helfrichi firefish not eating

[fishforu]

My firefish is not eating. It simply watches the mysis float on by and has shrunk in size. It also only swims on the sand bed, doesn't swim above and mostly hides in the rocks.

I noticed it's dorsal fin was damaged, but can't figure out by what. I don't notice any fish picking on it.

Tank inhabitants include:
hawk fish, potter angel fish, jawfish, goby, cleaner shrimp, fire shrimp, snails.

Any suggestions to remedy his lost appetite?

Thanks.

 

[Mike612]

How big is the tank? How long has it been running for? It's very possible that the hawkfish or the jawfish were attacking your firefish. Jawfish are very similar in shape to the firefish so it's possible that the more timid firefish is being bullied.

 

[fishforu]

The tank is a 30 gallon cube running for over a year and a half. The fire fish was the first fish introduced to to the tank and was the dominant fish. The jaw fish and hawk fish was introduced a few months ago. I haven't notice any fighting/bullying.

From my observation, the jaw fish remains in its hole it dug, the hawk fish simply swims around, and the fire fish hides in the rocks, but came out to swim openly during feeding until recently. That's when I noticed the dorsal fin damage.

 

[Ben1]

you may need to try live brine, gut load them with selcon so they have some nutrition.

 

[Anonymous]

Very likely that the hawkfish is bullying the firefish into hiding. I would remove one or the other to a separate tank.

 

[Anonymous]

I second Matt's emotion.