# not sure I can help this Cyprichromis but...



## naturlvr (May 16, 2019)

4 Cyprichromis Leptosoma Kitumba were sent via mail to me when it was unusually hot. To really add problems..the mailman delivered it to the wrong place. And on top of that, the place that sent them did not pack them well. When I finally got them (the next day after the day they were to arrive) I was shocked when I opened the box and saw that they were pretty large (one was 5 inches long) and they were in a small amount of water, looking like sardines in a can. This was about 2 months ago when I was populating my tanks.
Two of them looked sort of OK but the largest one stayed on the bottom of the tank for over a month , barely moving, and miraculously has been coming around after losing a couple of inches and now eating. Two of them died and besides the large one who lost weight but doing well...the other one that lived is sunken in in his belly because he is not eating. Also he doesn't swim right and sort of floats around with the current. He can move his fins but he appears to have trouble going where he wants to go. He is still alive but it is like I am watching him slowly waste to nothing. Is there anything I can do for him? BTW this place I ordered from, I will never use them again after one experience with them. They also look nothing like blue or yellow..not sure what they really sent me and charged a high price but that no longer matters.
If you have any suggestions about why he is acting this way and what I can do...I am all ears. I would like to send a video of him "swimming" but I can't seem to upload videos. Here is his pic.


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## naturlvr (May 16, 2019)

Time is helping my little guy..he is swimming better..not perfect but better and trying to go after food.


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## noddy (Nov 20, 2006)

Good to hear that he's doing better. Cyps don't usually come back once they start to waste. It may be possible that he came in with an internal parasite.
If you google "Cyprichromis wasting disease" you will find that it is quite a common illness. I myself have been keeping cyps for over 20 years and have dealt with it a couple of times. I currently have two cyp. coloratus that started out as a group of 12. Thankfully before the last females died they gave me 24 babies to grow out. So far, so good.
Even with the babies you can usually tell which ones might not make it to adulthood by how skinny they are. Good luck with your little guy.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I've never had this with my cyps. I wish someone could figure out why some have the issue and some don't, because it IS common. I have a well and no dechlorinator...maybe this could be a factor?


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## noddy (Nov 20, 2006)

DJRansome said:


> I've never had this with my cyps. I wish someone could figure out why some have the issue and some don't, because it IS common. I have a well and no dechlorinator...maybe this could be a factor?


I really don't know what it is DJ. It has happened to me with Jumbo Coloratus and Micro kirizas but never had an issue with Utinta, Pavo or jumbo blue orchid.
Always in the same tank (210g) with the same filtration, water changes etc.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Maybe that is it...I kept the utinta types.


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## Furcifer (Aug 31, 2003)

It's usually related with iodine deficiency . You should add iodine with water changes. It effects quickly. 
Reeflowers Potassium Iodide is one of those products.


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## sir_keith (Oct 30, 2018)

naturlvr said:


> Is there anything I can do for him?


Yes- euthanasia. Cyps do not recover from this, so it is the most humane option. Even in the most healthy of Cyp colonies, you will see this happen occasionally.



noddy said:


> DJRansome said:
> 
> 
> > I wish someone could figure out why some have the issue and some don't, because it IS common.


I really don't think it's something simple, like lack of a mineral or whatever. I believe it is the same sort of thing as 'bloat,' but with a different presentation; that is, a stress-induced weakening of the immune system, followed by an opportunistic systemic infection. It is very difficult to treat this because by the time you are aware of the problem, it is usually too late. As with most things, prevention is the best remedy, and that means keeping your fishes as happy as possible. That's easier said than done with Cyps, because in nature they live in large schools that occupy vast expanses of water, and you just can't reproduce that in captivity. That's why they succumb to stress so easily, in my opinion.

Good Luck!


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