So I have a pair of convict cichlids, that bred for the first time when I got them 3 weeks back. Yesterday night I saw the male chasing the female here and there, and I assumed it was regular cichlid behavior as they do that. Today around 12pm I checked in on the fry (they were with the parents) and found the female hiding at the top of the tank, her tail completely nipped off, and her fins torn. She was heavily breathing and could barely move. I quickly moved the male to a different tank and the female went and hid between the rocks in the fry tank. Its been 5 hours since I moved the male and the female is still alive, but I have NO IDEA how to take care of her, or what to do. Just keep in mind that I'm unable to get meds (I have Epsom salt only) anytime this week because I live in a rural area. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
🌟 Exclusive Amazon Black Friday Deals 2024 🌟
Don’t miss out on the best deals of the season! Shop now 🎁
Female Convict Cichlid Been Attacked
- Thread starter terrell
- Start date
Just do big daily water changes and gravel clean the substrate. that should dilute any disease organisms in the water and she should be able to heal up by herself.
If you can get some salt (sodium chloride), that can be used to reduce the chance of fungal or bacterial infections getting into the damaged tissue. However, if the tank is clean she should be fine without needing medication or salt. You might have some non-iodised salt in the kitchen cupboard that you put on food, that can be used.
Sodium chloride is different to Epsom Salts, which is magnesium sulphate and won't do anything to kill bacteria or fungus.
Monitor her wounds for red areas, these are bacterial infections.
If she gets white fluffy stuff on the damaged areas, that is Saprolegnia fungus.
Both of these can be treated with salt (sodium chloride) if caught early.
--------------------
SALT (sodium chloride)
Using Salt to Treat Fish Health Issues.
For some fish diseases you can use salt (sodium chloride) to treat the ailment rather than using a chemical based medication. Salt is relatively safe and is regularly used in the aquaculture industry to treat food fish for diseases. Salt has been successfully used to treat minor fungal and bacterial infections, as well as a number of external protozoan infections. Salt alone will not treat whitespot (Ichthyophthirius) or Velvet (Oodinium) but will treat most other types of external protozoan infections in freshwater fishes. Salt can treat early stages of hole in the head disease caused by Hexamita but it needs to be done in conjunction with cleaning up the tank. Salt can also be used to treat anchor worm (Lernaea), fish lice (Argulus), gill flukes (Dactylogyrus), skin flukes (Gyrodactylus), Epistylis, Microsporidian and Spironucleus infections.
You can add rock salt (often sold as aquarium salt), swimming pool salt, or any non iodised salt (sodium chloride) to the aquarium at the dose rate of 1 heaped tablespoon per 20 litres (5 gallons) of water. If there is no improvement after 48 hours you can double that dose rate so there is 2 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres.
Keep the salt level like this for 1 to 2 weeks. There should be a noticeable improvement within 24 hours of adding salt. If there's no improvement after a week with salt, post pictures of the fish, stop using salt and look for a medication that treats fungus and bacteria (preferably not an antibiotic).
The salt will not affect the beneficial filter bacteria, fish, plants, shrimp or snails.
After you use salt and the fish have recovered, you do a 10% water change each day for a week using only fresh water that has been dechlorinated. Then do a 20% water change each day for a week. Then you can do bigger water changes after that. This dilutes the salt out of the tank slowly so it doesn't harm the fish.
If you do water changes while using salt, you need to treat the new water with salt before adding it to the tank. This will keep the salt level stable in the tank and minimise stress on the fish.
When you first add salt, add the salt to a small bucket of tank water (2 litres) and dissolve the salt. Then slowly pour the salt water into the tank near the filter outlet. Add the salt over a couple of minutes.
If you can get some salt (sodium chloride), that can be used to reduce the chance of fungal or bacterial infections getting into the damaged tissue. However, if the tank is clean she should be fine without needing medication or salt. You might have some non-iodised salt in the kitchen cupboard that you put on food, that can be used.
Sodium chloride is different to Epsom Salts, which is magnesium sulphate and won't do anything to kill bacteria or fungus.
