Hongsloi; Not Eating.

[Christopher Pereira]

Quick back story: I tried to keep 3 males in my tank, Cacatouides, Hongsloi and Agasizzii

The Hongsloi was dominant and I now have a Male on it's own.

I added a female which was the same size as the male. The female surpassed the male in size very quickly, now it seems the male is not eating very well, he has a sunken stomach and I can't see him eating anything.

I have fed various things: Tetra Prima, New Life and frozen Daphnia etc.

He just really timid and out-competed by everything, however he was top Dog in the tank for a while and was accepting all these foods before.

Just wondering how I can get the little guy to eat, and if it was anything to do with the Female?

The female has made a cave and goes in and out all the time. She often badgers the male but to a certain extent. (No real aggression there.)

Any ideas?

 

[Mike Wise]

I think we need more information: tank size, how it is decorated, other inhabitants (other than female). That being said, I think that I would start by feeding live foods to 'fill' him out a bit.

 

[Christopher Pereira]

Heavily planted 180 Litre Soft water, Neutral PH. 6 Panda Cory, 8 Lemon Tetra, 1 Red Lizard Catfish, 24 Cardinal Tetra ,12 Marbled Hatchet

Live foods eh? I will give it a try. But he doesn't seem to be eating anything. He mainly hides in the cabomba and occasionally ventures to the top of the tank. Mostly around the bottom middle, where-as before (obviously) he would chill at the bottom, roaming around.

 

[Mike Wise]

There seems to be nothing in the tank that should cause the fish to suddenly become shy, unless the female is being overly aggressive toward him. If not, I would put him in a quarantine tank and check for worms or signs of other intestinal parasites.