Male Lyretail refuses to eat

[AnakinReefWalker]

Hello all,
Two weeks ago I purchased a Male Lyretail Anthias (medium size). I haven't been able to get him to eat anything. I feel all hope may be lost because today I tried live blackworms and saw him spit them out. I tried Capelin Fish Roe (fish eggs), I tried LRS Reef Frenzy, I tried Hikari Angelfish blend, I tried Mysis, Oyster meat, and frozen cyclopods. The only things he has put in his mouth are Fish Roe, Oyster Meat, and Reef Frenzy, but he spits everything out. He hasn't bothered to try anything else.

He is an active fish, he looks thinner now after I brought him home, I fear it won't be too long before he dies of starvation

Is there anything else I can try that may work?

 

[Maddlesrain]

I’m in the same situation you are with a male queen anthias. At least your fish is sampling the food, that’s a start. Mine didn’t even twitch at the live blackworms. Uhg.

I’m not an expert on anthias (or any fish by any means), but I got my second queen anthias to eat by making a feeding contraption inspired by Paul B’s feeder. I forewent the mesh, and simply drilled a hole in the side of an old pellet food container and stuck a hollow tube in it to squirt the food down. He was eating live brine (another food you can try!) so I sent those into what I dubbed “the feeding pod” and he instantly dove in and started eating them. It took him maybe 20 minutes to associate “the pod” with food and was constantly checking it for more shrimp. I started mixing frozen brine into the live and in his haste to out eat my other fish he started grabbing the frozen stuff. Within a five day period he was fullyconverted to frozen. Even that fish refused live blackworms. Lol I’m not sure what the hubbub for that food is because none of my fish went as wild for it as I expected.

What other fish do you have in the tank?

 

[AnakinReefWalker]

I'll try live brine, I still have half a vile of Brine Eggs from when I had a leopard wrasse.

Other tank mates :
Bimac. Anthias
Baby Koran Angel
Powder Blue Tang
Small Yellow Coris Wrasse
5 Mollies
Small Chromis
Dusky Wrasse

No one in the tank is bullying him, and there's no dominant aggressive feeder. When I first added him, he fought with my female Bimac. Anthias but I suppose that was just to determine the pecking order because they ignore each other now.

And I agree about the live blackworms, my PBT, Lyretail, and Angel didn't touch them.

 

[wolfpackdl90]

I currently have 6 anthias in my tank, 3 lyretail and 3 carberryi anthias. I had issues with them eating as well (pellets, flakes, mysis, etc.). I tried frozen brine and they go crazy over it, especially the smaller pieces. As of last week, I started feeding hikari seaweed extreme pellets for my tomini tang and bicolor blenny, and found that all the anthias love it as well. So I feed that and frozen ever day and they couldn't be happier.

 

[Maddlesrain]

The brine is definitely worth a shot. Even getting adult brine from your lfs might be worth a try. Mine sells a pretty decent amount for $1.50. If he doesn’t eat it, your other fish definitely will! Haha

My fish just eat the blackworms so lazily like they’re not sure what to do with them... even my fat cardinal fish. I got my more aggressive queen to start eating them a little after feeding them almost exclusively today. He’s a very ‘monkey-see-monkey-do’ fish so watching the Chromis slurp them helped. But definitely not a good food to entice a fish imo. I have never seen a more lackluster response from my tribe of heavy-eaters.

I haven’t tried this myself, but one of the guys at the lfs I bought the fish from told me that a friend bought the third anthias they had and he’s gotten it to eat frozen plankton (I think). One of the pink / red foods.

I’m beyond frustrated watching my one anthias refuse to eat. I think he picks pods off the glass occasionally because I watch him snatch stuff every-so-often, but that’s obviously not going to sustain him for long [emoji20]

Mine haven’t gone for them so far, but I’ve had other picky eaters (an orange spot filefish) that really liked bloodworms for some reason. He was already feeding on frozen brine, but picked up on those really quickly. All of my other fish tend to like them as well.

 

[AnakinReefWalker]

Gah! I saw the red Hikari package that said Ocean plankton, I should've picked it up today. The slight hope I have is that he will come around, him tasting the food is a good start.

Side note : how long have you had that Orange Spot Filefish, I know they are super hard to keep but I'd be interested in trying one, my LFS gets them in pretty often.

 

[Maddlesrain]

Gah! I saw the red Hikari package that said Ocean plankton, I should've picked it up today. The slight hope I have is that he will come around, him tasting the food is a good start.

Side note : how long have you had that Orange Spot Filefish, I know they are super hard to keep but I'd be interested in trying one, my LFS gets them in pretty often.

