# rhom isn't eating!



## Trivium160 (Mar 7, 2007)

Ok i just bought my baby black rhom he is about 5inch's. The first day i threw in a peice of tilapia, he bit it but didn't eat it and the second day i tried a peice of tilapia and he wasn't interested so i tried prawn but he didn't care for that either. So what should i try next?


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## MIKE JONES (Dec 9, 2006)

do a water change, then raise your temp to 80 to 82 degrees, i just got a 5 inch rhomb a week and a half ago and hes eating like crazy, also try shrimp, the warmer water should make him more active witch will trigger his hunger


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## cueball (May 24, 2005)

shrimp squid may be


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## Trivium160 (Mar 7, 2007)

i don't think a water change would do any since he's only lived in the tank 2 days. Also the temp is at a steady 82. I'll try squid.


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## cueball (May 24, 2005)

but rember they can go a vary long time with out food hes just ajusting


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## MIKE JONES (Dec 9, 2006)

our fish came from the same store and mine started eating the second day, the reson i said water changes is because after i do them for my P's it seems to make them more active and hungry


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## cueball (May 24, 2005)

and garlic make a mixture of blended garlic and a little water and let the fishes food soke in it... maybe that well help


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## Trivium160 (Mar 7, 2007)

I use "extreme garlic" the drops...I try using that on some tilapia tommarow


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## chomp chomp (Oct 28, 2003)

if it is a new tank, a water change will not do anyting but stress him out. My Rhom is a picky eater and will not touch taliapia. I have tried just about everything and the only thing he will eat is regularly is Frozen Krill and Frozen Smelt.

I defrost both in cool water b4 giving them to him.


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## ol78hunter (Feb 9, 2008)

Dont be too worried. I had a rhom that didnt eat for like 2 weeks. Its not a big deal. Most wont eat for a few days in a new tank. Just keep trying and dont let the food sit too long in the tank.


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## Mattones (Jul 9, 2006)

iv had my rhom for a week today. havent ate nothing he is 11 inches. he has swam at it and turned away. who turns down fresh Shrimp!?!


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## chomp chomp (Oct 28, 2003)

also try turning the lights off when you feed them. I feed all of my P's this way.

Keep trying different foods until you find something it likes.
walleye
trout
perch
krill
silversides
smelt


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## Trivium160 (Mar 7, 2007)

I tried prawn tonight and he could care less about them...gonna try shrimp on saturday.


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## LS1FDRx7 (Mar 6, 2007)

From my past experiences with Rhoms before ranging from 5-6 inches. I find that they like squid more better than raw shrimp. When I first got my 5-6 inch Rhom, for the first week he kept turning down shrimp, so I said let's try squid. The squid was at least a index finger size and width, he took all of it down like nothing. So try some squid!!


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## Trivium160 (Mar 7, 2007)

Ok i tried shrimp and he wouldn't even look at it! I did throw in 3 feeders and after a few hours he did bite one in half but he didn't kill it or pursue it.


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## SERRAPYGO (Feb 4, 2003)

At 5 inches, he really doesn't need to eat everyday and probably won't want to for the rest of his life. Serrasalmus, and especially rhoms behave and feed slightly differently than a pack of pygocentrus. 
I see nothing wrong here. Squid, shrimp ect. can be fed sparingly but he should really be eating fish based foods like cod, catfish, smelt, trout, salmon. Wanna keep him busy? Give him some zebra danios or giant danios to chase around.

MOVED TO FEEDING AND NUTRITION


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## Trivium160 (Mar 7, 2007)

haha thats funny you mention that. I cycled his tank with zebra danio's, they are so cheap i use those for all my P's tank's.

BTW i'm not in any panic like some people get. Its only day 3, i've had plenty of saltwayer fish that don't eat until days and weeks of being adjusted. I just figured it was gonna be like the reds who come straight out of the box eating everything!


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## phantoms (Dec 11, 2007)

try fresh smelt or catfish fillet. mine doenst care to much for tilapia but loves smelt and catfish. he also seemed to thourghly enjoy some thawed out bluegill that i had caught a week earlier.


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## Trivium160 (Mar 7, 2007)

ok i just bought a catfish fillet its in my freezer but i 'll try it on sunday.


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## phantoms (Dec 11, 2007)

so did your guy eat the catfish?


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## Trivium160 (Mar 7, 2007)

He seemed lathargic on sunday so i took out %50 of the water and filled it up with water from my 180tank. He was almost bouncing into the glass and i probably could have reached my hand in and pet him. Today(Monday) he seems alot more aware and active but i may wait on trying to feed for a couple days. I also removed the powerhead so he doesn't spend more energy until he's at full strength.


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## Trivium160 (Mar 7, 2007)

Did i mention i put 3 feeders in the tank he did eat them over a 4 day period... well he ate halfs of them the other halfs where stuck on the filter.


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## Trivium160 (Mar 7, 2007)

OK day6 and he is still not eating! Tried feeding catfish,tilapia,beefheart,prawn and shrimp. Also have added extreme garlic drops and still no luck. He ate 3 feeders in 4 days time, well bits and peices. This is my first Rhom so where do i go from here?


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## TobiasRieper (Mar 14, 2008)

Trivium160 said:


> Ok i tried shrimp and he wouldn't even look at it! I did throw in 3 feeders and after a few hours he did bite one in half but he didn't kill it or pursue it.


Feeders are probably your best bet on this one, they wont start to rot until your p kills them so you can leave them in there till he gets hungry.


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## Trivium160 (Mar 7, 2007)

TobiasRieper said:


> Ok i tried shrimp and he wouldn't even look at it! I did throw in 3 feeders and after a few hours he did bite one in half but he didn't kill it or pursue it.


Feeders are probably your best bet on this one, they wont start to rot until your p kills them so you can leave them in there till he gets hungry.
[/quote]
Are zebra danio's less risk than the feeders? I'm not too big on feeding him live food.


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## Relanim (Feb 28, 2008)

I have had my black rhom (about 5 to 5.5 inches) for about 5 weeks now. I had a similar experience... he was introduced to a tank with 5 feeders in it. He waited about 3 days before eating one, then picked the rest off over the next 4-5 days. Somedays he ate none, somedays 2. When he finished them i wanted to move him to tilapia. He wouldnt even look at it when I dropped it in, but he knows its there and he knows its food. The only way I was able to get him to eat it was to not offer him ANYTHING but talpia. Every time I dropped a feeder in he would eat it, so finally I decided to not give him that option. When he finally was really hungry he ate the talpia. If you offer him feeders, he will learn to avoid the foods he doesnt like and just wait for a feeder to enter the tank. Be assured, if you only offer him Talpia or another fish meat, he will avoid it at first... but he will not let himself starve to death, he will eat the meat when he is hungry enough.


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## Trivium160 (Mar 7, 2007)

awesome thanks for the help! excellent reply.


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## phantoms (Dec 11, 2007)

i read this on another thread here a while back but maybe tying a piece of tilapia, catfsih, shrimp to a thread/fishing line in the current so its moving around will get him to eat. (thinking that maybe he only wants to target live moving prey.) also, not feeding him a a few days and just letting him be might be a good idea too. maybe only put food in after the lights have been off for a while so its more comfortable.


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## Trivium160 (Mar 7, 2007)

i will try that. Its been 3 weeks and i still can't get him to eat in front of me! His lights are dim and the water parameters are good and its at 84temp. I have a large school of danio's that are shrinking so i assume he's eating them although he never looks fat or plump like a red does.


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## phantoms (Dec 11, 2007)

it took my guy a month before he would eat in front of me. and even now i have to sit about 5-10 feet from the tank and sit still.


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