feeding questions...in general

[yasai6500]

I have a firemouth cichlid and he/she is very shy. This is shown because all it does is hide in a notch in a piece of driftwood for days and days on end. I dont know how to get it to eat and I'm really concerned. I have another firemouth but its in a trap and there, I can "force" it to eat.

[smaug]

Tell as more about your tank,such as size,decor,other tank mates,how old is the tank.

[yasai6500]

its a 29 with all live plants and 2 peices of driftwood..it also has a cave the tank is about 6 months old

[smaug]

Other tank mates and how long have the firemouths been in there, could you also give us your water parameters such as ammonia,nitrites,nitrates,temp and filter type? It is not common for healthy fish to have to be trapped to get them to eat.

[yasai6500]

The firemouths have been in the tank since early february. The tank parameters are as follows...ph-7.6 ,high range ph 8.0, ammonia-0, nitrite-0, nitrate 40..I've been trying to get my nitrates down and I did a big water change last week and found alot of crud...the only thing is that I have all live plants and they are thriving so I dont know why they arent taking the nutrients out of the gravel. filter type is a hang-on with sponge filter

[yasai6500]

Ok....wanted to upload a picture but the file manager has been failing me for the past 2 days...help?

[smaug]

What other tankmates are in there? I have not kept firemouth but understand them to like close cover and lots of it. With hiders I have kept in the past I have seen more of them if the tank had lots of hiding spots. Shy fish will come out more if there is more cover for them. As for the eating,firemouth aren't especially finicky,just because you don't see them eat doesn't mean they aren't. If your tank is in a high traffic area with lots of movement,many fish such as these will hide quite a lot until they either become accustomed to it or simply hide all the time. Try some more natural hiding areas such as more driftwood and arrange it such that it forms nooks and crannys.

[yasai6500]

I cant upload the pictures, but the part of the tank that the firemouth lives in is a forest. Like, its really densely planted...also, I have a smaller firemouth in there as of now

[openbook]

My firemouth likes to hide alot. He only comes out briefly then goes for cover again. He likes to pick food off the bottom of the tank, so sinking pellets are a must.

[yasai6500]

yeah I got sinking pellets yesterday....I think they are eating...