# advice needed



## big b (Aug 17, 2014)

i have 6 kuhli loaches,a honey gourami,and a siamese algae eater in my qt.i am having some concerns with my sae and my honey gourami.im gonna start with my concerns about my gourami.he wont come up to the surface to eat the pellets.i have made a few pellets sink right in front of his face and he just sat there and watched them sink.if i move him to my 20 gallon tank after qt is over this saturday will he learn to eat by watching my 5 red eye tetras eat the pellets?

now for my sae.he is only half an inch,so i would like to move him straight to him permanent home my 29 gallon.but i am worried that my 4 inch peaceful female blue gourami might think of him as food.i have no doubt that if she wanted to ,she could fit the sae into her mouth.should i take that risk or not?i could move him to my 20 gallon until he grows to about 2 inches or at least 1 inch if that would help.


----------



## BettaGuy (May 6, 2012)

I wouldn't risk moving the siamese algae eater straight into the tank with the blue gourami just because of the size difference. Maybe buy a feeder guppy the same size as the sae to test if your gourami would eat a fish that size.

For the Gourami, how long has it not eaten? Just a couple of days is normal, my recently new aquired dwarf gourami took 3 days to eat and now he eats like a champ. Just make sure you provide hiding spaces and put him in a quiet place in the house


----------



## big b (Aug 17, 2014)

no he eats but the wrong food.he eats the cory cat fish food.i got him 10/11/2014.i know your trying to help but i think that feeder guppies should not be used as test subjects just because their ugly and cheap.just what i think,you can do whatever you want.

ok with help from all 3 forums i put this on i have merged then into a good answer.let the sae grow a bit.also to feed the gourami a pea that has been nuked for 30 secs and with no skin,also try flakes and different foods til he likes one of them.


----------



## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

why the problem using guppies as food ? after all fish eat fish...


----------



## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

I wouldn't use storebought feeders, either; nasty, disease-riddled things they are, which is why I grow my own.


----------



## big b (Aug 17, 2014)

lohachata said:


> why the problem using guppies as food ? after all fish eat fish...


its just cruel to end their life to see is something else is safe.im ok if it is their food but not if it is a test.like rats they get so mistreated.


----------



## ZebraDanio12 (Jun 17, 2011)

please, guppies breed so readily its hardly cruel...its a fact of life.


----------



## big b (Aug 17, 2014)

ok if yall wanna fight about it then tell me to and i will make a thread about it.


----------



## BettaGuy (May 6, 2012)

No one wants to fight, but it really isn't cruel. Guppies breed so rapidly, that if we didn't feed or cull the ugly ones there wouldn't be any fancy guppies around, just regular grey ones


----------



## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

color has nothing to do with it...it is the natural order of life on this planet..many creatures are food for other creatures..nothing cruel about it..


----------



## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

I'm with TOS on this one. Each new fish added to a tank is opportunity to introduce a disease that will wipe out all your fish. I won't recommend any sort of "temporary" fish, feeders, "cycling fish", etc.


----------



## big b (Aug 17, 2014)

ok can we steer the topic back to the gourami please?he is getting on my nerves.i have tried every food i have and he wont eat it.the only think i have not tried is peas but he cant live on peas.i cant wait til saturday so i can put him in the 20 so he can see every one else eat and hew will learn.


----------



## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Try a garlic spray on the food, it makes it more appetizing. Sometimes a fish will eat when hes hungry enough, others won't eat because of a blockage or internal parasite and get skinny and die in a month or two.


----------



## big b (Aug 17, 2014)

a garlic spray?could i just crush some garlic and let it sit in a bowl with the food before i feed him it?


----------



## CoryDee (Aug 26, 2014)

Yes, just crush the garlic & pour a little hot water over it & soak the food for a while before feeding.
Btw Sae's should be kept in groups & imo a 29 gallon gallon isn't big enough as they can get around 6"


----------



## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

He has some time on the SAE, but yeah, eventually it will get big and boisterous. Mine were too much for a 55 when full grown, they beat all the other fish to the food.


----------



## CoryDee (Aug 26, 2014)

Personally I always stock a tank for the fish to be able to grow to full size, it may look a little empty to start with but fish soon grow, patience is key.
Many people will say " oh it's ok I'll upgrade when the fish starts to get too big" but more often than not that upgrade never happens & you have to rehome it.
To quote Nathan Hill from Pfk " Something we all need to remember: The fish you've acquired was quite happy not being owned by you, minding its own business. If you’re going to take it under your wing then you’re responsible for it. Every aspect of its life is under your control, from water quality and temperature to swimming space. " www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk


----------



## big b (Aug 17, 2014)

dont saes only grow to 5 inch that isn't to big but it is a good size.if they eat like hogs i will use foods that will take a while to break down and while hes distracted with that i can sneak the others some food.do you think that will work?


