nirbhao
Aquarium Advice Addict
Trieste, the blue ram cichlid, and her gigantic anus
1~What type of fish is afflicted? In addition, please describe what is wrong with the fish to the best of your ability (i.e. cotton like growth, bloated, etc.).
We recently lost a blue ram cichlid, and our second is showing early symptoms.
On Friday last week, we noticed that one of the rams had poop the looked like spider silk. She was also very suddenly very skinny with a huge anus. I looked around the internet and decided it must be an internal parasite. We got the General Cure, and it seemed to make things worse for her. Sunday evening, I picked her up with my hand and put her in a clear cereal bowl with tank water and an air stone. I sent my husband out for clove oil, but he couldn't find any. Fortunately for her suffering, she didn't last much longer. We've returned her to Petco and got the refund but would like to replace her. The plan was to do so after we finished the medication course, but then yesterday the other ram's anus got swollen. I can't tell if she's getting skinnier or if her anus is just big enough to make her belly look like it's getting sucked in. None of the other fish are showing any symptoms.
2~What are your tank parameters (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, temp, pH)? Please give exact values.
Ammonia - less than .25ppm but not quite 0
Nitrites - 0
Nitrates - 30
Temp - 78°F
pH - 7.6
3~ How large is the tank? How long has the tank been set up?
29 gallons, established August 24 with equipment, substrate, decor, plants, and critters directly from a 10 gallon set up and cycled in June.
4~What type of filtration are you using? Please give the name and number (i.e. Fluval 304) and amount of gph if known.
Pen-Plaxx undergravel (mostly used for aeration)
AquaClear30 minus the charcoal
5~How many fish are in the tank? What kinds of fish are they and what are their current sizes?
1 female blue ram cichlid about 1.5"
1 male powder blue dwarf gourami similar in size
4 male guppies born August 16th, so maybe half an inch each
1 mystery snail, maybe 2"
4 nerites, 2 tiger and 2 zebra
6~When is the last time you did a water change and vacuum the gravel? How often do you do this? How much water do you remove at a time?
Had been doing weekly 10% water changes. Friday, we did a 20% and Monday a 50%
7~How long have you had the fish? If the fish is new, how did you acclimate it/them?
We've had this fish for 2 weeks. We acclimated by letting the bag float for half an hour and then opening it and letting the fish swim out on their own.
8~Have you added anything new to the tank--decor, new dechlorinator, new substrate, etc.?
1 week ago we removed several lava rocks because they were too hard to clean. We added a ceramic fairy house. It is glazed high-fire stoneware. I'm a ceramist and can ensure that it is not leeching chemicals. We changed out the heater. Friday we started using Seachem Neutral Regulator.
9~What kind of food have you been feeding your fish, have you changed their diet recently?
Aqueon color enhancing flakes
Omega One shrimp pellets
shelled peas once a week
change in diet-- we had been giving Hikari rotifers but couldn't find any. We gave bloodworm "gumdrops" on Friday.
Thanks for reading, and thanks in advance for any insights.
1~What type of fish is afflicted? In addition, please describe what is wrong with the fish to the best of your ability (i.e. cotton like growth, bloated, etc.).
We recently lost a blue ram cichlid, and our second is showing early symptoms.
On Friday last week, we noticed that one of the rams had poop the looked like spider silk. She was also very suddenly very skinny with a huge anus. I looked around the internet and decided it must be an internal parasite. We got the General Cure, and it seemed to make things worse for her. Sunday evening, I picked her up with my hand and put her in a clear cereal bowl with tank water and an air stone. I sent my husband out for clove oil, but he couldn't find any. Fortunately for her suffering, she didn't last much longer. We've returned her to Petco and got the refund but would like to replace her. The plan was to do so after we finished the medication course, but then yesterday the other ram's anus got swollen. I can't tell if she's getting skinnier or if her anus is just big enough to make her belly look like it's getting sucked in. None of the other fish are showing any symptoms.
2~What are your tank parameters (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, temp, pH)? Please give exact values.
Ammonia - less than .25ppm but not quite 0
Nitrites - 0
Nitrates - 30
Temp - 78°F
pH - 7.6
3~ How large is the tank? How long has the tank been set up?
29 gallons, established August 24 with equipment, substrate, decor, plants, and critters directly from a 10 gallon set up and cycled in June.
4~What type of filtration are you using? Please give the name and number (i.e. Fluval 304) and amount of gph if known.
Pen-Plaxx undergravel (mostly used for aeration)
AquaClear30 minus the charcoal
5~How many fish are in the tank? What kinds of fish are they and what are their current sizes?
1 female blue ram cichlid about 1.5"
1 male powder blue dwarf gourami similar in size
4 male guppies born August 16th, so maybe half an inch each
1 mystery snail, maybe 2"
4 nerites, 2 tiger and 2 zebra
6~When is the last time you did a water change and vacuum the gravel? How often do you do this? How much water do you remove at a time?
Had been doing weekly 10% water changes. Friday, we did a 20% and Monday a 50%
7~How long have you had the fish? If the fish is new, how did you acclimate it/them?
We've had this fish for 2 weeks. We acclimated by letting the bag float for half an hour and then opening it and letting the fish swim out on their own.
8~Have you added anything new to the tank--decor, new dechlorinator, new substrate, etc.?
1 week ago we removed several lava rocks because they were too hard to clean. We added a ceramic fairy house. It is glazed high-fire stoneware. I'm a ceramist and can ensure that it is not leeching chemicals. We changed out the heater. Friday we started using Seachem Neutral Regulator.
9~What kind of food have you been feeding your fish, have you changed their diet recently?
Aqueon color enhancing flakes
Omega One shrimp pellets
shelled peas once a week
change in diet-- we had been giving Hikari rotifers but couldn't find any. We gave bloodworm "gumdrops" on Friday.
Thanks for reading, and thanks in advance for any insights.
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