Feeding help?

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catfishkid

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Joined
Sep 13, 2013
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Hi there. So I used to frequent these forums quite often and only stopped because all my fish were dying and I gave up hope. Things are pretty steady except my fish don't seem to be eating.

Current inhabitants
- 2 neon tetras (used to be 5)
- 1 tiger barb (used to be 5)
- 4 khuli loaches
- 1 south african bumblebee catfish

Now the loaches and the catfish are perfectly fine, thriving actually. But the others don't swim up for food anymore or chase the algae pellets as I drop them in so they can nibble on them. Any advice?


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I can't say exactly, but I think around 2 weeks ago.


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The filter is a Fluval U2 and I've had them for about 2-3 months, maybe.


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Just a few thoughts on possibilities.

I am assuming your water parameters are fine since that is always the first question. Also what size tank...is there enough room?

Of course those fish do need to be in schools and have you tried frozen foods? Mine eat them up like candy.

A side note, do you know your particular species of bumblebee? Most are brackish water fish and they are strictly carnivores. I have 5 that are thriving in my brackish tank.
 
The filter is a Fluval U2 and I've had them for about 2-3 months, maybe.


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How long did you cycle for then? I need two months just to establish the tank. Is the tiger barb bothering anyone? I have bad experience with those:/


Namirah?Canadian, Eh??
 
Your Tank

Hello cat...

If you have trouble keeping fish alive, you can bet it's because there's something wrong with the water.

If the tank is cycled properly, you'll just need to add some floating plants to help steady the water chemistry. Hornwort is a good one. Drop as many individual stems of the plant as you can into the water. You can get them at PetCo or similar pet store. Plant the bottom with some easy plants like Anubias, Java fern and some of the mosses. Skip the fancy stuff, fancy is more work. Keep things simple, there's less to remember and less that can go wrong. You can get fancy once you get some experience.

Keep the tank water pure with large, weekly water changes. If you remove and replace half the water with pure, treated tap water, this amount should be sufficient. Test the water if you like. I don't because I'm consistently changing the water, so I know it's pure.

I have several larger tanks. One is a 60 gallon full of fish. A couple of hundred Fancy Guppies, 20 or so Platys, 8 or so Orange saddle Corydoras and four Plecos ranging in size from 3 to 8 inches. This is a pretty fair waste load, but I change at least 60 percent of the tank water every week and the fish thrive, so I know if you pay close attention to the water, the fish and plants will take care of themselves.

B
 
Pamiam: My tank is 22 gals, that's plenty of room right? I haven't tried any frozen foods but do you have any suggestions? I think that it did say brackish, but should I change the tank from freshwater to brackish to accommodate for the catfish? I don't think the others are brackish.

Guppy: I cycled the tank for 2 and 1/2 months, and that was about a year ago. No, the tiger is totally peaceful and doesn't bother anyone.

Brad: I've thought about plants but I'm worried that I'll have to put a lot of effort into caring for them then the actual fish. But if it will help the tank then I'll definitely see what the Petsmart in my area has.

Also, should I replenish the two schools or wait for this issue to get fixed? Thanks for the help by the way.


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Pamiam: My tank is 22 gals, that's plenty of room right? I haven't tried any frozen foods but do you have any suggestions? I think that it did say brackish, but should I change the tank from freshwater to brackish to accommodate for the catfish? I don't think the others are brackish.

Guppy: I cycled the tank for 2 and 1/2 months, and that was about a year ago. No, the tiger is totally peaceful and doesn't bother anyone.

Brad: I've thought about plants but I'm worried that I'll have to put a lot of effort into caring for them then the actual fish. But if it will help the tank then I'll definitely see what the Petsmart in my area has.

Also, should I replenish the two schools or wait for this issue to get fixed? Thanks for the help by the way.


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Oh well I'm surprised about the barb :p


Namirah?Canadian, Eh??
 
Just from my experience, This is how I keep my fish.

I started with 5 green tiger barbs in a 30 gal when they were babies and they were fine. As they grew, they just sat in the bottom corner. To me they looked unhappy so I moved them to my 55 gal. Now they are flourishing. Swimming everywhere and they have never bothered any other species. Mine is heavily planted, with 3 caves. They live with a gold gourami, school of black neon tetras, school of swordtails, a pea puffer and cory cats.

The tiger barb will need to be in a school and a much larger tank, they get the size of a silver dollar.

I do not know anything about neon tetras, I have never had them.

As for the bumble bee catfish, strike what I said before....I was thinking bumble bee goby who are brackish....I had a brain freeze..hahaha

Now the bumblebee catfish is strictly a carnivore, you should feed him frozen foods such as blood worms, brine shrimp, frozen anything that will fit in its mouth. If he has not already...depending on his size, he will probably eat the neons.

I do have kuhlis also, I keep them in a school of 10. Since they are in a large school, they feel comfortable and swim all over the place day and night. When I only had 3-4, they never came out of hiding. They are also in another 55 gal tank, they are fed flakes and also frozen foods.
 
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