goldfish mating or bullying?

[jlk]

Lots of gelatin for the gelfood! Try doubling the amount you added last time. If your following a recipe, double whats suggested. And double whatever your using as a protien(s) in it. I usually use cans of salmon in water but I will add other stuff if I have it. You can try cooking a bit of fish & offering it to her & see what she does. Same for the prawns. Fish & prawns are pretty similar in protein levels. If digging some earthworms in your backyard is an option, try these as well- they are packed full protein.

You will have to have some patience in the meantime & keep trying to offer her different foods until she finds something tasty- just simply hold it in front her face & wait. If she swims off, wait a little bit & try again. She will eventually become accustomed to the presence of your hand & eventually associate it with tasty stuff. Even if she never eats from your hand, if she atleast understands it equates to food & you can drop stuff in front her (and she eats it), you will be able to make sure she is getting enough to eat. Your other guys are doing fine, so no worries there! Good luck!

 

[cheeky_monkey]

I have sardines here that no-one in my family eats so I will use those this time. Feeding this double protein dosed food to the others is going to be ok as well yes? I guess they will just bulk up more.

I don't have all the ingredients for any of the recipes online but aside from tinned food is there anything else I shouldn't put in there?

Can you add too much gelatin? haha Wish me luck I'm off to try my second batch of gel food.

 

[jlk]

They will just grow quicker! Just don't let them go crazy with it. Try to see your girl gets food priority over your other guys. Use reason for what else to add- green & colored veggies, garlic, protien(s). I add some paprika (color enhancer) & some vitamin c fruits as well. Skip starchy veggies/rice/oats etc. A friend of mine uses chicken as protien but I have yet to try this! Good luck with your new batch!

 

[cheeky_monkey]

Ok well this batch is in the fridge now waiting to set.
It includes spinach, broccoli, baby corn, capsicum (I think you call them peppers?), carrot, green beans, paprika and lots of sardines. I almost tripled the amount of gelatine from last time as I added a little more water to help them blend better. I hope this lot sets!

 

[cheeky_monkey]

I forgot the fruits

 

[cheeky_monkey]

It worked! I don't know if perhaps I added too much gelatin but it's set.
I just offered some to her and although she took a little she didn't seem fussed and swam away. The others had a peck each and did the same thing. Perhaps I'm not such a good cook! I did add some garlic to the mix too that I forgot to mention but perhaps they just don't like it. Well now I have tons of it in the freezer and some fresh in the fridge so I will try to offer more later and see if they're keen to try again.

 

[jlk]

Yay!! Have some faith and some patience! You will be fine and your moor will start blossoming in no time at all. Keep up the good work!

 

[cheeky_monkey]

I seem to be having trouble with it floating though. I was under the impression that it would sink?

I left a piece in there and I've been sitting watching them. They go back to it for a peck every so often so perhaps they're getting a taste for it. Just worried that it floats, and it makes a mess! haha

 

[cheeky_monkey]

Well it sinks this morning so must have needed longer in the fridge.

I'm becoming really worried about her now though. Feeding this morning I gave the others food up the opposite end of the tank so they were distracted and held some food out for the moor. I put it directly in front of her face, touching her even, and she wouldn't even peck it. After a while I tried some pre-soaked pellets which she took one of but then after 30 seconds spat it back out. I tried for a good 20 minutes to get her to eat and she would just sit there not touching it.

I don't know what to do for her.

 

[jlk]

What brand of food do you have? Keep trying with her- see if she would be interested in a bit of fish or shrimp or get some frozen bloodworms if earthworms are not an option. My girl moor lives off earthworms & occasional bites of veggies, regular food & gelffood. I will admit its frustrating but she does love her worms. She is the only fish I have that has an 'eating disorder' and the breeder I purchased her from strongly suggested I euthanize her but I havent been able to do this yet. I just try to do my best for her! Not sure if this helps....

 

[cheeky_monkey]

I'm using the hikari goldfish gold. It's the only goldfish specific food I could find locally though I'm still searching online for the lionhead one you suggested to me a while ago. For these ones to sink I have to soak them and then squeeze them a little before giving them to the fish. It's a pain in the behind.

I have brine shrimp here so I tried a bit of that just now, she will slowly attempt to grab one but always misses. I will get her some bloodworms on Monday when the stores re-open and try giving them to her by hand.

I can't imagine eithenizing her, I'm so glad to hear you persevere with your girl. Some animals, like humans, just need a little more attention and perseverance than others. I'm willing to help her, I'm just not sure how to. So I'm very grateful for your help.

 

[cheeky_monkey]

I think I may have left it too late before helping her.
All afternoon she's just been either sitting under a big anubias leaf or wedging herself between the filter intake and the glass. Everyone is steering clear of her though like they know something is wrong.

 

[GoldfishJoey]

I'm sorry to hear your having trouble with your goldfish. Ive read somewhere that when goldfish spit out there food it could be because of several factors. I don't want to worry you but usually when my Moore is standoffish I know something is wrong. Can he potentially have gravel in his mouth? Or have you been over feeding? I know I'm not an expert or anything but I'm pretty sure someone else could chime in on the food spitting.

 

[jlk]

Well said- I am an animal lover so I always do the best for any creature in my care. I very sorry to hear she doesnt seem to be responding. I will keep my fingers crossed for you!!! Is there any chance you have a qt tank you can move her to? How long have you had her now? We can try some other things but theres no guarentee of anything but she would need to be treated by herself.

 

[cheeky_monkey]

Unfortunately I wasn't able to help her.
We woke yesterday to find she had passed away during the night.

I'm really upset that I didn't realise she needed help sooner. Perhaps if I had begun to hand feed her weeks ago she would have carried on and became well again.

My children were devastated and we shared many tears over her. We burried her in the vegetable garden and my little boy has told everyone we've seen today that he misses her.

I'm not sure that it was the best idea so soon but we purchased a new addition today at the request of our boy. He wanted another moor however I was really afraid of having difficulties with another. The only other black fish was a lionhead (the lfs actually didn't know if it was a lionhead or ranchu, but I'm thinking lionhead) so he has now come home with us.

BUT! You will be VERY happy to know I finally found Hikari Lionhead food! The lfs said it isn't a very popular food and he was thinking of not stocking it any more and I very politely told him he HAS to keep it just for me. So we now have the lionhead pellets and gel food as well as their fresh vegetables. They also seem to have taken a liking to the gel food today after turning their noses up at it for a few days now. I hope now we can have a stress free time enjoying our beautiful fish again. I think I will try for some photos shortly to introduce you to them.

Thank-you for all of your help jlk. I wasn't able to save him but I wouldn't even have known how to try without your advice. So thank-you.

 

[clearancepuppy]

Hugs for you and your kids.

 

[GoldfishJoey]

Sorry to hear about your loss!

 

[jlk]

I am so sorry!!!