How long can a fish go without eating?

[bsauer]

Hi! I just aquired a 3 1/2 inch Australian Harlequin Tuskfish. I ordered him online and they were out of stock so I had to wait for a shipment to come in. He was shipped to me the same day they received him...(not sure whether they tried to feed him or not before hand..I assume not).

So he has been in my quarantine tank 2 days now...hiding inside a rock...afraid to come out. I am assuming that he has not eaten for atleast 4 days now... and am starting to get concerned.

Do you think I should take out the rock, so he has nowhere to hide, and will see me put the food in the tank? Or will that just make it worse? I know he must be scared to death, so I would rather wait and have him come out in search of food on his own when he feels safe enough. (no more stress, ya know?)

But I also don't know how long he can go without food before he jeopardizes his health. And I don't want him to starve himself to death.

Any one that can give any advice or any peace of mind would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[ChrisPrusha]

I would wait it out. If you take the rock out he will get more stressed and not eat anyway. He will be fine for a few more days, methinks.

One word of caution...keep an eye on your QT water...adding in food that isn't eaten can muck up a QT pretty quick.

Good luck, and please keep us posted!

[bsauer]

Thank you, I did throw some krill in there this morning, but pulled it out after an hour. I am going to do a water test in a few minutes.

I appreciate your help.

[zxcv123]

A fish that has been well fed before fasting can survive about 8 days with out food

[bsauer]

Do you think it would be safe to wait 2 more days and then pull out the rock?

[Geoff]

is it more active at night? how much light do you have on the tank? lowering the light level on the tank can make it more comfortable for the new tusk.

G~

[pactrop]

Try using some thin fishing line (7lb test) and attach it to the food and make the food look like it is swimming. Sometimes it also helps if the fish doesnt see you, put a chair infront of the tank and hang a towel over it so when you walk up to the tank to feed the tusk it won't see you.

this sometimes works better than live feed because it won't run away and if he does not take the food you can pull it out without putting you hand in the tank and freaking it out even more.

[bsauer]

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! All of you were right. My Harlequin finally ate last night at about midnight, when the lights were low, and my husband was alot better at getting the food in without the fish seeing him than I have been. He was using a turkey baster to get the krill moving around the tank (didn't have any fishing line)

I am sooooooooooo happy. Thank you so much for your advice! THAT'S WHY I LOVE THIS PLACE!!! THEREEFTANK ROCKS!

[Twitterbait]

groovy stuff... as far as longevity goes it depends on the fish. the larger more active can last up to 2 weeks without food whereas a seahorse must eat every day at a minimum.