serverum wont eat

Question
I have a 30 gallon tank with 3 silver dollars, some tetra's and one serverum which I've had since it was 1/4 inch long.
it's now over 4 inches long.  In the last few weeks the serverum has stopped eating and stopped interacting with the other fish.  I tried giving them more flakes than granules which worked last time but this time it's not making a difference.

Answer
Hi Jason,
While some cichlids mysteriously go on a "fasting period" and sooner or later they will snap back to normal, its definitely a cause of concern when a fish stops eating and interacting with the other fish.

Unfortunately it is difficult to diagnose a fish who has changed his behavior but I have few symptoms to go by. I can only do an educated guess.

One thing is you should definitely check your water quality (make sure-- ammonia-0 nitrite-0 nitrate-20 or less) and do a couple of 30-50% water changes just as a precaution.

Keep a close eye on him for -any- odd physical signs of stress or illness. Such as red-streaked fins, cloudy fins/ragged fins, stringy poo, ect...

For now, do some water changes and try tempting the little fella with some frozen bloodworms or brine shrimp, frozen krill (make sure to thaw all these foods before feeding), or another irresistible food for severums is earthworms. You can get live "bait worms" from most places that carry some fishing gear. Take a small earthworm and rinse it off first under running water then put it as near your severum as possible. If the worms are too large you can always chop them (although this is quite unpleasant).

Foods soaked in garlic extract are also an option. Garlic is commonly used for discus as an appetite stimulator and it also deters parasites as well. Your severum may appreciate some good quality cichlid pellets better than flakes or granules.

Best of luck with your Severum. I hope all is well!
Karen~