Rainbow shark not eating

First, I need to say that while typing, rainbow shark not...my autocorrect went with: sexting. Has anyone else dealt with a non sexting rainbow shark? Sounds troubling.

Feeding flakes to all of my fish has worked well so far but as far as I can see, the shark is not eating them. Only have had him for less than 24 hours so could it be stress?

Sent from my VS986 using Fish Lore Aquarium Fish Forum mobile app

 

Pretty typical For New fish to not eat right away.
shark do a lot of bottom feeding, so they often take longer.
sinking tablets may work better.

 

First, I need to say that while typing, rainbow shark not...my autocorrect went with: sexting. Has anyone else dealt with a non sexting rainbow shark? Sounds troubling.

Feeding flakes to all of my fish has worked well so far but as far as I can see, the shark is not eating them. Only have had him for less than 24 hours so could it be stress?

Sent from my VS986 using Fish Lore Aquarium Fish Forum mobile app

That's pretty funny, but make sure you stay mature on this site .

Agreed with above, he may take a couple of days to relax. After he has explored the aquarium a bit more, try dropping food close to him to see if he'll eat it.

 

I have a Rainbow Shark in my 55 gallon tank along with 4 Denison Barbs, 3 Rainbow fish, 2 Long Fin Black Skirt Tetras, 3 Clownloaches, and 1 Striata Botia. All of my parameters were tested and came out normal.

As of recently, my rainbow shark has been hiding in the large piece of driftwood I have in the center of the tank and has not been coming out for feeding. I have had it for maybe 2 months now. He looks super skinny and I'm worried it may starve to death. It has showed no signs of parasites, as far as I could tell. I have looked for white feces and have not seen the shark have any.

My main question is....
I set up a 30 gallon tank on Sunday morning and have had the filter, heater, and light running to hold my three plants until I get my substrate decided. This tank currently has NO fish in it. Should I move the shark into the 30 and hospitalize it? I could move a sponge filter from another cycled tank into the 30 if need be.

I do have Metronidazole Powder for bacteria infections but I'd rather not have to dose the entire 55 for it because I'm not positive it's parasites and it is also my Dad's, which I am pretty sure it's on the expensive side.

 

Hey, Jakedv17, sorry your fish is sick.

I would quarantine him, especially since you have the ability to do so. I'd use the Metro as well, it should help with any protozoan parasites if they are present along with the antibiotic properties. Wasting like that does make me think of parasites.

Can you provide a picture of the fish?

 

Yeah. Sorry, I just got home.

Here are two...




Didn't have time to fix them being sideways/upside down.
I moved him into the 30 and put the medicine in, also put a few of Tetra Granules in the tank so he could find them at the bottom.

I did forget to mention he has white fins , I've never seen one like him.

 

I'd definitely quarantine the sick fish. The medication may help but it may also die, it looks pretty bad. Make sure you wear gloves when handling this fish/wash your hands and arms well afterward.

 

Ok, thanks!

 

That does not look like a happy shark. Is someone picking on him. I have a rainbow shark too, they do hide a lot mine eats off the bottom. Good luck!

Here is a pic of mine from last night he's a baby

 

Nope. Nobody picks on him. He has perfect fins and body, minus his eating disorder. The only fish he would have contact with are the loaches, which are never in a bad mood. I have it quarantined and dosed the tank with meds. He seems to have lost all appetite. I had a large albino rainbow about 6 months ago that was 5 inches long so this isn't my first RBS. I hope this one starts eating soon.

 

Let us know how things turn out if you want. Looking forward to hearing about how he fares.

 

Awww I hope so too....good luck

 

hope he gets better!!