Cockatoo Dwarf Cichlid acting funny

[Vanceric]

My Apisto has been acting very weird for about 1-2 weeks now. He has always been a little aggressive and very outgoing but for the past week or two he has been hiding in the bottom back part of the tank. He is holding his tail fin closed and always cocked to one side. He either lays on the gravel or floats around uneven at the bottom... when he does swim he's running away from other fish or me coming up to the tank and he bumps into everything around him. I would think he's blind but he runs away when I come up to the tank so he can obviously see me. He's only eaten once or twice during this time period. Anybody with experience I would really like to know what's up.

He's in a 36 Gallon Bow-front with 3 mid-size Angelfish and a Twig Catfish.
Water parameters:
PH - 6.5-7
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - ~25

 

[bshenanagins]

That doesn't sound good, what's the temperature? Also your nitrates are a bit high I'd try and get them closer to 10-15. Temp should be around 78-79, try and keep the trates down as I mentioned and see if anything changes. If you can get some Indian almond leaves that could help also, it mimics their natural environment releasing beneficial acidic tannins.

 

[Vanceric]

Temp is 80F right now do you think that's okay? My thermostat is hard to fine tune. I'll do a couple water changes today and tomorrow.

 

[severum mama]

He's in a 36 Gallon Bow-front with 3 mid-size Angelfish and a Twig Catfish.

So no other fish in the tank? No female that is beating him up or intimidating him (it happens, occasionally)? Your water parameters are just fine for cacatuoides, this is a hardy species. Any chance the angelfish might be aggressive toward him?

 

[bshenanagins]

I would still aim for lower nitrates..

 

[Vanceric]

So no other fish in the tank? No female that is beating him up or intimidating him (it happens, occasionally)? Your water parameters are just fine for cacatuoides, this is a hardy species. Any chance the angelfish might be aggressive toward him?

The Angelfish are gentle as can be. I don't see any fin damage on him. I don't watch them 24/7 but I work shift work so I check on them at random hours and I've never seen them bully him, used to be the other way around. There's no other fish in the tank other than some x-ray tetras but they never fool with anybody. Everyone else is healthy and they've been in this tank together since April / May. No other fish have been added since and nothing has changed in their environment.

I'm watching him right now and he's having trouble staying upright. Also his body doesn't seem as straight as it used to. the black line down his side used to be straight but now it looks like his body turns down just before his head, almost like he's got a hump-back. His color seems fine, if anything he's more colorful than he was.

Thank you guys for the help. I just got back from grocery shopping and I'll be doing a 30-40% water change soon.

 

[severum mama]

It does not sound like your water quality is to blame (and probably the same for the tank mates). When you get a chance, can you get a photo of the fish in question?

 

[Vanceric]

Can't get a good picture because every time I approach the tank he darts to the opposite side smacking everything on his way. One thing I want to mention is although I'm pretty sure it's a male I'm not 100% positive.