Rope fish not getting food

[Forester]

I have two rope fish in a 75g tank and the other fish in the tank are out competing them for food. I tried getting them some rosy reds I bought 50 and put them into a 20g quarantine, it's been 6 days and I only have 10 left. I'm going to try guppies because they take better care of them i'm open to any other ideas on what and how to feed them. Thanks for all the suggests.

 

[Tropical boy]

What other fish do you have

 

[fishguy1]

That's one of the things to consider when stocking a tank. I have a similar issue, sort of. I have two goldfish in a tank full of fish that can out compete them....but I feed pellets that are too big for any other fish to eat, so it's not an issue.

 

[Forester]

So here the stock:

6 angelfish
2 blood parrot
1 rainbow shark
2 rope fish
1 pleco

Thanks for the response.

 

[Innovator]

Feed worms (blackworms, earthworms, etc.), crustaceans (shrimp, mysis, krill, etc) and insects (crickets). Cut pvc of appropriate length (do not use clear pvc) and use as a feeding tube so only the reedfish can consume the food. An easier way to coax the reedfish into feeding from the tube is by piercing a piece of shrimp with rigid airline tubing and sliding it through the pvc tube (reedfish gets immediate reward instead of wondering if pvc will hurt it), allowing the animal to "understand" that pvc = food. I hope this is somewhat clear?

 

[Forester]

Thanks, I'll try it tonight.

 

[Forester]

Is it okay for the rope fish to have feeders once in awhile.

 

[Innovator]

Feeders are major carriers for disease/parasites so I never recommend it as a mainstay or as "treats". If all the animal is eating is live food, try crickets, earthworms, ghost shrimp, etc; otherwise, at least contain the new feeder fish in a 20g QT tank and medicate until you are sure they are clean (remove feeder fish with ulcerations, growths, or major lesions).

 

[Forester]

That's exactly what I've done, I bought 50 and have ten that have good health. The reason i'm trying feeders is my other fish can't get them thanks for the advice.

 

[Innovator]

Make sure you actually medicate the feeder fish first, otherwise any internal disease will be passed along. I always used to start with a Formalin/Malachite Green mixture and raise salinity to 2ppt in a QT. Good luck and do try to convert over to prepared foods

 

[Forester]

I'll try the formalin. Thanks for the advice.