Bit Of An Emergency

[mrjames]

hey! rite yesterday i came home and my female zebra was dead. now she was currently holding eggs and i blamed it on the male hasling her and stressing her out. but then i wake up this moring and another one of my cichlids is on his last legs. please dont get me wrong i spend alot of time on my tank each week and never miss a water change ect. these are the first fish i have lost in around a year!! the malawi i found this morning was upside down and looking like he was struggling for breath. but it really didnt look like swimmbladder disease.... he almost looked abit battered and discoloured but there isnt any bullying going on. il stop blabbing on now but any advice ect would be much appreciated. Thanks for reading

JAMES B)

 

[Ginge]

Can you post some info about the tank e.g. Fish, Water Stats, Feeding???
I am sure we can help but need a little more info.

Ginge

 

[Ferris]

You say they looked a bit battered, could it be a disease such as finrot?

 

[mrjames]

tank size 4 foot by 1 1/2 by 1 1/2. malawi set up. feeding is each day, some flake, mostly prawns and cubes ect. no water stats atm tho. i havent done them as been at work all day, sorry. i did a water change yesterday tho so they should be fine...
how long does fin rot take to kick in then?? the fins wearnt to bad at all but his body just seemed to be much lighter colour and he just didnt look on top of the world....

thanks for replys so far!

 

[Ferris]

If a fish is ill or stressed the colouration will fade but it won't really help with the diagnosis as it could still be anything. It could be bloat, which is quite common with Mbuna if there is too much protein in their diet. I would drop the prawns to be honest as most Mbuna are herbivores. You would be better sticking to a good Spirinula based veggie flake as the main diet.

 

[mamafish68]

list the fish and sex and size's of all the fish, please. You say theres no bullying, well some fish attack at night.

 

[Ferris]

Speaking from experience mamafish? Is that your tactic?

 

[mamafish68]

why cheeky mr ferris what ever would you mean by that my dear?



surely you're not refering to the fact I usualy post at night are you?

 

[Ferris]

Just couldn't resist!

 

[moonraker]

One problem to look out for at this time of the year is high water temperature. I keep my fish in a wooden shed. In this hot weather, the air temperature shoots to the high 30's.

Last year, I lost some lovely fish because I did not notice that their water had got so hot. Warm water is not good at absorbing oxygen. They sufficated. It seemed to get to the bigger fish first.

This year, I am changing water all the time, and I've even floated frozen water bottles in the tank to keep it down to around 80 degrees.

We learn by our mistakes.

Kevin