New Mimic Tang Not Eating

[jaredrah777]

Hey Guys, So i just got a new mimic tang in he was quarantined in copper and prazi for about two weeks. I picked him up yesterday from a good friend who sells quarantined fish nearby. He told me the mimic was eating pellets while he had him. I just introduced him yesterday and he was getting bullied really bad by my yellow tang so i decided to do the mirror trick this morning and its been working amazing the yellow has fully left the mimic alone. (I found it funny that once the lights went off and they both fell asleep they literally slept on top of each other LOL)

I've had nori on the clip tried green and red and its not seeming to work, I tried soaking in garlic and selcon and he still doesn't seem interested. I then fed Mysis/Spin. Brine 50/50 soaked in garlic and selcon and he still wasn't budging. My last resort was to go out and buy New Life Spectrum Pellets and soak it in garlic and of course he was also not interested.

Im not sure what I should do now. Had a buddy tell me it's just because he's really new and was bullied right away, and to give him some time.

he's been in the tank now for about 20 hrs and hasnt touched any food.

@Jay Hemdal

@vetteguy53081

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Hey Guys, So i just got a new mimic tang in he was quarantined in copper and prazi for about two weeks. I picked him up yesterday from a good friend who sells quarantined fish nearby. He told me the mimic was eating pellets while he had him. I just introduced him yesterday and he was getting bullied really bad by my yellow tang so i decided to do the mirror trick this morning and its been working amazing the yellow has fully left the mimic alone. (I found it funny that once the lights went off and they both fell asleep they literally slept on top of each other LOL)

I've had nori on the clip tried green and red and its not seeming to work, I tried soaking in garlic and selcon and he still doesn't seem interested. I then fed Mysis/Spin. Brine 50/50 soaked in garlic and selcon and he still wasn't budging. My last resort was to go out and buy New Life Spectrum Pellets and soak it in garlic and of course he was also not interested.

Im not sure what I should do now. Had a buddy tell me it's just because he's really new and was bullied right away, and to give him some time.

he's been in the tank now for about 20 hrs and hasnt touched any food.

@Jay Hemdal

@vetteguy53081

A few things: garlic is really overrated as a dietary supplement. A fish that stops feeding has some serious issue and garlic isn’t going to overcome that. I think it could be two things, perhaps in combination: the stress from getting attacked, but also the fish may have been exposed to a salinity rise from one tank to the next, and that can really impair the feeding response.
Is there anything that might show up on a short video?
Jay

 

[jaredrah777]

A few things: garlic is really overrated as a dietary supplement. A fish that stops feeding has some serious issue and garlic isn’t going to overcome that. I think it could be two things, perhaps in combination: the stress from getting attacked, but also the fish may have been exposed to a salinity rise from one tank to the next, and that can really impair the feeding response.
Is there anything that might show up on a short video?
Jay

I think you may be right about the salinity. He was in .20 and I had to do a long acclimation to get him up into .26 where I keep my tank at. Any ways to overcome this? or is it downhill from here?

 

[jaredrah777]

A few things: garlic is really overrated as a dietary supplement. A fish that stops feeding has some serious issue and garlic isn’t going to overcome that. I think it could be two things, perhaps in combination: the stress from getting attacked, but also the fish may have been exposed to a salinity rise from one tank to the next, and that can really impair the feeding response.
Is there anything that might show up on a short video?
Jay

here’s a video of him

 

[jaredrah777]

bump

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

here’s a video of him

It looks really frenetic, but otherwise healthy. Maybe give it another 24 to see if it settles in (keep an eye on that YT though)
Jay

 

[jaredrah777]

It looks really frenetic, but otherwise healthy. Maybe give it another 24 to see if it settles in (keep an eye on that YT though)
Jay

will do thanks jay

 

[vetteguy53081]

Having several yellow tangs, yellow and powder blue seem to be the tank jerks day one - three and then subside.
You may notice its an annoyance from them that damage. I find things that work are:
Mirror
leaving low blue lighting only for 36 hours
Xlarge sheet of nori

 

[jaredrah777]

Having several yellow tangs, yellow and powder blue seem to be the tank jerks day one - three and then subside.
You may notice its an annoyance from them that damage. I find things that work are:
Mirror
leaving low blue lighting only for 36 hours
Xlarge sheet of nori

ya totally, do you think my mimic tang will slowly begin to eat as he gets adjusted to the new tank? as of now its been 22-23 hrs and hasn’t touched food..

 

[Steve and his Animals]

If the fish is healthy and a good size, it can go quite a while without food, at least 2-3 days, so just give him time. Ask your friend exactly what it was eating (type of food and from what brand), sometimes different brands of the same food have different tastes and smells (like san francisco vs pe mysis).

 

[srcleary]

I’ve had many new fish (tangs and angels) take a few days to eat. Even 5+ days. But I agree with the other comments… you’ll need to make sure he’s not getting bullied. And it sounds like you are offering variety so that is good.

good luck and keep us posted.

 

[jaredrah777]

I’ve had many new fish (tangs and angels) take a few days to eat. Even 5+ days. But I agree with the other comments… you’ll need to make sure he’s not getting bullied. And it sounds like you are offering variety so that is good.

good luck and keep us posted.

thank you!!

 

[jaredrah777]

Morning update,

tried brine/mysis right when i saw them start to get active again… no luck. I tried pellets also…no luck

I put Nori on the clip and everyone else is going after it hopefully he makes his move. I put the clip where he normally swims through so he see’s it

as far as aggression. The yellow tang hasn’t bothered him once and you can tell for sure that he is slowly getting more comfortable based on his movements in the tank. The mirror is still up and distracting the yellow tang.

40 hrs in…

(while i was typing this i saw him take a little side nibble at the nori clip! hopefully thats a good sign)

 

[jaredrah777]

Morning update,

tried brine/mysis right when i saw them start to get active again… no luck. I tried pellets also…no luck

I put Nori on the clip and everyone else is going after it hopefully he makes his move. I put the clip where he normally swims through so he see’s it

as far as aggression. The yellow tang hasn’t bothered him once and you can tell for sure that he is slowly getting more comfortable based on his movements in the tank. The mirror is still up and distracting the yellow tang.

40 hrs in…

(while i was typing this i saw him take a little side nibble at the nori clip! hopefully thats a good sign)

just saw him nibbling more! first time ive seen him make any effort

 

[jaredrah777]

when do you guys think i should take the mirror off?

the yellow tang hasn’t bothered him at all and they even swim next to each other often

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

when do you guys think i should take the mirror off?

the yellow tang hasn’t bothered him at all and they even swim next to each other often

Is the YT still reacting with the mirror? If not, I'd say give it another day, then remove it (but remove it when you'll be home to be able to check in on them from time to time).

Jay

 

[jaredrah777]

Is the YT still reacting with the mirror? If not, I'd say give it another day, then remove it (but remove it when you'll be home to be able to check in on them from time to time).

Jay

yes he is i took the mirror out for about 3-4 hrs to observe and its definitely got ALOT more calm… i did notice him fin flick him or attempt to him 2-3 times in a 2-3 hr span but nothing big like before… i just put the mirror back up hopefully the aggression completely dies down…mimic is still timid about food just taking a quick bite then leaving the clip alone for 20-30 mins then takes another nibble… i guess its better then nothing