Dragon face won't eat

MMacro · 04/20/2016, 01:36 AM

I have had my dragon face pipefish for about four days now and I can't seem to get him to eat. I have tried cyclop-eeze, baby brine shrimp via Paul's invention, mysis, lrs, lobster eggs, etc. I am going to start a culture of copepods in a ten gallon this weekend. I was looking into ordering live mysid shrimp online but noticed how big they were. Anyone have any ideas?

Dogshowgrl · 04/20/2016, 04:56 AM

Hatch BBS until you get pods. My pair only eat live. BBS only take a couple days to hatch, you can enrich them if they are not fed in the first 6 hours. That will at least bridge the gap because it will be a couple weeks before your pods are dense enough to harvest.

How big is your tank? How much LR? How old is your tank?

BlueCat1949 · 04/20/2016, 08:33 AM

I hate to say this but if they haven't eaten for you in 4 days it probably has been a lot longer since they have eaten. The dragon face can be very tough to feed and usually they will only take live food that is small enough for them to swallow.

You can hatch BBS in 24 hours so I would start with those right away. Waiting to start a culture of pods will be too late for your pipes.

When I had my pair they were put in a 37 with lots of LR and macros and covered in pods. They ate through the pods in a few days and then I tried target feeding with live BBS but they both died after about a month.

MMacro · 04/20/2016, 10:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dogshowgrl

Hatch BBS until you get pods. My pair only eat live. BBS only take a couple days to hatch, you can enrich them if they are not fed in the first 6 hours. That will at least bridge the gap because it will be a couple weeks before your pods are dense enough to harvest.

How big is your tank? How much LR? How old is your tank?

I am very familiar with brine shrimp. I have been hatching and growing them for a few years now. However, he wont even them. I've only seen him take 1-2 shrimp but thats it. He is temporarily in a 30 gallon until I get my 150 w/60 gallon display fuge setup. The tank is 3 years old.

MMacro · 04/20/2016, 10:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlueCat1949

I hate to say this but if they haven't eaten for you in 4 days it probably has been a lot longer since they have eaten. The dragon face can be very tough to feed and usually they will only take live food that is small enough for them to swallow.

You can hatch BBS in 24 hours so I would start with those right away. Waiting to start a culture of pods will be too late for your pipes.

When I had my pair they were put in a 37 with lots of LR and macros and covered in pods. They ate through the pods in a few days and then I tried target feeding with live BBS but they both died after about a month.

Damn... I have no problem buying bottles of tisbe pods until I get my culture stable. Is there any other food that they might take?

MMacro · 04/20/2016, 10:38 PM

Tried brine shrimp again today. He still didn't eat. I am tempted to bring him back to the LFS or someone with a better suited tank.

MMacro · 04/21/2016, 12:22 PM

I have another batch of brine shrimp that should be hatching tonight. If he doesn't eat now I will make a trip down to my lfs and buy some pods. If that fails I have a friend with a suitable tank.

MMacro · 04/21/2016, 09:25 PM

He ate!

BlueCat1949 · 04/22/2016, 09:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reeferplax

He ate!

Brine shrimp or pods?

MMacro · 04/23/2016, 10:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlueCat1949

Brine shrimp or pods?

Brine

MMacro · 04/28/2016, 12:06 PM

I started my culture of tisbe pods. Can I feed the pods spirulina powder? I ran out of phyto yesterday and wont be able to get anymore until sunday. The pipefish is now eating lots and lots of freshly hatched bbs. Now I am trying to wean him onto cyclop-eeze and other frozen food.

04/20/2016, 01:36 AM	#1
MMacro Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 2,442	Dragon face won't eat I have had my dragon face pipefish for about four days now and I can't seem to get him to eat. I have tried cyclop-eeze, baby brine shrimp via Paul's invention, mysis, lrs, lobster eggs, etc. I am going to start a culture of copepods in a ten gallon this weekend. I was looking into ordering live mysid shrimp online but noticed how big they were. Anyone have any ideas? __________________ 155 Mixed Reef (48x31x24)

04/20/2016, 10:38 PM	#6
MMacro Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 2,442	Tried brine shrimp again today. He still didn't eat. I am tempted to bring him back to the LFS or someone with a better suited tank. __________________ 155 Mixed Reef (48x31x24)

04/21/2016, 12:22 PM	#7
MMacro Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 2,442	I have another batch of brine shrimp that should be hatching tonight. If he doesn't eat now I will make a trip down to my lfs and buy some pods. If that fails I have a friend with a suitable tank. __________________ 155 Mixed Reef (48x31x24)

04/21/2016, 09:25 PM	#8
MMacro Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 2,442	He ate! __________________ 155 Mixed Reef (48x31x24)

04/28/2016, 12:06 PM	#11
MMacro Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 2,442	I started my culture of tisbe pods. Can I feed the pods spirulina powder? I ran out of phyto yesterday and wont be able to get anymore until sunday. The pipefish is now eating lots and lots of freshly hatched bbs. Now I am trying to wean him onto cyclop-eeze and other frozen food. __________________ 155 Mixed Reef (48x31x24)

04/20/2016, 04:56 AM	#2
Dogshowgrl Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: North Central Florida Posts: 298	Hatch BBS until you get pods. My pair only eat live. BBS only take a couple days to hatch, you can enrich them if they are not fed in the first 6 hours. That will at least bridge the gap because it will be a couple weeks before your pods are dense enough to harvest. How big is your tank? How much LR? How old is your tank?

04/20/2016, 08:33 AM	#3
BlueCat1949 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2015 Posts: 197	I hate to say this but if they haven't eaten for you in 4 days it probably has been a lot longer since they have eaten. The dragon face can be very tough to feed and usually they will only take live food that is small enough for them to swallow. You can hatch BBS in 24 hours so I would start with those right away. Waiting to start a culture of pods will be too late for your pipes. When I had my pair they were put in a 37 with lots of LR and macros and covered in pods. They ate through the pods in a few days and then I tried target feeding with live BBS but they both died after about a month.