My fishies won't eat!?

Question

I just got a new aquarium and yesterday i bought a few different kinds of tetras for it... and i fed them last night, and this morning, and they have yet to eat anything. i got them tropical fish food flakes. my boyfriend claims it is cause they need time to adjust but its been like 12 hours. so does anyone know why?

and yes i cycled my tank for 24 hours before i put the fish in.., the girl at the fish store claimed that was enough cause there is some biowheel think in my filter.

Answer 1

Have you cycled your tank? In the wild, and in established tanks, there are nitrifying bacteria that break down toxic ammonia from fish waste and excess food into less toxic nitrates. In a brand new tank, these bacteria don't exist, so any fish in the tank will produce ammonia, which, not being broken down by bacteria, will kill or weaken the fish. So, it is vital to cycle your tank. Otherwise, your fish will definitely sick for a couple weeks until the bacteria accumulate. Some may die, and they may refuse to eat due to stress.

There are a few methods. Do you have access to an established tank? These bacteria live in the gravel and in the filter cartridge, so if you can get some from another tank, you can put the bacteria right into your tank (don't let the gravel or filter cartridge dry out). If you do this, in a day or two, your tank will beready for fish.
Another way is to get Bio-Spira. It is the actual live bacteria in a little pouch, and your tank will instantly be ready for fish.http://fishstoretn.com/bio_spira.html

Other methods, which include putting a source of ammonia in the tank and letting the bacteria build up on its own, or putting a fish in and letting the fish produce ammonia (which borders on animal cruelty, because the fish will suffer from the ammonia in the tank), take 2 to 6 weeks before your tank is ready. If you rush that, any fish you buy may die, so try one of the instant methods I mentioned above (bio-spira or gravel from another tank) and considering returning the fish to the petstore until you complete the cycle - or be sure to do small daily water changes of 10-15% to keep ammonia levels down.

Answer 2

first of all, take the uneaten fish food out of the tank, it can spike your ammonia levels. just fish it out with your net.

your boyfriend is right, it could take as much as a week to get your fish to build their stress coat back up. (any time you handle a fish, net it, or move it in any way, it can damage their stress coat, it's a slimy invisible layer on the outside of the fish, that helps protect it from just that,,,, stress.) until it's better, it might not want to do much other than float around or hide. give it plenty of space, and time, and enough places for it to hide, and they should be okay.

also, it could be that you've got your tank overstocked, how many fish and how big of tank do you have?

chances are, you haven't let your tank cycle long enough. most store employees don't know much about cycling (although, some know more than others.. lol) under normal conditions, it takes 2-6 weeks to cycle a tank properly,,, unless you have a filter from an established tank already. this can speed up the process to just a few days.

get some test strips,,, they're not that expensive, and test the waters to make sure everything is looking okay. and try the stress coat stuff, it works pretty good, just so that they don't get sick.

just wait things out. they'll be fine.

good luck!!

Answer 3

Don't worry fish can live a long time without eating. Stop putting so much food in the tank, just a little. They don't know where they are, they are stressed and do not know where, when or what to eat. Feed a little once a day in the same place and they will calm down and eat soon. Your boyfriend is right.

Answer 4

I'm curious as to how big your tank is... that may be too many fish to start with. The bio-wheel is important but it takes several weeks for the biology to start up and be able to keep up with all the ammonia your fish will produce. Also make sure you used a dechlorinator if you put in tap water. You can give them a day or two, but keep a super close eye on them if they show signs of stress return them to your store and look up fishless cycling. This is a process that takes 2-6 weeks but will give you a healthy tank to start with. Look up 'fishless cycle' to find great sites on how to do this. The bio-wheel is essential for a healthy tank but it is not active overnight. Try to be patient, I know it's hard, but it will be rewarding when you know you didn't lose any fish needlessly.

Answer 5

Well personally, I'd wait a few weeks. 24 hrs is really too short. It will take a few days for the fish to adjust. If your fish don't eat again within the week, then I'd be worried.

Answer 6

id give it another day or so. let them get used to the new aquarium. and for now if i were you id get some tank cleaners to take care of that food. either a few snails or ghost shrimp or maybe a pleco to clean it up

Answer 7

Your boyfriend is right, give them another day or so to get acclimated to the water, then they should start eating, they are probably just in some sort of shock. they will be fine in a few days, feed them tonight though.

Answer 8

I use Stress Coat on my fish when they are stressed, it helps a lot...you may want to consider that you can find that at any pet store or wal-mart...depending where you are...they are probably stressed though is the reason they arent' eating.

Answer 9

crush the flake up if you havent thought of that yet.