so i finally got the big guy from bird barn, hes settled in and happy but hasnt eaten so far (well not that i have seen while ive been feeding everything else)

i have tried bloodworms as i think thats what he was fed on at BB, i have tried raw prawns and hes not interested, i will try garden worms tonight.

what else can i try? how long should i expect him to go with out? my other one is fed daily

he may have feasted on baby bristlenose that have escaped but i still see some of those around so not 100% sure.

hes a BIG unit so needs to eat sometime! its been 4 days so far, and other than not eating hes been fine, out and about etc :dunno:

my smaller fire eel didnt eat for 2 weeks after intro. give it time

in saying that, offer food daily, just once.

if it doesnt eat it, wait till next day.

as long as there is food daily, it shouldnt starve itself

try bloodworms first, when it eats ... then get it onto raw prawn - thats better for it and will boost its growth.

give it time.

okey dokey, will see how it goes

Yeah, he's a pretty well-fed fella so he can go without food for a little while. I do know for a fact that he's been raised from young on bloodworms by the original owner, so it will be an uphill struggle to convert him to anything else.

Bird Barn used to stick frozen bloodworms under the gravel and he would graze from there, so you can try that if you feel that he's starving to death (though it's unlikely) lol.

Maybe try starving him for a few days. Contrary to what Henward said, I reckon it's better to completely stop feeding for a few days. What I've found is that when fish see a regular supply of food, they don't fret. But when there's NO food at all for a few days, they start to panic (I asked them myself ) and are more likely to chow down on whatever food is introduced.

Try using some garlicguard soaked prawn pieces after a fasting period. Alternatively, try something in-between, like mealworms just to get him to TRY something, anything, other than bloodworms.

Good luck!

yeah mine was only fed bloodworms for a while, pretty much as said above i used bloodworms to lure him out and then keep trying raw prawn, he didnt eat it for a couple of weeks. sucks short term but long term worth doing, crazy to think how much bigger he'd be on a better diet from the word go considering bloodworms have practically no nutrition. maybe try some live bait like small earthworms? mine rages on them aye and at least lets him have something to work for

yeah mine was only fed bloodworms for a while, pretty much as said above i used bloodworms to lure him out and then keep trying raw prawn, he didnt eat it for a couple of weeks. sucks short term but long term worth doing, crazy to think how much bigger he'd be on a better diet from the word go considering bloodworms have practically no nutrition. maybe try some live bait like small earthworms? mine rages on them aye and at least lets him have something to work for

I'd say give him a little while. When I first got mine, he would just hide by the filter intake pipe. Only bloodworms could lure him out. I haven't fed him any bloodworms in about 3 weeks now and he's always out and about now, presumably grazing on leftover pellets from the rest of the fish. I would say that it's pretty rare for a fish to starve itself to death instead of eating a pellet that smells really good, although there are exceptions to the rule. I wouldn't worry about yours haha, he's got a nice bit of 'reserve' on him, should last him a while before he's in any real danger of starving.

we have success! hes been here a little over a week and has turned his nose up at everything so far (even bloodworms) apart from baby bristlenose which he is sucking through the plastic breeding container AND through a net that is around the container! grr but this morning he has had atleast one worm, one that i saw him eat and another that got into the gravel. so im happy with that! :happy2: , i certainly have no issues with luring him out as hes never hiding! hes out looking for stuff 24/7.

Cool, cool. Imagine how much bigger he'll get now that you're giving him really good food and not just bloodworms all the time hahaha. Sounds like it's time for a new tank! :happy2:

cool

after a few worm feeds, start him on little bits of prawn.

my recommendation, unless you dont mind spending big bux on bloodworms.