[lastyboy]

Hello all,
my 3 rbp's seemed to a have lost their appetites!!.

It happened after my weekly water change, they got very skittish when i was doing it ( which is to be expected) and since then (fri eve) they havent really eaten anything.

Is this normal, and what can i do about this, please

Thanks

 

[RhomZilla]

Dont trip Chocolate Chip!!

P's usually go on a hunger strike from time to time. Totally normal. One week they'll be so much carnage in your tank.. the next week after, they wouldn't even touch the damn thing. Have you tried feeding different varieties also??

Its like you dont really want to eat sirloin steak everyday for 2 months straight.

 

[SnowCichlid]

Kool... Yes it is normal, you will notice that they will go through stages all of the time. Meaning their attitudes will always be altering until they finally settle down and get completly comfortable.
Bes thing to do is just to satay in front of the tank the whole time without feeding them until they begin to come out, then drop some small portions of food in the water, This will encourage them to come out and be less skittish when you are present.
This could take a while so be patient :

:

 

[lastyboy]

Cheers for that!

What i thinking of doing was still feeding 2 x day and taking out all uneaten foods, as i realise the impotance of more food when they're juvenilles.
I've also added something for them to hide behind, just so they can chill!
What do you think Piranha peeps??

 

[lastyboy]

oops!!, did i say impotance!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Judazzz]

oops!!, did i say impotance!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yup: busted

:

:

Sounds good to me: hiding places are good, because the give the fish a sense of security, which may result in less nervous or skittish behaviour (there are other factors, though).
It's always best to remove uneaten food within an hour or so, but it's no biggie if you occasionally forget something (tip: get a catfish, like a pleco or raphael cat to deal with that!)
And when my reds were still babies, I fed them 3 times per day, and they grew fast. Nowadays, they (between 4,5 and 7") are fed once a day...

 

[Raptor]

My reds always did good with catfish. I had a lima cshovelnose close to a year and a half. But when i added cariba and piraya. There was nothing that could stay uneaten. Except for eachother. This is what happened to my 8 inch lima.My Webpage

 

[lastyboy]

yeah thanks for all the advice.
When i feed them, they tend to just pick gradually at the food. but i dont want them getting too comfy cos im getting a new tank in a week or so-then perhaps i can get them settled.

 

[pcrose]

Dont trip Chocolate Chip!!

P's usually go on a hunger strike from time to time. Totally normal. One week they'll be so much carnage in your tank.. the next week after, they wouldn't even touch the damn thing. Have you tried feeding different varieties also??

Its like you dont really want to eat sirloin steak everyday for 2 months straight.

I love that quote I want to use that Don't trip choclate chip!
Is that cool if I use your quote it is cute?

 

[RedShoal]

My Ps always wants to eat because I follow the idea of giving them food in intervals they would find it in the outside environment.

I would have them fast ever other month or so for a week and they seem to do better than when I used to feed them everyday. When I feed them everyday, they seem to just lie down and wait for food. When I do this fasting thing, they would be active and swim in shoals all day long. On the none fasting days, I would feed them pellets everyday until they won't eat them anymore.

 

[lastyboy]

I like the idea of that Red Shoul.
I might just try it next week some time.

But isnt it important that juvenille P's eat more when younger-development and all????