Baby Oscar not eating

[Oceanica]

Hi guys,

My baby oscar Ponyo (2 inches) had a scrape with her older tankmate, Totoro (5.5 inches), last Tuesday night, where he just chased her around a bit (he was in a foul mood because I made the mistake of waking him from his slumber when I got home after dark and thought I'd check up on them). Since then, she's been keeping to a few spots in the tank and refusing food. She ate a bit of prawn on the Wednesday, but has eaten absolutely nothing since - today is day 4 without any food. Nothing will tempt her: I've tried pieces of shrimp sinking right past her, live foods (artemia and water fleas) and, of course, the usual dry food - all rejected. She just stays in a few corners, moping. Totoro has left her completely alone since. She has no visible damage to her fins or scales and no other signs of disease. It's odd as when she first arrived she was chased by Totoro for a day or two and that didn't seem to unsettle her at all, she'd just dodge him and keep on swimming and begging for food.

Any thoughts, advice? I'm sure you've seen this question before (but I haven't found an answer for it): will she starve herself to death? She's only a tiny fish so not sure how much longer she can go without eating, particularly as she's supposed to be eating multiple times a day...

[Gerry]

how long have you had the bigger Oscar?

Hiding in corners usually comes from bullying, because you don't see it doesn't mean it isn't happening as I know of 2 that used to do nothing all day but at night war broke out.

At this point I would do a big water change and keep an eye out to see if it comes round since there is no damage.

[Oceanica]

She's not hiding as such, just sticking to a couple of fixed spots in the tank and eating nothing. I've had Ponyo for two weeks. Totoro chased her quite a bit on the first day, and a little on the second, but she was such a brave little thing and would just brush it off and keep doing her thing. Then they were fine until last Tuesday, when Totoro got in a dark mood (literally - he looked very dark!) and chased her around again for several minutes, until they went back to sleep. Then she's been acting funny ever since. Totoro will swim past her every now and then and there's no interaction, so it's hard to figure out what is going on or why she won't eat. I mean, she must be very hungry by now?

[OinKY]

Check the water quality. Do the large water change Gerry recommended.

Going without eating isn't a big issue for a short period when young.There is no danger until the stomach starts to sink in and O takes a "big head" look. The fresh water of a big water change,whether there is a water quality issue or not,should trigger a feeding response.

[Oceanica]

The water quality is fine and I did a 50% water change two days ago... Oh well. I guess it's an Oscar mystery.

[OinKY]

Os do a hierarchy. Could just simply being submissive on the feeding until clear "the boss" is ok with it.
If the water quality is checking fine (meaning 0 ammonia/nitrite and <5 on the nitrate),the O shouldn't let itself starve given it's in good health.

Note on nitrates. The younger a fish is the more susceptible it is to it's influence on the pituitary gland...that regulates growth and metabolism...and one effect is suppressed hunger. When young fish are involved nitrates should be maintained as low as posssible.

[Oceanica]

Ponyo died overnight, after 5 days of refusing food. I think she developed an opportunistic fungal infection; there was the faintest hint of growing fuzz around her eyes and her skin was starting to look ulcerated. So sad... she was a precious little thing.

[donsfish]

Sorry to hear

[JohnL]

Sorry you lost her.

[OinKY]

Sad to hear.

Don't really think it was your setup or anything in your care.

[callen]

Sorry for your loss.

[Gerry]

that's a shame

[Oceanica]

Thanks guys...