Honey Gourami not eating

[Lila]

Hi,

Just got my honey gourami in a planted 10g three days ago.

It eats dead plant debris, and the first day took a small bite of fish food.

I've tried small pellets, larger more noticable pellets, freeze dried brine shrimp and bloodworms, and instant baby brine shrimp, but my honey won't really notice it or spit it out.

It has been glass surfing since I got it, water parameters are suitable but it is too busy surfing to notice the food, and too timid and scared of me to come to the surface for food. What should I do?

What food do you reccomend? How would I raise live food to be a sustainable food source longterm?

 

[Andy Sager]

Hi,

Just got my honey gourami in a planted 10g three days ago.

It eats dead plant debris, and the first day took a small bite of fish food.

I've tried small pellets, larger more noticable pellets, freeze dried brine shrimp and bloodworms, and instant baby brine shrimp, but my honey won't really notice it or spit it out.

It has been glass surfing since I got it, water parameters are suitable but it is too busy surfing to notice the food, and too timid and scared of me to come to the surface for food. What should I do?

What food do you reccomend? How would I raise live food to be a sustainable food source longterm?

What other fish are in the tank?
What was the place you got the fish from feeding them? Is the water movement in the tank too much for the fish?
What do you call " suitable" for water parameters?

 

[Lila]

5 green tetra, they seem fine and give the honey its space

I'm not sure what the place was feeding them, but she hand picked the food for me. I can go back and check but I have a feeling it's live brine shrimp

Water movement is literally none haha, I have an airpump that I put in to increase flow but I haven't turned it on since I bought them

Water Parameters:

Temp: 76
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5-10ppm
Ph: 7.0

The honey is only surfing on the side of the tank facing my room, not the side facing the wall.
^ actually I lied its all sides

 

[Andy Sager]

5 green tetra, they seem fine and give the honey its space

I'm not sure what the place was feeding them, but she hand picked the food for me. I can go back and check but I have a feeling it's live brine shrimp

Water movement is literally none haha, I have an airpump that I put in to increase flow but I haven't turned it on since I bought them

Water Parameters:

Temp: 76
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5-10ppm
Ph: 7.0

The honey is only surfing on the side of the tank facing my room, not the side facing the wall.
^ actually I lied its all sides

If there is no water movement, what kind of filtration do you have?
I've found that Gouramis do better at a warmer temp ( 78-80) degrees. You might want to gradually raise yours to at least 78-79.
If all the fish was fed was live food, it will take some time to get it off of live and into dead foods. You can try frozen bring shrimp or better yet, gut loaded brine shrimp first to see if it will eat that. If it doesn't and the store sells live brine shrimp, you can try mixing some live with some frozen brine to see if the fish will eat them both.
Another thing you can do is add some background paper to the sides and back of the tank. Use an aquatic scene to help make the fish think it's in a more natural surrounding.

Glass surfing is usually a sign of discomfort. 3 days is not all that long for the fish to be totally adjusted. The background paper should help calm it down some.

Hope this helps

 

[Lila]

I use the quiet flow 10g, but I have a piece of filtration by the waterfall part that slows the flow down, I used it for my betta and have just kept replacing it.

I would change the temp but I wasn't sure if the green tetras would be alright with it.

Where do I get frozen or gut loaded brine shrimp?

I have background paper, i'll add it tonight.

I'm watching the honey as I'm typing this, it's eating the fallen instant brine so at least it's eating something, But i just think the fish isn't paying attention when I add the food out of fear or stress (surfing)

 

[Lila]

just added some instant brine again, only using it because it's bouyant, obviously its for fry so i dont know how sustainable it would be but the honey is eating it.

I think he's just having trouble getting the pellets because they sink so quickly and I have to sink them because he won't go to the surface if my hand is there, so maybe just regular frozen brine is the way to go, thanks!