need assistance with fish feeding

[Orizon1]

Hi guys,

I'm really new to this, I've had my tank for 3 months now. Before that, I just had coflakes and fire shrimps. Those shrimps would go crazy for the tropical flakes I'd give them. Now I've got cardinals in my main tank and a coflake beauty in my quarantine tank. The thing is, neither of them seems to want to eat. The coflake beauty has been in quarantine for over a week already. I've tried giving them all sorts of food - tropical flakes, spirulina flakes, marine algae, mysis, and even brine shrimps. But honestly, they just don't seem to care. The only one that's eating is my fire shrimp, he's always rushing to get to the food.

I'm trying not to overfeed, so I'm giving them really small amounts. But I'm still not sure what I'm doing wrong. Can fish actually starve to death even if there's food in the tank? I've seen my cardinal opening his mouth to catch something in the water, and sometimes he'll spit out pieces of food. But I've never actually seen him eat.

I really need some advice here. Am I feeding them wrong? The problem is, I have pretty strong water movement in my tank, so as soon as I put food in, it gets swept around the tank. I wish I could just feed them directly, but that's not possible.

Thanks.

[Eonix99]

I think you should try calling the place you got them from and ask what food they were feeding them, my local fish store tries to get all their fish on flake food before they sell them but it's always good to ask. Have you tried frozen food or bloodworms yet? Just make sure to check if your fish can eat bloodworms first, I remember feeding them to my piranhas and it was really easy to see them eating it, it didn't just float on the surface like flakes do. If your fish aren't even trying to eat the food, maybe they're just still getting used to the new tank or something.

[dreamon7]

I've had luck with adding garlic to their food, seems to get them interested, especially with the Mysis.

[Orizon1]

I've had luck with adding garlic to their food, seems to get them interested, especially with the Mysis.

I store my frozen foods in plastic bags, is it better to add garlic to the bag or should I mix it with the food just before feeding? How does the trick with garlic usually work for you, do you just add a small amount to the food or is there a specific way of doing it?

[dreamon7]

I've found that adding garlic to food really helps. To do this, I take out one of the frozen cubes and mince it up with a knife. I then put the mush into a small sauce cup. Next, I mince a clove of garlic and use the side of the knife to pound it a few times, releasing the oils. I scrape this into the cup with the food. After that, I add some tank water to the mixture and let it sit for about 30 minutes. This allows the flavors to meld together. Once it's sat for a bit, I use a syringe or baster to slowly release the mixture into the tank, making sure not to startle the fish.

[Orizon1]

I mix the garlic with the food, then let it sit for a bit, so the garlic's not just floating around in the tank. The idea is the garlic gets infused into the food, not that the fish eats a piece of garlic straight up.

[dreamon7]

Garlic is fine for them to eat, it's actually beneficial for their immune system.

[fish_hawk]

hopefully the cardinal will take to the mysis straight off. i was told that's the stuff to get them onto frozen foods, but not entirely sure if that's the case.

[dreamon7]

How's the feeding going now?

[Orizon1]

I'm about to give up on keeping fish in my tank. I'm really struggling here. My cardinal, which I thought was a hardy fish, just died today. I'm looking for help, guys, I don't know what to do.

Everything seemed fine with him, he was eating well - just 6-8 pieces of shrimp at a time. But 2 days ago, I was vacuuming the sand, and I think he got stressed out. He just hid in the corner all day, only taking one piece of mysis. Today, I found him on the gravel, barely breathing. The fire shrimp was molting at the same time, so I didn't know what was going on at first. I thought he was dead, but then I saw him moving. He tried to swim to the surface, but didn't make it.

I tested the water right away, and everything seemed normal - 0 - Am, Ni, Na, 8.4 pH. The coflakes are doing great, and the shrimp is quiet, but I think that's just because of the molting process.

I'm guessing it was just stress that killed him. But how can I prevent this in the future? If I try to remove a stressed fish from the tank, won't that just stress it out more? Should I just leave it in the tank and hope for the best? I don't know what to do.