Hunger Strike Rainbow Shark

[Kadoozey]

I just got some new fish to go in with my rainbow shark, 3 tiger barbs and a baby giant danio (oxymoron), in preparation for getting them all into a much larger tank (10g to 30g).

The problem is, my shark is very people shy and won't come out of his cave during feeding time. The new fast fish I have eat up all of the food so none gets to the bottom for the shark without over feeding.

How do I get food to stay down there? Bloodworms just float back to the top when I place them near the entrance to his "lair" and I don't want to just feed him flakes.

Thank you

 

[Autumnsky]

Hi,
Just noticed your post here.

First off it doesn't really sound like a hunger strike as much as a couple other things to me.

The 10 or 20G tanks are no where near appropriate tank size for this fish. Even as a baby fish it should be in a much bigger tank. They can get 6 inches long if given the room to grow properly.

Are there many wide open places in the tank? Are there numberous areas for the shark to hide in, not just one place? If you have a pic of the tank it would be helpful.

Sharks like to patrol the tank and the bottom 1/3rd of the tank is usually their domain. They can end up getting aggressive with tank mates as they mature, and will possibly harass and end up stressing /killing a fish.

You are right to want to feed it a varied diet. But if it isn't getting any food that is a big problem.

One easy solution is to feed him at night right when you turn out the lights. They will feel more secure and often start cruising around the tank.

Another option and one worth doing is to get some Hikari Onmivore Sinking wafers, the orange label They are special formulated for the bottom feeders.
Hikari info : Hikari Tropical SINKING WAFERS Most fish love these too.
And also the Carnivore Hikari info : Hikari Tropical SINKING CARNIVORE PELLETS

You can use a long plant tweezer or grabber to place the wafer in front of his hidey hole.

You can also soak the freeze dried foods in tank water for 20 min - set a timer since you don't want to forget them. They tend to sink more that way.

Now for the other basics, what are the tank parameters?
pH
Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate?

Is the fish pooping and is the belly look swollen? If it is pooping, what color is the poop, is it stringy and clear to whitish?

 

[enrgizerbunny]

Your rainbow will likely not do well with tiger barbs, or vice versa however you want to look at it. Rainbow sharks are bullies, and they will typically bully any fish smaller than them. I've heard of successful tanks that have smaller fish with rainbows, but they also had several larger fish that may have been keeping the shark in check. I had tiger barbs with my rainbow and he killed 8 of them before I was able to rehome the remaining 6.

As for feeding, a piece of blanched romaine lettuce on a seaweed clip is a favorite of my shark. As my grandfather used to say "no healthy child ever starved themself to death" and this generally applies to fish as well. The shark is nocturnal and will scavenge after dark, so some sinking pellets or flakes before lights out could be the ticket. My shark is shy too, but especially when lights are on.

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