Trouble with new raccoon butterfly

[mrarturocampos]

hello people, im having a bit of a problem with a new fish I bought. 3 days ago I bought a raccoon butterfly that was doing fine at the store, the guy feed it in front of me and I had seen it there before, so I thought it would be a good purchase since he was healthy and eating. Ever since I brought it home it has not eaten anything I put in the tank, I tried the same mix that the guy at the store was feeding it, I also tried brine shrimp, krill shrimp, mysis shrimp, bloodworms, and angel and butterfly formula, but nothing has worked. I did some research and I read that I should try putting a open clam in the tank and that hasnt worked either. The only thing I havent tried is buying a small anemone. He is swimming around and picking at the rocks, and he did eat some seaweed. I have a 70 gal tank with a yellow tank, a blue hippo, 3 ocelaris clowns, a small lion fish, couple of gobbies, and a couple of damsels. I really dont want this fish to die from starvation because he is a beautifull fish. He doesnt have any signs of stress or discoloration. If anybody has any suggestions please let me know.

[falcondob]

What type of food were they feeding the fish and how were they feeding it at the LFS?

Was it in a tank alone or with other fish?

[corruption]

Few questions: How old is the tank, where do you keep your salinity, and what were your parameters the last time you tested?

The biggest thing here is going to be age, and confines -- you've got some sizable fish in this tank (A blue hippo tang gets in excess of 12 inches, a yellow tang in excess of 10" -- not to mention the lionfish!) -- larger than I would personally choose to put in an environment as small as a 70 gallon aquarium... this is likely leading to some psychological crowding in its own right... Beyond this, the fish has only been in the tank 3 days -- its not uncommon for a feeding strike to last for a week to 3 weeks when first adding a fish -- butterflies are notorious for this.

You mentioned that the tank is a 70 gallon -- is this shorter than a 4 foot long tank?

-Justin

[mrarturocampos]

I keep the salinity at a 1.023, the tank is a four foot long tank, and I had the water tested by my local fish shop yesterday, the only thing I had to do was raise the ph level slightly. The tank is about a year and half old and I have plenty of coral thriving in it. Well I hope he stops his strike soon. The yellow tang is the owner of the tank, would you suggest to remove the raccoon before he starves?

[captexas]

Might also try soaking the food in some garlic extract (one or two drops) and see if that helps get it's attention. You can buy the expensive garlic solution at the fish stores or maybe find some at the grocery store. I've found it's good in attracting new fish too food and has always worked for me in getting rid of Ich with stressed fish. Also find out for sure what the LFS was feeding, may have been something specific or a blend of various foods. And keep an eye out on that yellow tang to make sure it's not being a bully.

[Kristy]

Keep trying to offer different foods in small quantities a few times a day if possible. Butterflies are notoriously difficult to get eating, and this one is clearly having some adjustment issues.

Is anyone picking on him? Any torn fins or signs of harassment? If not, I would not stress him further by removing him now.

We bought some fish eggs (meant to be used in sushi) from the refrigerated section of our local Asian market. All the fish love them, but especially the butterfly and the anthias, who I particularly want to keep eating. PM me if you want more info about this food.

[mrarturocampos]

hey John, the were feeding him a mix of angel and butterfly formula and brine shrimp, which is the samed I bought. He was in a very small tank, mybe like a 20 gal, he was in there with another yellow tang and a couple of clown, thats another reason I thought he would be alright with my yellow tang.

[ErikH]

Also, just because the fish does not look like it's eating does not mean that it is not. Double Negative. It could be feeding off of rocks, eating pods and the like, other natural foods. Can you see it's belly? Does it appear to be starving? I would just say that the fish is probably doing better in your tank than at the LFS. There it was having to eat the frozen foods, where in your tank it may not have to, due to biodiversity and available foods.

[ErikH]

Oh, and just because you see two fish in the same tank at the LFS does not mean that they are ok to have together. Tangs establish dominance in their tank. In a LFS, they get dumped into a small tank with many other fish at the same time which decreases their likelyhood to be aggressive in those tanks just because of the shock from moving.

[txmaverickmh]

+1 on using Kents Garlic Xtreme, soak your food in it, feed a bit at a time, hardly any fish can deny it

[mrarturocampos]

thanks everybody, I will try the garlic extract. Kristy and MIke plese send me some info on the mix that you guys used. Thanks again.

[Mike]

Capellin Roe - we bought ours at the local Asian food market where we buy our sushi wrappers/ Nori. We recommend rinsing them 1st, but have had no problems when we didn't. Where in SA are you? Maybe we could give you a small amount to try to see if it will eat it.

[mrarturocampos]

Yessssssss!! I got some garlic extract and put it with my brine shrimp and mysis mix, and hes eating!!! :) He was starting to look weak, and I think he found a cave in my tank he can call his own..thanks everybody for your help, you guys helped me save my raccoon... Mike and Kristy, thanks for your offer and help, but I think hes gonna be ok :applause: Thanks everybody again!!

[Kristy]

Great to hear! Send a pm if you change your mind about trying the eggs, but sounds like you may be out of the woods with this guy.