick of painting a pebble with egg white with some crushed goodies into it work?

More info PLEASE?????Thanks

wijnands · Post by **wijnands** » 17 Oct 2012, 06:24

I think I read that here.... ah well..

Take a few smooth pebbles
clean as needed
Pre heat your oven to 150 C.
Seperate an egg, you need the white.
Beat the egg white well enough that you got a liquid (fresh eggs may take some convincing, older eggs just need a few twists with a fork)

Now powder whatever you want to feed. Most people use a mixture of about 1/4 to 1/3 of normal flake and the rest spirulina. (some garlic juice never hurts of course)

Tip the powder into the egg white and mix well with your fork
Brush on the rocks like you're painting them.
Dry in the oven for a few minutes.

The whole process can be a bit messy so work on some newspaper and use baking parchment on your oven tray.

The egg white acts as an edible glue and allows you to present food in a way that feels natural to some grazer. I've read quite a few accounts and spoken to one L-number keeper who swear this is the way to adjust some picky eaters to prepared foods. There's also a youtube vid about it but can't find it right now.

krazyGeoff · Post by **krazyGeoff** » 17 Oct 2012, 08:52

Also you could crush up the type of algae tablet that you are using, and put that in. That way the fish will get used to the taste and associate it with food.

I take it Trooper is still going strong?

Cheers

Geoff.

wijnands · Post by **wijnands** » 17 Oct 2012, 09:44

Well, that too of course.

Funny, I consider myself by no means an expert, all I got is 3 A. Claro. I did do a lot of research though, read everything I could find. Would be nice if I can use a bit of that knowledge to nudge someone in the direction of a solution.

Richard B · Post by **Richard B** » 17 Oct 2012, 13:18

The "paint food onto a rock" trick is well worth considering.

The amounts of different things that can be included are endless...and you can airdry instead of the oven (although this takes longer, vitamins & nutrients are not destroyed or lessened. Thinner layers help the drying process. Without oven drying the layer may come adrift from rocks.)

Perhaps adding some protein in the right 'form' may aid speedier recovery?

If you are prepared to do it you could liquidise earthworms, or some brineshrimp (vigourous grinding in a pestle & mortar does this).

Often i'll chuck all sorts in to make a mix: courgette pieces, prawns (with shell on), a cabbage leaf, spirulina powder, sinking pellets etc etc. Grind it up like crazy so it is a ultra fine paste with not even the smallest lump & it's good to go.

Michael Hardman gave a brilliant talk a few years ago at a CSG convention & gave us his recipe which he stated would pretty much suffice for any 'plec'. I don't know if i can find it written down anywhere but here are links you might find useful http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/c ... p?sid=2949

http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/c ... p?sid=2767

2wheelsx2 · Post by **2wheelsx2** » 17 Oct 2012, 17:25

It's here in MatsP's article on feeding, at the very bottle:

http://www.planetcatfish.com/shanesworl ... cle_id=294

wijnands · Post by **wijnands** » 17 Oct 2012, 21:30

One thing that has kept me from doing this is that I suspect the shrimp and snails will have a feast and the ancistrus will miss most of it.

coffee1stlife2nd · Post by **coffee1stlife2nd** » 18 Oct 2012, 00:51

Temp is at 83 and figured out he likes frozen foods. Bloodworms, spirulina/brineshrimp cubes from Hikari. his color is good tail is healing and he was making 1/2 rounds around the tank in the daylight today. still havent seen him poop but i figure that's ok since he is getting more active. hang on back filter must be sucking it up before i get to see it. I will try the egg thing in oven tomorrow. Never know he might like it...Thanks Tina.

Richard B · Post by **Richard B** » 18 Oct 2012, 12:27

2wheelsx2 wrote:It's here in MatsP's article on feeding, at the very bottle:

http://www.planetcatfish.com/shanesworl ... cle_id=294

That's not the Michael Hardman recipe...

wijnands · Post by **wijnands** » 18 Oct 2012, 13:48

coffee1stlife2nd wrote:Temp is at 83 and figured out he likes frozen foods. Bloodworms, spirulina/brineshrimp cubes from Hikari. his color is good tail is healing and he was making 1/2 rounds around the tank in the daylight today. still havent seen him poop but i figure that's ok since he is getting more active. hang on back filter must be sucking it up before i get to see it. I will try the egg thing in oven tomorrow. Never know he might like it...Thanks Tina.

Good to hear that. I think you got him out of the danger zone. Might wanna document that emergency treatment you used a bit better, others could benefit from it.

2wheelsx2 · Post by **2wheelsx2** » 18 Oct 2012, 18:01

Richard B wrote:That's not the Michael Hardman recipe...

Nope, but it's the MatsP recipe.

zeebo · Post by **zeebo** » 19 Oct 2012, 05:00

hi Tina,
wow,you are doing a great job and he sounds like a fighter, wanting to live and you helping him so intently !! This is a great thread , as others have said , esp for emergency situations as you were faced with. good to hear he is on the mend , keep us informed on his wellbeing. Georgie

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