My front isn't eating normally

[fish sauce]

Long story short, I didn't want to buy an automatic feeder. So, I had my friend take care of it over the Thanksgiving break. I stuck it in a bucket with its water, air pump running, and a heater.

My friend calls me over the break and tells me its not eating its food.

I come back to Austin 3 days later, picked up my front, and settled it back in its tank. But now when I try to feed it, it still won't eat any of the pellets that I dropped which it usually does.

Occasionally, it would eat the pellets which sank to the bottom of the tank, but I never actually see it eat (I just find the pellets missing). Any ideas? Should I be worried? Grazie!

my frontosa


not eatinggg


still not eating it's right in front of you!

[CichlidFan]

I am not an experienced frontosa keeper, but I don't see any harm in a couple days of fasting, even for fish....I used to keep a small colony of tropheus in my office and when I left for the weekends, they would not get fed until my return on monday morning...

CF

[Mzungu]

I wouldn't worry just yet. My guess would be because he had to live in a bucket for a few days. Not too much fun if you're a fish. Actually, really stressful if you're a fish.

He'll get back to normal after he de-stresses, I imagine. Keep an eye on him, though. Are there other fish in the tank with him now? If so, keep an extra eye on him that he's not getting picked on.

Not sure why you removed him to a bucket, since you said, "long story short. :) So not sure what his normal setup is like.

[CichlidFan]

Try adding a couple teaspoons of epsom salt, I hear that can help relieve stress in most fish...

Beautiful little front too by the way....

CF

[RonR.]

You've been given good advice already. Let the fish settle back in. Unless you worried about loss of power, it's better to keep your fish in their tank than to move them. I leave my wc moba colony in the 180g for up to 7-10 days when I leave for vacation with no problem. Your front can go without eating for 3-4 weeks.........not recommended, but think about it.......a female that is holding eggs can go without eating for 4 weeks.

A water change usually helps as well.

Keep us posted.

[mikeb144]

Hey everyone. Let me get this straight. You put your fish in a bucket, and now he/she is not eating. He/she is STRESSED OUT. Stop trying to feed for a couple days. The epson salt won't hurt, in M/O it won't do much for the stress, but it might help it have a bowel movement. Frontosa can go weeks without eating. Again in M/O not feeding for a few day does less damage than the bucket. Good luck

[geoff_tropheus]

If he was a voracious eater before, if he/she is not eating in a couple days..I would start looking for a bloat treatment.

Its not uncommon when tangs get stressed out to have issues.

I would do all that I could to maintain fresh water, setup a few more caves, and leave the lights off for next several days.

Bucket water can get nasty pretty quick if your friend did not keep the water clean or scoop out the uneaten food.

I would give him a break, but if not by end of this week they are eating, I would start a treatment plan.

Ron would be the person to ask for treating Frontossa's

[FrontosaurusRex]

+1 on everything they all said. He's stressed out. Also, i have a colony of Frontosa and i never see them eat. I feed them at night and when i get up in the morning, all the food is gone. Your Frontosa will eat when he's ready. Good luck

[russ]

yep,dont feed nothing for a couple days.
keep the lights off for a couple days!
its like he is acclimating to a new tank all over again.

[fish sauce]

sorry for not updating ya'll. I've been busy with finals. But yeah, he's doing fine now. thanks for all the adviceee

[RonR.]

great news bro. Best of luck cramming for those finals. Definitely don't miss it...Baylor 77-79, U of H graduated Dec 80.....29 yrs ago!