Why won't Coral Beauty eat?

[Kyad02]

I have had a really nice coral beauty in my 110 FOWLR for a week. It only picks at the rock and refuses to eat a variety of foods including Spirulina and cyclop-eeze, Hikari Blood worms,mysis shrimp and algae sheets tied to a rock. Tank has been up for about six weeks and all measurements are good. Tank mates include a Raccon Butterfly added with the CB a maroon clown and some blue damsels. How do I get this guy to eat? Can he live off of the live rock? It has some coraline and now diatom algae as it came from a tear down tank(fully cured) Thanks!:eek1:

[bartzenegger]

are other mates eating? how long have you had fish/ was it eating b4 brought home ? if you so what food? how long did you acclimate?
could mates be messing w/ fish? is fish acting funny?
on live rock depends how much food is on it!

[Hound]

sounds like your moving to fast and he could be sensitive to anew tank ....i would not even put a fish in for 3 months

[Jerry W]

I'm in agreement with hound. Angels often fail miserably in newly established tanks. Waiting 5-6 months is advised with these fish. With regards to eating, the fish is likely getting nopurishment from the algal film on the rocks, and any diatom growth on the glass. My eibli angel picked at the glass for the first couple days (still does) before accepting prepared foods. At this point, wait it out and hope for the best. Continue to offer a wide variety of meaty foods as well as nori on a clip. Hopefully there is a good amount of LR in the tank, not only for grazing but shelter. At only six weeks however, you're better off with hardier fish. Even a larger tank can be subject to changes in water parameters, which can throw sensitive fish into a tailspin.

[Kyad02]

Fish is acting normal in all other respects. Have 60 pounds of cured live rock from a 220 tear down tank. SG 1.22 PH 8.2 , no amonia, tite or trate. Temp 81 to 82. Have Nori tied to rock on tank bottom, also tried clip. Would a yellow or purple tang encourage CB to eat it by eating it themselves? The Raccoon Butterfly only eats Hikari Bloodworms and some mysis shrimp. What other types of fish do you reccomend at this point(6 weeks). The clown and damsels eat fine. Also have a blood shrimp, coral banded shrimp, emerald crab and a chocalate chip star. Thanks:mixed:

[bartzenegger]

was fish eating b4 you got him? if so on what?

[Kyad02]

Big Mistake on my part I know...

[bartzenegger]

yeah ben there dun that to !

[Asuman1179]

i had problems with a CB and it did not make it because I could not get it to eat. I would talk to where you got the fish and see if they will take it back.

[DonJasper]

Originally posted by Kyad02
It only picks at the rock

All day right? Swim, look, peck, swim, look, peck.

Originally posted by Kyad02
How do I get this guy to eat? Can he live off of the live rock?

Sounds to me like he is eating. They eat algae and whatever squirmy things that they can find.

I had pods all over my glass, and had the usual "Is he doing Ok" worries when I first added him. Then I noticed that the right half of the tank had been picked clean of pods overnight! To this day I'm convinced I heard a little "Urp" from somewhere in the rocks!

Mine eventually realized that the floaty stuff that sometimes shows up in the water column is 'food'. I often feed at night, so he's often left to find his own groceries for a couple of days at a time. He doesn't seem to mind.

EDIT: Reef keepers can't help but grow algea. I think that the reason FOWLR's don't grow as much algea is the lack of anything approaching 'bright' light. That might be a problem if your guy can't figure out what is 'food' and what is 'stuff added to the tank for my entertainment'.

[Kyad02]

Tried Brown Nori instead of green and the Coral Beauty is eating it! May tried the red as well. Never realized the type of algae made such a difference.

[bartzenegger]

alright ! good job!