# Calcium Deficiency?



## marley23 (Aug 14, 2013)

I have an African Peacock Cichlid as my fish at work (I am a children's mental health counselor). I have had him since July and he has been a great therapy fish! I swear he know what people are feeling sometimes and the children love to interact with him. At the end of every session if they have been good they give him a piece of food. 

Anyhow, about a week ago my fish, affectionately name Sulley, stopped eating. In fact, I did not even see him open his mouth. He stopped coming out of his rock unless he was moving to another rock. I have small rocks as a substrate in my tank, so I thought he may have swallowed a rock because there was a bump on him just below his mouth on his belly between his gills. My coworker caught him and clear out his mouth but instead of finding rocks he found a white almost booger like substance. After clearing some out my fish will open his mouth, but is still not interested in eating. Does anyone know what I may try to help my fish?

My client came in yesterday and said it could be a calcium deficiency. She stated my fish had two white spots on the fin on his belly and this is caused by a lack of calcium. She mentioned I have to get a bag of something and hang it in the tank. I have no problem doing this if it is what could be helpful. I do have Sully in a ten gallon. I can not have any larger of a tank in my office, even though I know the space would be helpful. I have a heater and a submersible filter for 10 to 20 gallon tanks. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

Marlene


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

Hi Marlene, could you possibly post a clear picture of the entire fish and the area on his belly that your client thinks might be a problem?

It would also be helpful if you can post the water change frequency and regular maintenance procedures you do on this tank.

What type/brand of food are you feeding?


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## marley23 (Aug 14, 2013)

Thank you for your response!

I have been filling up the tank on a weekly and bi-weekly basis with the well water we have at the agency. Since July I have done one 50% water change and then 10% water changes two to four times a month. I have been switching his scenery frequently because it seems he likes to move stuff around to create his little "territories". Other than that he is fed up to six times a day as long as he is willing and able to eat his food. I use TetraCichling floating cichlid sticks with an optimal growth formula (thank you marketing schemes!).

I will try to post a picture below but I have never posted a picture before so it may flop... the bump is no longer there now that we cleared out his mouth but it was just under the first part of his gills. But you can clearly see the two white dots on his belly fin (I'm not sure of the correct name of this fin).


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

Thanks for the additional information.

Your picture link didn't work. Check out the link in my signature for Posting Pics, you need to upload your pics to a photo hosting website first.


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## marley23 (Aug 14, 2013)

Lets try this again...


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

Excellent!! The two whitish spots on the anal fin are called egg spots and are completely normal in some fish. They are not a sign of any deficiency.

I don't know if you have the option to change any of the decor in this tank but I would replace the gravel with sand if you could. Your fish would enjoy the sand much more, it is easier to keep clean because any uneaten food and feces wouldn't get trapped in the gravel and both you and the children would enjoy seeing the natural behavior of the fish moving the sand around and sifting through it for any missed food particles.

Some options for sand are the types purchased from a local fish store or you can use pool filter sand (PFS). The downside with PFS is the minimum size is usually 50 lbs.

I don't think that is a true Aulonocara sp. Peacock, probably just a man-made name.


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## pancakeloach (Feb 4, 2008)

That looks like a beautiful M. callainos to me! 

As for what was in the fish's mouth, I've got one idea. "Not eating for a few days, becoming reclusive, bulge in mouth" sounds suspiciously like Sulley might be a girl! I've had a lone female rusty lay eggs while she was in quarantine and hold them for a few days, but as they obviously weren't fertilized, she eventually ate them. Try googling images of cichlids holding eggs and see if the bulge in the throat area looks similar to what you saw.


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## marley23 (Aug 14, 2013)

Oh my goodness, I googled cichlids holding eggs and that is exactly what it looked like! How amazing! She had eggs in her mouth! He he. I will have to research more on this behavior and what to expect. I suppose I will have to tell all my clients Sully is actually a girl!  That eases my mind as well.

I will be looking into replacing the gravel with sand as soon as my budget allows. She already pushes around the gravel and makes piles in the corners of the tank. Sometimes I will be in the middle of the session and hear some clicks of falling rocks. Clients love to see this behavior and they often project their own thoughts and feelings onto the fish which then helps me. I'm very glad I went with a Cichlid instead of another tropical species.


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## AfricanLove (Jan 2, 2012)

That is definitely a Cobalt Zebra in my opinion, not a Peacock. It's good that we solved your problem!!


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