Cichlid not eating

[Piratechest]

I didn't want to start a new thread for this so I'll ask here. I purchased frozen brine shrimp for my 4 Bolivians in my 55gal. I do a water change every Sunday.

The lady at the store told me to put a chunk of the frozen brine into my net and wash it around until It thaws out in my tank. I was wondering will this extra juice foul my water?

 

[molliwopp]

Had the tank setup for about a month before adding any fish.
The first and second week I did 40% water changes. This week I'll do a 25% water change

When it was setup or that month were you dosing ammonia?

When was the last time you tested their water? As youve only just set up the tank i would be testing the parameters regularly and doing 40% twice weekly.

 

[david019]

Ok sorry i didnt see that you added salt. Weird that they would both stop eating, did you get them from the same tank at the lfs? One looks bloated, what constantly?

Sunken stomachs can be a sypmtom of internal paracites as can lack of appetite. Also a bloated stomch can mean bacterial or paracitical infection. Can you isolate these fish? Its extremely difficult to treat fish for these types of afflictions once theyve stopped eating.

i would use an anti paracitical and also an anti bacterial med, especially if you plan on keeping them in the tank with your other fish as meds in the water might be able to help them but will have a better chance of stopping the spread. Some meds have added ingredients that perk the fish up temporarily which could be just what you need to be able to feed them laced pellets or food.

What's IFS?? I did put meds in the tank just in case it was a parasite. I used coppersafe
The bloated one always looks bloated
EhehaWh

 

[molliwopp]

Lfs - Local fish store.

If its constantly bloated it could be the dreaded malawi bloat which is a hard disease to treat for the same reasons that they stop eating.

Were you dosing ammonia for that month the tank was set up?

How other fish do you have in the tank with them?

 

[david019]

Lfs - Local fish store.

If its constantly bloated it could be the dreaded malawi bloat which is a hard disease to treat for the same reasons that they stop eating.

Were you dosing ammonia for that month the tank was set up?

How other fish do you have in the tank with them?

Ohh that's what LFS stand for, cool. I brought them online and had it ship.
I read about Malawi bloat it's difficult for them To recover, said its a 50/50 chance they'll recover.
No I was not dosing ammonia.
I have a total of 13 in a 55 gallon. With a spotted Rafael catfish.

 

[bmarine]

Have you tried garlic? I believe people use garlic as an additive to help fish get attracted to food.

 

[david019]

Have you tried garlic? I believe people use garlic as an additive to help fish get attracted to food.

The fish food has garlic as an ingredient, what food do you recommend

 

[bmarine]

I personally feed 4 different types of food to my cichlids. NLS is always good, and my fish seem to like Gamurus shrimp by Hikari.

 

[sixtyfou]

Does anybody ever feed their cichlids live fish? If so what kind?

 

[molliwopp]

Nope, i dont have anything big enough to eat live fish. Its a silly idea is you ask me though as you have no idea if the fish theyre eating have an illnesses. If i had a molly tank i would consider using the never ending supply of fry to occasionally feed some peacocks though, but they could do without im positive.

 

[sixtyfou]

After I asked that I read more about it. Popular opinion seems to be against it. As you suggest the disease risk is high and the value is debatable. I'm bringing myself up to speed on Cichlids as fast as I can, and trying to manage a very challenging situation. I'm probably due to start a thread about this experience.