----------



## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

I had two of things in a 55 and they sat still all day except for feeding time, then they beat rainbows and cichlids to every flake, zip zip zip amazing to see them move so fast after sitting still. I gave them to a friend with a 150. Like I said, you have time they will take a few years to get that big and obnoxious and they eat more algae when they are small.


----------



## big b (Aug 17, 2014)

haha!!!he wont beat my blue gourami she bullies everyone to the front so she can have first bites.she will do ANYTHING to get food.she will put him in his place when it comes to food time.any body wanna buy tickets to watch it?it'll be real funny LOL!


----------



## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

youtube it.


----------



## GoldenGirl11 (Nov 9, 2014)

evil wizard said:


> its just cruel to end their life to see is something else is safe.im ok if it is their food but not if it is a test.like rats they get so mistreated.


I agree with you. My sister and I don't like to see fish die at all.


----------



## Ice (Sep 25, 2006)

Kids.... it's all part of life in our oceans, lakes, rivers, and streams. Fish eat other fish because they need it to SURVIVE and grow. Not all fish rely on plants/algae as food. 

It's the same thing on land - predator and prey such as: Lions and zebras, Cheetahs and Impalas, Wolves and Caribou, Fox and Mice. Mice and insects. Spiders and Flies. It's all part of the food chain. You will learn more about it in science class in school. Don't get yourselves all worked up over it. It's the way how life works.


----------



## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

I was kidding about youtube, though I do have a video of fighting cichlids up. If a fish dies in your tank because of aggression, you are doing something wrong. Usually your tank is too small for the number and type of fish you have. Although some fish will just suddenly kill another (A. compressiceps did this for me), there are usually enough warning signs for you to pull the victim into the hospital tank (or bin or bucket), which keepers of mbuna and other aggressive fish should have available. 

I wouldn't want to watch fish eat each other, but apparently a lot of people do. 

My only comment of feeding feeder fish is that there are disease risks with every new fish introduced into a tank, however long it lives, and that a varied diet it usually more healthy that eating all the same thing.

I can not support saving every single fry every spawn. I do believe that overcrowded, poor water quality tanks are ultimately crueller than "letting nature take its course".


----------



## big b (Aug 17, 2014)

emc7 said:


> Try a garlic spray on the food, it makes it more appetizing. Sometimes a fish will eat when hes hungry enough, others won't eat because of a blockage or internal parasite and get skinny and die in a month or two.


well he did have that parasite.he got skinny and died a couple of weeks ago.

and yall since are still on that fish eat fish topic please let this be the last post said about it.i am ok if it is the natural food like angel fish eat neon and it's for their life and not just to watch it be eaten by immature hippies that just love to see big fish take down small fish.do yall under stand what im saying?


----------



## bullseyejoey (Aug 30, 2012)

No offense evil wizard, do you mind trying to be a little more grammatical savvy? It's hard to read things sometimes when u don't space after periods, sentences don't make sense, and other stuff like that.


----------



## big b (Aug 17, 2014)

really,i always have done it like that. I'll TRY to do it but i cant make any promises lol.


----------



## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

It always sucks when a fish dies, especially slowly enough for you to see it coming, but nothing works. Sorry for your loss.

It always good to practice good English, make it a habit and it will give you a leg up in jobs and school admissions years from now when big brother checks up on your online life. 

That being said, you can't have high expectation of posts from phones and other mobile things. The screens are too small to even read what you wrote. 

Make an effort to make your post legible, and readers will appreciate and you will get more replies. There have been a few posters in the past I've put on Ignore because they weren't worth the effort to decipher.


----------



## big b (Aug 17, 2014)

Well then dont put me on ignore cuz I spend about a minute rereading and changing my posts before i post them.


----------



## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

You'er getting better. I'm getting worse. When I'm on my nook I'l do text speak

You might consider getting a bottle of Prazi-Pro and dosing the tank for a few weeks. Its not all that effective on already infected fish, but it can keep the #%$! things from spreading to other fish.


----------



## big b (Aug 17, 2014)

Haha well if you take a minute to reread it it can help a lot. I remember one time when i kept on putting 2 s in the word "as" by accident. Haha man i remember saying oops i better change that before i post that.


----------



## mraquatik (Dec 13, 2014)

I wouldn't move any fish atm the shock of the move could kill ur fish


----------

