Lake Tanganyika Species • Tropheus Duboisi Not Eating!! HELP PLEASE!!

[mysterycichlids2]

Hi, I just got a Tropheus Duboisi one day ago and mixed it with my african cichlids. All the others are eager to eat, but the Tropheus rarely makes an attempt to get any food at all. It is one inch in size and never goes after the bigger flakes. Somebody help!! (I feed it veggie flakes)

[zimmy]

What kind of cichlids does the dub have for tank mates? Tropheus do best having just other tropheus (the same variant) for tank mates.

It's probably stressed from being moved. You could try keeping the lights off for a couple of days and feeding very lightly.

Trophs are very prone to bloat so be on the lookout for that too.

[mysterycichlids2]

My water quality should be good since I change tank water once per day. If I feed lightly, all the other fish will steal the food because they are more used to the tanks. Its tank mates are: electric yellow, auratus cichlids (one male and one female (or non dominant male)), red zebra cichlids, and blue zebra cichlids. It seems to be avoiding the other fish.

[zimmy]

Are the other cichlids bigger than the troph?

[mysterycichlids2]

Yes, slightly bigger. The Tropheus deboisi is 1 inch in size and the other fish are 2-2.7 inches in size.

[zimmy]

How big is the tank?

[mysterycichlids2]

About 40 gallons. I'm planning to move some fish out of it by selling them to give the fish more space.

[zimmy]

I hate to say this but I have my doubts that your tropheus will survive. It certainly won't thrive. Your tank is pretty small and you have some pretty aggressive mbuna (auratus) in a ratio that doesn't usually work, especially once the fish reach sexual maturity.

This probably isn't what you want to hear but I would sell the fish to an LFS and restock using the cookie cutter guide for a 40G as a guide.

[mysterycichlids2]

That's sad to hear. The pet store helper didn't tell me anything about that when I got an exchange. What's an LFS?

[zimmy]

LFS = local fish store

Unfortunately, people who work in pet stores often know next to nothing about the animals they're selling (there are exceptions though). I would ask questions on this forum to get guidance instead.

[mysterycichlids2]

Thanks for the advice zimmy!! I've solved the eating problem by feeding a bit more so that the tropheus duboisi gets a chance to eat instead of letting all the other fish get all the food. But the survival rate problem is still there. I'm thinking about saving for a new tank, or getting a divider. I really don't want to sell it because it wasn't at all cheap ($44) and I really like it. Any suggestions on what I should do? The other fish aren't picking on it as much anymore.

[zimmy]

That's an expensive fish!

I wouldn't assume the aggression is over because of one day of no apparent signs of it being picked on but it's a good sign that the troph is eating.

Removing the auratus would probably be a good move and would improve the odds of the other fish surviving.

[mysterycichlids2]

I've observed the fish more closely and I can see that the tropheus is being chased, but it is one of the fish getting picked on a lot less. If I have to remove the auratus, I will, but since it is one of my favourite fish, I'll do that at as a last resort. The auratus is the most aggressive fish in the tank, but it hasn't stressed any other fish to the point of dying. Is there anything else I could do?

[mysterycichlids2]

Whoops by changing the tank "once per day" I meant once per week. Is that frequent enough?

[zimmy]

Whoops by changing the tank "once per day" I meant once per week. Is that frequent enough?

Do you have a water test kit?

You need to see what your nitrate levels are before and after the water change. If they stay under 20 ppm, you're good.