Multibar Trio

spartanman22 · Jul 21, 2016

I recently ordered a Multibar trio from PIA. The smallest of the three (tiny little guy) is starting to look skinny. None of them have eaten anything and I've tried everything I can find. The larger too still look fat, but the smallest is starting to make me nervous. They have been in my office observation tank. My display tank has been fallow for 4.5 weeks due to what I thought was a velvet/flukes issue, but wasn't 100% sure tough to tell. The symptoms between the two are quite similar.

Now I'm not sure what to do for this guy. My plan was 6 weeks fallow, but now I'm wondering if it's worth rolling the dice to give him some LR to graze.

I've tried the following foods with no luck: fresh little neck clams, fresh oysters, roe, nori, LRS, Rods, Ocean Nutrition Formula 1 and 2, mysis, brine, blood worms, marine cuisine, and a slew of pellet brands.

I've tried filling a snail she'll with food and freezing it; I've tried covering a dead acro skeleton with food and refreezing it. No interest. All foods have been soaked in garlic guard.

Breakthecycle2 · Jul 21, 2016

Try ROE. I usually can get any fish to eat using that.

spartanman22 · Jul 21, 2016

Breakthecycle2 said:
Try ROE. I usually can get any fish to eat using that.

I did that's usually my ace in the hole but no interest.

Breakthecycle2 · Jul 21, 2016

spartanman22 said:
I did that's usually my ace in the hole but no interest.

Keep trying.

eatbreakfast · Jul 22, 2016

Some swear by live blackworms.

If you can find live brine, try that. If they do eat it, the next time it will need to be enriched.

If you can find sponge anywhere, you could try that.

spartanman22 · Jul 22, 2016

I've been trying to find live foods nearby I've got one LFS that's supposed to get some in today so hopefully they do.

tj w · Jul 22, 2016

From what I understand these guys can be extremely difficult to get eating, keep us updated if u get some live food today. I'm hoping for the best for you. They're indeed beautiful fish.

BetURWrasse · Jul 22, 2016

I hope this is not your case but I lost mine after just about a month. Never really saw it eat anything. I tried LRS, live bring, bottle brine, pods. It must have been picking at the rock for a while maybe eating little tube worms or something.

Sucks because I really love that fish. I almost pulled the trigger on some more but I just can't do it unless someone already can show me them eating.

spartanman22 · Jul 22, 2016

Unfortunately I will most likely lose the little guy. Found him on his side breathing heavy. After two weeks of no eating I think he just got too weak.

The other two still look pretty fat and happy. Once they're in the display I'm not too worried. I'll get them eating eventually I just didn't have the timeframe with the little guy like I do with the bigger two.

monkiboy · Jul 25, 2016

sorry to hear about the troubles. what did the vendor have them eating? I've had good luck with LRS eggs. I could have sworn I read that you had them eating. did something change or did they really not eat anything from the get-go? I'm rooting for you. I've had a few in quarantine for eight weeks and have to deal with finicky eaters all the time. fresh hatched brine and LRS eggs will get me started with a majority of fish that don't take to prepared foods. I would really encourage you to avoid putting them in the DT. it will make observation more difficult and increase risk of MV exposure and reset time clock for fallow period which isn't fun. thanks for sharing and keep us posted.

spartanman22 · Jul 26, 2016

None of the multibars ended up making it. I saw the largest nibble on brine the second day I had him but then never again. The smallest nibble on nori one day but then never again. Very disappointing, but I knew the challenges with these fish going into it. I think this fish is one best acquired from an LFS where you can observe it eating. There's too much stress involved in shipping a fish that can make even a healthy eater stop eating.