Trigger won't eat!

[Amador]

Hey all, I recently purchased a blue-throat trigger and have been trying to get him to eat something for the last 5 days. So far I have tried mysis, krill, brine, marine cuisine, reef plankton (all frozen), and also some chopped shrimp. He tastes all the food and spits it out; he never actually swallows anything. I have some Selcon on order which I will try but does anyone have any other suggestions? His stomach is super-pinched, I am getting desperate! Any info would be GREATLY appreciated!

[flameangel88]

Is your trig in a tank by itself or with other fish? If you have other fish especially larger fish it may take a little longer. All my trigs took at least a week to eat and sometimes two weeks to come out. If there's no other fish in the tank then try a live clam on half shell.

Also check for flukes. If it's in a QT then I would treat for internal parasites with Prazipro.

[gradth]

When I got my blue throat pair, the male would not eat for almsot 2 weeks. Mostly hid and only came out when we were not near. Shortly after he turned into a huge pig and now chases me back and forth and eats anything I put in. Also loves the seaweed sheets. I was freaked out at first and thought the worst, but he did a 180 shortly after.

Good luck.

[Wolverine]

How does his mouth look? Is the jaw deformed? Can he open it?

Some of the Xanthichthys triggers develop a mass in/around their jaws that stops them from eating. It seems that it's not really clear what it comes from, which means, of course, that there's no good treatment for it. IME, it's more common on crosshatches than bluejaws, but it can happen with any of them.

[Amador]

Thanks for the ideas. He is in a 125g tank with a yellow tang (smaller than the trigger, if only a little), maroon clown and a sixline wrasse. The trigger mouths the food, sometimes multiple times for each piece and then ends up just spitting it out. His mouth / jaws look fine, and he can physically fit the food in his mouth but there is no swallowing going on. I haven't seen any harrassment and he has plenty of places to hide but he is out and about and shows an active interest in food.

[danorth]

Could the pinched stomach be from internal parasites? If it doesn't eat, it doesn't eat. Was the gut pinched looking when you bought it?

[euod]

live brine yet?

[Amador]

I haven't tried live brine yet, that's next It will be a week that I've had him tomorrow and I haven't seen him eat anything. His stomach was not this pinched when I bought him but has gotten worse over the last week. The mysis / marine cuisine soaked in Selcon did nothing, he tasted it and spit it out. I plan to try chopped scallops in addition to the live brine. There is Selcon in the water column now, will he absorb any nutrients from that?