Monitor her wounds for red areas, these are bacterial infections.
If she gets white fluffy stuff on the damaged areas, that is Saprolegnia fungus.
Both of these can be treated with salt (sodium chloride) if caught early.
--------------------
SALT (sodium chloride)
Using Salt to Treat Fish Health Issues.
For some fish diseases you can use salt (sodium chloride) to treat the ailment rather than using a chemical based medication. Salt is relatively safe and is regularly used in the aquaculture industry to treat food fish for diseases. Salt has been successfully used to treat minor fungal and bacterial infections, as well as a number of external protozoan infections. Salt alone will not treat whitespot (Ichthyophthirius) or Velvet (Oodinium) but will treat most other types of external protozoan infections in freshwater fishes. Salt can treat early stages of hole in the head disease caused by Hexamita but it needs to be done in conjunction with cleaning up the tank. Salt can also be used to treat anchor worm (Lernaea), fish lice (Argulus), gill flukes (Dactylogyrus), skin flukes (Gyrodactylus), Epistylis, Microsporidian and Spironucleus infections.
You can add rock salt (often sold as aquarium salt), swimming pool salt, or any non iodised salt (sodium chloride) to the aquarium at the dose rate of 1 heaped tablespoon per 20 litres (5 gallons) of water. If there is no improvement after 48 hours you can double that dose rate so there is 2 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres.
Keep the salt level like this for 1 to 2 weeks. There should be a noticeable improvement within 24 hours of adding salt. If there's no improvement after a week with salt, post pictures of the fish, stop using salt and look for a medication that treats fungus and bacteria (preferably not an antibiotic).
The salt will not affect the beneficial filter bacteria, fish, plants, shrimp or snails.
After you use salt and the fish have recovered, you do a 10% water change each day for a week using only fresh water that has been dechlorinated. Then do a 20% water change each day for a week. Then you can do bigger water changes after that. This dilutes the salt out of the tank slowly so it doesn't harm the fish.
If you do water changes while using salt, you need to treat the new water with salt before adding it to the tank. This will keep the salt level stable in the tank and minimise stress on the fish.
When you first add salt, add the salt to a small bucket of tank water (2 litres) and dissolve the salt. Then slowly pour the salt water into the tank near the filter outlet. Add the salt over a couple of minutes.
Her eyes have whitened a lot does that indicate anything? I'll try get some sodium chloride. Thank you.
Usually, Cichlid species known to fight, like convicts, heal very fast. 3 weeks after a spawning begs the question - what happened to all the fry? That could be at the root of the fighting.
I think i didn't explain properly, I got the cichlids 3 weeks back, week 1 they were just establishing territories, week 2 they had babies/fry and finally week 3 (3-4 days after fry hatched) female was attacked viscously by the male.
Generally, that means one or the other attacked some fry, or if the tank is small or has other fish, was perceived as attacking the fry. Convicts would be great Internet warriors because they are quick to judge and really nasty when they start. You can't recombine them til the fry are gone as the pair bond is broken. It often happens with a first brood. These fish learn.
I really appreciate this information because it clears out everything. Currently the female is with the fry and the male has been separated. She seems to be pushing through which is awesome.
Can I add the sodium chloride with the mother (injured fish) and fry in the same tank? or will the salt affect the fry? Thank you.
How old are the fry?
If they are only a week or two old, I would try to avoid adding salt or medications of any sort. If they are a more than a month old, they should be fine with 1 heaped tablespoon of salt per 20 litres of water.
If they are only a week or two old, I would try to avoid adding salt or medications of any sort. If they are a more than a month old, they should be fine with 1 heaped tablespoon of salt per 20 litres of water.
madmark
New Member
i once many years ago kept convicts they were very vicious i had a black shack in the tank and he was about 8 inch long and they wouldn't leave him alone ,mine also had fry but the male was always picking on the female ,shame such a great looking fish but i could not keep them again !
Similar threads
Most reactions
-
289 -
253 -
202 -
181 -
151 -
148 -
148 -
129 -
123 -
101 -
94 -
93 -
84 -
83 -
80