Why is my red tailed shark so depressed

[Banana]

Hi so i got a red tail a week ago and the only thing he dose is sit under his root and mope its a bit rear to see him swimming around and he gets scares when we move near the tank and goes back under his root i cant seem to feed him and when i leave bits of food near the root he totaly ignores it and im afraid he will just die from not eating any advice is greatly appreciated

 

[Stacey W.]

Check water perameters?

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[lewis addison]

I have a red tailed shark and he was like that a first but now he's always out and swimming the tank, give him a while and he will settle down, mine hid for like 2 weeks in his cave I thought he'd escaped!

How big is your tank?


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[lewis addison]

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[54seaweed]

Almost every fish needs time to feel secure in it's new surroundings ,
once he feels safe he will slowly come out of hiding ,
always drip acclimate fish
when adding to the tank less stress will occur if lights are out leave out around 12hrs to give him time to settle in
be sure all tank parameters are good
sometimes a fish won't eat this is why most always insist to see the fish eat before you buy them , if he won' t eat you may need to do a little persuading sometimes a little garlic extract on his food will coax a fish to eat you could also try live tuba-flex worms

 

[Banana]

well my Tank is 200 liters and im not sure what you mean when you say to check the perimeter i just now finished taking half the water out and replacing it and cleaned the bottom rocks and my water test kit says the water in super fine and good and i can see him going between the 2 roots i have in the tank and hes being more active now than ever so wuuup wuup but still he gets super frightened when i come close enough to feed him and i thought 1 week would be enough time still 2 weeks without eating is going to kill him right ?

 

[lewis addison]

Mine was more active when the lights went out, I had a cave for him to hide in and I hardly ever so him for well over a month and didn't think he was eating but when the lights where out he would go round eating bits off the floor.
Now he's always out and chasing fish around the tank thinking he's boss


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[Coursair]

well my Tank is 200 liters and im not sure what you mean when you say to check the perimeter i just now finished taking half the water out and replacing it and cleaned the bottom rocks and my water test kit says the water in super fine and good and i can see him going between the 2 roots i have in the tank and hes being more active now than ever so wuuup wuup but still he gets super frightened when i come close enough to feed him and i thought 1 week would be enough time still 2 weeks without eating is going to kill him right ?

What test kit are you using ?
What are you testing for ?

Water Parameters...not perimeter. Means what are your test results [emoji106]?

Important ones are Ammonia, Nitrites, Nitrates.

Your tank is somewhat bare. Add more plants, maybe a cave...but nothing hollow he could get stuck inside of. As babies, they can be shy. They will become bullies and territorial...so giving him a safe corner with cover will let him feel more secure and let your other fish swim in peace once he becomes territorial.

I know it seems to be counter intuitive but the more hiding places you give shy fish, the more they will actually come out.

What are you offering as food? Try frozen blood worms that is what I liked to feed the catfish and sharks at work. You can use a turkey baster and put frozen food into a cup of tank water and suck it up so you can aim it exactly where you want to go.


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[Coursair]

I have very shy fish...so I use lots of plants


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[GallonsOfFun]

Did you cycle your tank?


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