Red Devil Cichlid Not Eating

[mikeybabs]

Hey hukit... Ok so bubba still isn't eating... He spits out the NLS flake and pellet food I feed him. I fed him one cricket and he ate that no problem (on 3rd day). I bought 5 more crickets today but I'm deciding if I should feed him those or continue to starve him until he caves and eats the NLS pellets... Also he bit me pretty good when I was moving around the decorations lol... Is that cuz he was hungry? The pet store said he never did that before. I'm assuming he's hungry cuz he hasn't been eating regularly since I got him 10 days ago...

Thanks

Mike

 

[mikeybabs]

By the way, here's a picture of what he did when he bit me lol

 

[HUKIT]

It's frustrating I'm sure, it took my oscars around two weeks to break them into submission. I would continue to attempt pellets for 5-7 days then if she still refuses throw in a few crickets then go right back to the pellets, the only trick that works quicker sometimes is garlic supplement which stimulates their appetite or Thera A+ contains garlic too. I know it seems cruel starving her but in the long run it's better for her health, these fish can easily go without food for weeks.

She's a feisty one, you gotta love a fish with attitude!!

What was she being fed on again when the LFS has her?

 

[mikeybabs]

They said a mix of "pellets and flakes" and probably occassionally crickets too, since they sell crickets there and the pet store owner said he would feed them to her out of his hand...

 

[HUKIT]

They said a mix of "pellets and flakes" and probably occassionally crickets too, since they sell crickets there and the pet store owner said he would feed them to her out of his hand...

Your feeding 1mm right? If she's not taking to that I would jump to 4.5mm or whatever size she's used to eating, remember she might be used to sinking or floating? Keep at it. And she'll be eating the pellets out of your hand and hopefully not the hand too.

 

[mikeybabs]

Your feeding 1mm right? If she's not taking to that I would jump to 4.5mm or whatever size she's used to eating, remember she might be used to sinking or floating? Keep at it. And she'll be eating the pellets out of your hand and hopefully not the hand too.

I've mostly been trying the 4.5mm floating pellets, but I'll try the 1mm sinking tomorrow... i tried the NLS flakes and she bit at those and spit em out... wouldnt she be use to the floating pellets since she ate a cricket that was floating? i have seen her go for the floating pellets occassionally only to spit them out 1 second later lol, but yea ill try the sinking tomorrow, and if sinking dont work ill try floating. then i'll hold off on the crickets until 5-7 days and hopefully by then she becomes accustom to the floating pellets...

thanks!

 

[mikeybabs]

Ok today is the 11th day she has not eaten the 1mm sinking pellets or the 4.5mm floating pellets or the NLS flakes... she comes up to the top everytime i go to feed her but always swims away after... and a couple times i have seen her bite at them and spit them out... so... should i wait till 2 weeks to feed her crickets or should i feed her a cricket today then go right back to the pellets? The last and only time she ate a cricket was 8 days ago... so I feel like she should have a cricket? but i don't want to ruin her transition into the pellets either, so i'll do whatever you say cuz you seem to really know your stuff regarding these fish... thanks!

 

[HUKIT]

Give her the crickets every 5-7 days. Shes a stubborn little thing, Mikey you need to send her to me because the more I hear the more I like her...let's see some stupid tetra or goldfish bite you and refuse food!

 

[mikeybabs]

Give her the crickets every 5-7 days. Shes a stubborn little thing, Mikey you need to send her to me because the more I hear the more I like her...let's see some stupid tetra or goldfish bite you and refuse food!

Okay, thanks! So does that mean I can give her a cricket today since it's been 8 days since she last had one? I gave her one on the 3rd today... and its been 8 days since then now going on the 11th day... or should i wait on the crickets? i feel like she's been addicted to crickets from the pet store...

check out the picture! she's been piling up rocks like crazy ever since i woke up this morning! the sides have piled up twice as high and she has a nice little hole in the center now! she's very active and has such a funny attitude... and shes feisty whenever i stick my hand in there... I'm actually scared to get water samples to test water parameters now! LOL, but i have tested it and it has 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and about 20-40 PPM nitrates... i wanted to make sure the water conditions were ok cuz i thought she might be stressed and not eat... im using API master test kit.. so i know its accurate, and i introduced her to the tank while it was already cycled with 0 ammonia & nitrates, so i dont think the water is an issue... and there's no way you can have her! she's grown on me lol... i have a feeling she'll be eating the pellets soon...

so what do you think? can i drop a cricket in? (I have 5 medium sized crickets on me now... should i drop in 2 or 3? or better yet let her eat them out of my hand? thanks!

-mike

edit: by the way, the reason the color of bubba doesn't look as vibrant in this photo compared to the first photos I posted was because I added color enhancements with editing to the first pictures. Below is what her color truly is and it has been the same since I've had her for the past 11 days... her color hasn't changed much since I got her, but I'm hoping once she starts eating the NLS formula I will see some color improvement... like I did with my mbuna cichlids after 3 weeks, i saw a great improvement in them!

 

[HUKIT]

You know that picture is seems so much different, the hump seems so much more pronounced than before closer pictures? I think I might change my mind.

But yes feed her the crickets today, then starve her for 5-7 days, try the pellets if no go give her crickets again.

So I guess your not sending her then? HeHe

 

[mikeybabs]

You know that picture is seems so much different, the hump seems so much more pronounced than before closer pictures? I think I might change my mind.

But yes feed her the crickets today, then starve her for 5-7 days, try the pellets if no go give her crickets again.

