Gouramies on hunger strike

Hi

My Giant Gouramies are on hunger strike. They have not eaten anything for four days. Blood worms, Bread Worms, Wheat germ, Prawn, Bananas, Chicken .... nothing. They loved eating bananas and grapes .... but now even they won't touch them.

What can I do?

Let me tell you they are a little afraid of me because four days ago, I was trying to measure the length of a new aquarium background placing it on the front glass of my aquarium .... they just got disturbed and one of them hurt itself a little ... just a little ... because one of her scales near head came out. Since then they are on strike.....

Can somebody help?

Aefroze

 

They could be under stress right now, so just give them a chance. im sure when they get hungry enough they will eat.

 

What are your readings for ammonia, nitrIte, and nitrAte (actual numbers please)?

-Chelle

 

Today I tested the water. Results are:

pH: 7.6
Nitrites (NO2): 0 ppm (mg/l)
Ammonia (NH3/NH4): 0 ppm (mg/l) - Nessler method
KH: 89.5 (0dKH = 5)
GH: 214.8 (0dGH = 12)

And, the hunger strike continues on the sixth day. Tomorrow, I am going to test live food. Generally, the gouramies are in good health. Very agile as usual, fighting a little ... everything normal ... except that they are not eating anything. I hope live food will be a good thing for them.

Aefroze1

 

How big is the tank, how big are the fish (they can get well over 2' long BTW), what is the nitrAte reading, and are there any other physical symptoms?

Oh, and for future reference, never feed fish chicken or mammal meat. They can't digest it properly.

-Chelle

 

Hmmm... well!

The hunger strike is over! And it was the last thing I could offer them ... feeder guppy!

As soon as the first guppy was introduced, they started chasing it as if there was nothing wrong with them. And as I put some 100 guppies in the tank, they relished on many in minutes.

I know store bought feeder guppies are a potential trouble, and a carrier of many diseases, but it is good to know that my fish are at last eating something. In future, I am planning to rearing guppies in a new tank.



Aefroze

 

Oups! The kit I have does not test Nitrates. It only tests 6 things - pH, High Range pH, Nitrites (NO2), Ammonia (NH3, NH4), KH, and GH.

Do I need another kit?

Aefroze

P.S. The tank is a 30 gallon and accomodates a pair of Giant Gouramies (8").

 

It's a good thing the hunger strike is over... Best of luck for your guppies and your gouramis!

 

Yes, it's a good idea to have a nitrAte kit. I got the same AP master test kit and the old ones didn't have nitrAte so you have to buy it separate. Luckily the newer AP master test kits include nitrAte.

Giant gouramis should get around 24" and they will need much larger than a 30 gallon tank (like around 180 gallons). I'm really intersted in hearing what your nitrAte reading is becasue 30 gallons is a bit on the small size for two 8" fish.

-Chelle