help with fish not eating

Hi Guys. Please i need some help. I bought a CBB and a bicolor angel from my lfs and was assured they were eating but they aren't. I m going in tomorrow to get a variety of foods to try. I normally feed ffrozen artemia and mysis wit marine green or marine cuisine. I also make my own with marinara mix. However i tried artemia and they dont even look at it, the lfs said this was what they were eating. Any help will be appreciated. I will get a heap of different foods tomorrow to try.
Thanks in advance.
These are two fish that i always wanted but never got to.

CBB,do you mean a coral beauty?

With algae eaters as all angel fish are, whether it be totally or partly, firstly make sure levels of oxygen are adequate, this can be seen by algae hanging onto oxygen bubbles, that means your water is oxygen saturated, that’s good!

Surface tension seriously broken is very important as well to help fish relax in the aquarium!

Next,nitrate will sicken fish as they drink the aquariums waters a great deal to off set osmotic bodily functions, make sure it is low and all other levels are good.

If these are in order a section of cunjevoi placed on the floor of the aquarium weighted down and taken out after a half day or so,this will normally inspire the fussiest of eaters, also to a lesser extent mussels will entice at times, the next are oysters and maybe hang some sushi wrap in the aquarium and maybe put a little fresh garlic in your home made foods, some say it helps!

Shops are there to sell you something, they are not always that much help or always honest, some are, some are not!

The fish can come from a shop already nitrate poisoned or have internal stress damage or has spent to much time in incorrect salinity levels or a treatment environment, hopefully none of these are the case with your fish!

Good luck mate!

Hey Liquidg

Thanks for the reply. Sorry the cbb is a copperband butterfly. The fish seem very healthy. Nitrate is 0. All parameters are good. Oxygen should be good. The bicolor doesn't even eat off the rock. The copperband does. There is pods for him but i dont think it will sustain him till the system matures more. So i would like for him to get some extra from feeding.
Thanks

Cool.

Both have a small gill plate area so they are both pron to many stress related problems!

From shops on average, bi colour angels have a three out of ten chance of survival, copper bands have a one out of ten chance of survival, this is on average, sorry!

That doesn’t mean you do not have winners.

If the bi colours gill area out side on the body is faded it is sick, butterflies and dwarf angels show lots of similarities in this way to show sicknesses.

Copper bands are not butterflies though, they are chelmonops!

I hope they do okay,i am off to bed,big day tomorrow.

Oh if you like have a look at this link,it might be of some help on some extra benthics for your copper band,they are tiny invert eaters,mine always liked some freshly frozen krill with other foods.

https://southeastqueenslandm.aforumfree.com/t1058-foodshome-made-and-collecting-benthic-invertsplankton-and-sponges-for-reef-aquariums

Thanks for the advice. Bicolor looks to be fine. No discolouring, it doesn't look malnutrinioned at all. I will keep an eye on him and the other fish.
Thanks again

hey guys don't worry, the bicolor was found in fish heaven his morning. Took him back to the lfs and got a refund. Thanks anyway.

That’s a bummer mate, it may have been both stress related and a bacterial issue internally, and that will do what you found happened!

With your home made fish food it may be a good idea to do what I do,I learnt the hard way about this, add to a cup full of aquarium salt water-food combo,no less than a heaped tea spoon of good salt water aquarium (salt)when you make it before freezing and some more as you thaw it out.

Heaps of bacteria develops on your home made food meats that are high in proteins, the bacteria loves this type of thing and this will allow the bacteria to get into the fishes gullet and continue into them, this is so common a killer of our marine pets you would be amazed at the numbers that go down to this simple thing we can do to avoid it, salt kills bacteria and if in abundance does not let it form a community!!!!

The salt will not harm anything at all in the foods, just protects the vulnerable.

Just like our food poisoning, they get it as well, but most times it kills them, they can’t go to a doctor or take some medication!

Never let your aquarium water get below the last two numbers of 23 to 25 on the speicific gravity tester-salt levels-corals start going down from bacterial attacks at 22 and bacteria starts to run rampant at 23 on the foods when added into the water.

Hey, thanks Liquidg

I will do what you suggest with the salt. Temps in my tank don't go over 25 and not below 23. This particular fish was only in my tank for a day and didnt feed at all, not even off the liverock. So any diseases or food poisining would be from the supplier or collector. But i asked the lfs to to get another and keep it there until it feeds and i am happy to take it home. This is a problem that i dont usually have.

But hey we learn everyday. As you always say to people and on the forum, like many i have made many mistakes and over the years have learn't heaps so the hard work is supposed to be done.
Thanks for your help