So I guess your not sending her then? HeHe

Okay I will feed her the crickets!

And...


oh geez, i just checked the water temp and it was between 80-84 even though I set my 200w heater on 76... could that have anything to do with it? granted it is a hot day today, i lowered the heater down to 72 in hopes that it will keep the tank at a steady 76... im not sure how accurate the temp reading is since im using a temperature strip stuck on the front right side of it, the heater is all the way in back... previously in the past the water was maintaining a 78 temperature even while it was set at 76... whats the ideal temperature for a red devil? thanks

 

[HUKIT]

I keep all my CA/SA tanks at 80 and Africans at 78.

 

[mikeybabs]

I keep all my CA/SA tanks at 80 and Africans at 78.

ok then 80 was a good temperature
so I just fed her 2 crickets, she ate the first 2 no problem, and the 3rd one she's just eyeballing right now i'm sure she'll eat it eventually... are crickets nutritious for red devils? i can't believe how aggressive she is towards me now, after i fed her 2 crickets she STILL goes after me when i try to move decorations around lol, so im scared to even go near her... she must like to keep guard of everything thanks so much for the tips, i'll feed her the last 2 crickets in 5 days if i'm still having no luck with the pellets... however, say she starts eating the pellets... should I continue to only feed pellets for awhile until she becomes addicted to them? i noticed that the more i fed my mbuna cichlids, the more they became addicted, and eventually they were going crazy every morning at feeding time...

also, when is a good time to change the water? i should try to keep the nitrates under 40 ppm right? so should i base my water changing frequency on whenever i go above 40 ppm? or can i stretch it to 80 ppm? thanks

 

[HUKIT]

It's very rare that any of my fish eat anything other than NLS, on occasion I'll give the CA/SA some crickets or leftover nightcrawlers left over from a fishing trip, but the thing they love more than NLS is market shrimp but that can get expensive. The Africans don't get anything but NLS.

I've had male jags and flowerhorns that my wife would have to distract them with a stick to keep them from attacking me during maintenance. So with some of these big southern boys it's just the way they are. He may start to calm down after a while to, so don't think it's a permanent thing either. But when fish mature is when their new personallity starts or as I say that's when the fun begins.

I change all of my tanks 50-60% every weeks to keep the nitrates around 20ppm. One of the issues these fish are prone to HLLE/HITH due to poor water conditions and diet so good clean water and a good diet is must.

Let's see more pictures when you get a chance, closer of the head of possible.

 

[mikeybabs]

It's very rare that any of my fish eat anything other than NLS, on occasion I'll give the CA/SA some crickets or leftover nightcrawlers left over from a fishing trip, but the thing they love more than NLS is market shrimp but that can get expensive. The Africans don't get anything but NLS.

I've had male jags and flowerhorns that my wife would have to distract them with a stick to keep them from attacking me during maintenance. So with some of these big southern boys it's just the way they are. He may start to calm down after a while to, so don't think it's a permanent thing either. But when fish mature is when their new personallity starts or as I say that's when the fun begins.

I change all of my tanks 50-60% every weeks to keep the nitrates around 20ppm. One of the issues these fish are prone to HLLE/HITH due to poor water conditions and diet so good clean water and a good diet is must.

Let's see more pictures when you get a chance, closer of the head of possible.

Here's some more shots closer to the head, and I'm currently uploading a video of "her" to youtube right now, I'll link you once it's finished

That's what I've been doing so far, changing about 40% of the water every week and my nitrates stay between 10-40, closer to 40 at the end of the week...

What I should start doing is cutting off the power to my filters, heaters, and lights before i do water changes, right? I havn't been doing that and I've been told thats bad, especially for the filters...

Why did you want to see more pictures? Did you think it could possibly be a male?

In about a half hour the video should be up on youtube, so stick around

 

[mikeybabs]

bubba video

Okay, here's the video haha...

YouTube - ‪Bubba eating a cricket‬‏

ok it's finished processing haha, enjoy, and thanks again, i'll feed again in no less than 5-7 days if shes not budging with the pellets

 

[HUKIT]

You should turn off the filters and heaters during a change, especially the heaters which could burn your or worse if they can explode if they're on and not submerged. I had that happen to a Steath heater once, I forgot to unplug the one and few a minutes later a loud crack.

Is it me or has the hump dramatically larger in the mores recent pictures, males humps will get larger or smaller if the presence or lack of other males and females. But I think I may change my mind and say it's a male but the vent will tell for sure.

In females the vent is more think and the tip is blunt (more round) and is pointed towards the anus. A females vent will look like an upside down triangle little nub and it won't be extended most of the time.


In males the vent is thin and the tip is pointy and is pointed towards the head or straight down. Usually a males vent will be extended most of the time. It is as pointed as a pencil tip.

 

[HUKIT]

Okay, here's the video haha...

YouTube - ‪Bubba eating a cricket‬‏

ok it's finished processing haha, enjoy, and thanks again, i'll feed again in no less than 5-7 days if shes not budging with the pellets

Very funny, the music made that video. Or the theme from Jaws would have worked too.

 

[mikeybabs]

Is it me or has the hump dramatically larger in the mores recent pictures

Okay, what's going on here? Does she have a brain tumor? lol

 

[HUKIT]

Okay, what's going on here? Does she have a brain tumor? lol

See I'm not losing my mind, that's why I wanted more pictures. Look at the vent but those last shots look a male to me. Females can have a hump to but it doesn't seem to change as much as males based on dominance.