GBR's and larger Cichlids.

[HiJaC]

hi,

My large Cich Elliottii is acting depressed or ill and i'm wondering if the cause is 4 young GBR (3 male 1 female) i put in the tank (47G corner tank) a month or so ago causing the much bigger fish destress.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=99347

I've not seen any bullying going on against the large Cichlid, but would the sheer presence of so many warring males be destressing and depressing my Elliottii?

Any advice welcome,

John

 

[Jchillin]

One of the first issues I see, if I have my cichlids correct, the elliotti is a malawian cichlid (Nimbochromis linni) and you have him in a tank with SA cichlids. These are different regions and they require different water parameters. What is the Ph of the tank?

 

[triazole]

i thinks John means the CA c. elliotti / t. elliotti.
i don't believe the gbr's would be able to stress anyone but themselves. so, probably the elliotti is down. do a few pwc's and feed some nice and juicy bloodworms. see if it helps any.

 

[HiJaC]

Hi,

Its the American type. Looks alot like a large crib.

I've decided to move it to the medical tank as it still hasnt eaten even with food falling all around it and is doing nothing but sit on the bottom the tank for days.

While moving it I have noticed some whiter areas around one side between the eye and the gills. One of which seems to be slightly raise/puffy/damaged.

The GBR's are really active just now and are probaly just becoming interested in making territory. I thought id got 2 male 2 female to keep them balanced and less agressive, but have 3 males instead.

Would this balance of lots of males to one female lead to a more agressive reaction to the Elliotti?

He's not eating anything just now, ive tried to give it every treat i could tempt him with. He's been like this through a couple of 50% water changes now. So i'm getting worried about him starving to death,

Thanks for the replies so far.

John

 

[triazole]

death by starvation would take a long while, don't worry about that.
probably hit himself on some decor. maybe melafix would per him/her up?
i still can't see the gbr's stressing an elliotti out...but could be possible. let him/her get better, and then take a decision. you can also wait till the gbr's have paired up and remove the two other males, to reintroduce the elliotti.

 

[HiJaC]

Would the GBR's be much happier/less agressive if I took one one male and balanced it out to 2 female 2 male?

 

[triazole]

i'm not that good at answering sa cichlid q's , but i think that'd be better than a 3/1 m/f ratio.
how's the elliotti btw?

 

[HiJaC]

i'm not that good at answering sa cichlid q's , but i think that'd be better than a 3/1 m/f ratio.
how's the elliotti btw?

Still not eating. Had nice juicy bloodworms sinking all round him today and he didnt even twitch.

He is either resting on the base of the medical tank or hovering a couple of inches up, not swimming about much at all.

He looks a bit pale now.

I'm off to my LFS to chat to them in 15 minutes, they keep a couple of large ones in their display tank and have a couple of in the know guys who may be able to give some help.

Its just so odd.

John

 

[triazole]

any updates?
maybe a few mates would cheer him/her up? not immediately, but sometime in the future.

 

[HiJaC]

any updates?
maybe a few mates would cheer him/her up? not immediately, but sometime in the future.

I've had trouble getting onto these forums because of a virus that seems to spawn from this site. (have posted about it in another section of this site).

I'm on now at work so can post again.

He's still not eating, the raise spots on the one side got a bit puffier and one went red/bloody a few days ago. Additionally I was him pooping for the first time in ages yesterday, and it was long white and stringy.

My chat with the experts at the LFS was productive, they indicated that it could well be internal paracites or worms as most Cichlids carry them harmlessly but when down or stressed they can take hold and effect them.

I have some medicine to add to the water today which should drive them out.

Will keep you updated. I have some pictures Id like to post but I have to install firefox or another browser to be able to get on here at home atm.

Thanks,

John

 

[HiJaC]

hi,

just to update.

I have added in the anti paracite/worm medicine yesterday and have been told to give it a week before assessing.

Slight perking up in behaviour so far but still not eating.

Thanks,

John

 

[triazole]

that's certainly good news. the poop is a sure-shot id for internal parasites.
in the past, the gel-tek internal-parasites med has worked for me, though you have to mix it with some flake food for the fish to consume it (unlike what they claim).
hope he /she gets better.

 

[HiJaC]

This stuff was a white powder that i could safely OD up to ten times. It said not to underdose so I did about 2.5 X the standard amount.

He is now free swimming about half way up the water column in the 10 G medical tank.

Not seen any eating of yet. I did see yesterday a small 1mm bit coming off the area I mentioned earlier with the white/reddish raised spots.

Potentially it ejecting a paracite/worm from its skin?

John

 

[triazole]

internal parasites would just die in the body, and won't come out.
external parasites, on the other hand, should die and detach themselves from the body (think ich).
anyways, all around good news.

 

[HiJaC]

Sadly he died this morning.

I found him on his side at the base of a massive group of shading broadleafed plants, as it he was sleeping under a tree.

RIP - Big Daddy

Shame as I really did think he was on the mend.

Best Regards,

John

 

[triazole]

sorry for the loss, john. sometimes, it's just their time.

 

[HiJaC]

Sadly he was probably less then 8 months old. Just becoming fully grown.

This means ive lost all my best Cichlids over the last couple of months.

My paired Cacatioudes both died when I had to move them from the main tank after they spawned. Managed to get the male into the spare tank, but couldnt get the female. I moved the babies to the fry tank where they still are now. Male and female died of broken hearts within 2 weeks. Im a rite bastard.

Now with this death i've lost my centrepeice fish. But am thinking my main tank is overstocked as it is so I don't think I should replace it.

More on this later,

I have some piccys to post once the site gets rid of the server virus that stops me posting from home.

John