I sadly don’t have mine anymore I had him for several months before I had to do an emergency quarantine procedure and the stress did him in. They’re extremely fragile in that any slight change can set them off. I had him in his own observational quarantine for an entire summer and he did wonderfully. After adding him to my main display he did well with all the other fish for another couple months before the quarantine catastrophe. I fed him 5x a day a mix of frozen foods. He actually started trying the tiniest pellets right before his death.

If you can get one that eats it would be worth a shot. If not, I’d stay away until you do find one feeding. When they eat they aren’t too bad other than freaking out over any immediate changes made to your tank.

They will decimate your sps though if you have smaller frags / colonies. It doesn’t matter how much you feed them. Also gorgonians are eyed up, so could end up being on the menu. I assume it’s because they so closely resemble sps. Mine particularly liked my birdsnest frags.

 

[mfinn]

I usually try and have a bottle or two of Tigger Pods when I'm expecting new fish.

 

[AnakinReefWalker]

I sadly don’t have mine anymore I had him for several months before I had to do an emergency quarantine procedure and the stress did him in. They’re extremely fragile in that any slight change can set them off. I had him in his own observational quarantine for an entire summer and he did wonderfully. After adding him to my main display he did well with all the other fish for another couple months before the quarantine catastrophe. I fed him 5x a day a mix of frozen foods. He actually started trying the tiniest pellets right before his death.

If you can get one that eats it would be worth a shot. If not, I’d stay away until you do find one feeding. When they eat they aren’t too bad other than freaking out over any immediate changes made to your tank.

They will decimate your sps though if you have smaller frags / colonies. It doesn’t matter how much you feed them. Also gorgonians are eyed up, so could end up being on the menu. I assume it’s because they so closely resemble sps. Mine particularly liked my birdsnest frags.

Aw man that sucks, sorry for your loss. I don't have an SPS dominated tank, just a few, so I think I'll avoid getting one.

I usually try and have a bottle or two of Tigger Pods when I'm expecting new fish.

Do you use the Ocean Nutrition Tigger Pods?

 

[mfinn]

Aw man that sucks, sorry for your loss. I don't have an SPS dominated tank, just a few, so I think I'll avoid getting one.



Do you use the Ocean Nutrition Tigger Pods?

yes. It's live food and all the new fish I've put through quarantine really went for it.

 

[AnakinReefWalker]

yes. It's live food and all the new fish I've put through quarantine really went for it.

I'll try and go to the LFS today and pick up some Tigger Pods, I'll also pick up some Hikari Ocean Plankton

 

[Reefaddict1979]

Did you try Reef plankton by San fan bay. I know my anthias only like eating in the water column.

 

[AnakinReefWalker]

Did you try Reef plankton by San fan bay. I know my anthias only like eating in the water column.

I have not, I am not sure if my LFS carries it, but if i'm able to go today I will check in with them

 

[Reefaddict1979]

It’s very tiny and tends to stay in water column a long time.

 

[mfinn]

I'll try and go to the LFS today and pick up some Tigger Pods, I'll also pick up some Hikari Ocean Plankton

As far as the other foods I use, most fish like nutramar ova, and roe.
I also use the hykari mysis in the cubes for smaller fish. The cubes tend to have a smaller variety of mysis in them.
Also, all foods are dropped into the tank in front of a powerhead. Gives the fish something to chase, like in the ocean.

 

[ca1ore]

Not to be Mr. Negative, but lyretails aren't generally difficult to get eating (unlike the tuka); if you have one that won't eat it suggest some kind of underlying disease problem.

 

[Reefaddict1979]

Not to be Mr. Negative, but lyretails aren't generally difficult to get eating (unlike the tuka); if you have one that won't eat it suggest some kind of underlying disease problem.

I agree. I have 9 of them and they all ate by the 2nd day and even eats flakes but if it’s still swimming you got to keep trying

 

[Philt56]

I’ve been feeding the frozen PE Calanus to my sunburst anthias. Also the nyos goldpods which come in a bottle.

 

[AnakinReefWalker]

Update: I fed the tank live Blackworms again, good news, he finally ate something! Only a few worms but I guess its a start. He only went for the worms that were wiggling around. I'll mix in Mysis with the blackworms and see if he goes for those.

 

[mfinn]

Update: I fed the tank live Blackworms again, good news, he finally ate something! Only a few worms but I guess its a start. He only went for the worms that were wiggling around. I'll mix in Mysis with the blackworms and see if he goes for those.

Have you tried adding food in front of a powerhead?