# Red Devil Cichlid acting 'Abnormal'?



## LadyFishLover (Mar 9, 2012)

Firstly, I want to apologize for the length of this post. I figure the more information the better.

I am not sure what's going on, and I can't seem to find a straight answer anywhere on the net about this. My red Devil Cichlid, Boogie, has been acting so strange for a couple of months, and even stranger the past week. For nearly all winter he has been sitting in the corner with his nose either completely pointing upwards, or downwards, as if he is sitting on his nose/mouth. I do NOT have a heater, so I put a heating lamp near his tank in one corner, and that was the corner he would stay in. It didn't alarm me TOO badly for a while, because I figured he was just cold, and trying to stay warm under the lamp. What concerned me more was the fact that his normally hardy appetite had seemed to diminish, and he just wasn't his normal 'Boogie' self, swimming around, moving stuff around, and all of that. We were also luck to have a somewhat 'Warm' weather...I mean some nights it DID get cold, but most nights was not bad at all, like in the 40's, we kept the house heater on to try and keep him warm, and kept the lamp on him(though we turned it off at times to give him a rest).

So within the past 2 weeks he seemed to come around even more so, started acting more 'normal' according to his regular personality. He eats and even 'attacks' the food again, and will 'play' with my dad by bumping his hand and let us pet him again.

SO I thought everything was going to be ok!! But then even more recently, I noticed him just completely LAYING on his side on the bottom of the tank. If he's not on his side, he's on his belly, but most of the time he's completely still and flat on his side. It freaked myself and my dad out horribly at first, we thought he was dead!! But when we 'woke' him up and starting playing around with him, he seemed to be just fine, but when we left the tank, he does it again. In fact, he's laying on his belly right now and slightly tilting to his side. :-?

This is really freaking me out. At night, when the light is off, and when he's not laying on his side, he swims normally, bumps into fake plants, and Just does his own thing. But I notice he doesn't MOVE the plants like he USED to do. And he doesn't move rocks like he used to. And he doesn't stretch his mouth into that horn shape like he used to.

He APPEARS healthy on the outside, no cuts, bruises, missing scales, visible parasites, fungus, Tore fins, growths or ANYTHING like that. He's actually VERY beautiful. But I HAVE noticed him kinda bumping rocks, as if he was trying to 'scratch' which I know could be a sign of external parasites...I just don't see anything at ALL though.

He's really freaking me out, and since you guys know cichlids, you guys could probably guess that both my dad and I are EXTREMELY attached to this fish...I mean, I dream about this fish regularly!! He's my BABY!!

Here are the basics that I know will help:

He is about 2 years old. He's been in this 55 gal tank for over a year. NO new fish have been added, and he is the ONLY resident in his aquarium. I feed him normal cichlid food for larger cichlids. He is I would say about 8-9 inches long from mouth to tip of tail. His tank seems to have a bit of algae growing where the light is. I use a large water pump/filter that is specific to a 55 gallon tank. I do NOT know the water details, as the testing kit I have is about as old as he is, and although I COULD use it, I am not sure about the accuracy anymore. (It was a chem. test kit) This fish has no history of sickness or disease. When I add water to his tank, I use Seachem- Stability and Prime, as well as Natural Sea Salt. I do a half tank cleaning and syphoning every 3 months.

Another quick question, slightly off topic, Which is better, Natural sea salt or Epsom salt?

Anyway,I know I've wrote a lot, but I HOPE Someone can help me!! PLEASE? I love this fish SOOO much.


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## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

I recommend purchasing a new freshwater testing kit, API makes a decent one. Test water parameters, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH.
Why is there no heater in the tank? Temp should be 76-80 and moderately stable.
When you add water, is that due to evaporation or is this when you siphon? 3 months is far too long between water changes and siphoning. I expect that nitrate levels are quite high but we'll need the test results first before making a suggestion as to how often and how much you should be doing for water changes.
At 8-9 inches, the 55g is likely becoming a bit cramped for him. A 12" depth doesn't leave much room for turning around. A 75g (48" x 18") would be more appropriate for him as he grows.
Regarding salt, there are arguments on both sides as to whether or not it's needed or even beneficial. I don't use it personally unless medicating.
For now, a water change won't hurt. If it's been a few weeks, perform a 20% water change and siphon. Do the same again tomorrow. Observe for any changes in behavior, good or bad.


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## LadyFishLover (Mar 9, 2012)

I certainly will change and siphon tonight. When adding water, yeah, its because of evaporation. How often should I change and syphon? I've always been told if I do it too much the fish can't become accustomed to the tank and becomes extra stressed, so thats why I wasn't doing it more often. I don't have a heater, updated test kit(API is the one I had/have) and a bigger tank because I'm currently unemployed...whatever he has now I had gotten back when I was employed[and he was much smaller at the time], had no idea I was going to become UNemployed, but I just graduated and am Job hunting. So I basically have to find ways around those things at the moment, but I still want him safe until then(and it shouldn't be long at all, HOPEFULLY!) Luckily, epsom salt isn't expensive, so my dad picked some up while he was out today. Since Im doing the tank change and all, I'm going to TRY epsom to see if it has any effect or change on him, as I don't think it will hurt him. SHOULD I go ahead and try to test the waters now, and then after I do the cleaning? Just to detect change? Anyway, I'm going to go eat then get to cleaning, I'll check back right before I start though, Thanks!!


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## Nina_b (Jan 3, 2011)

Water changes once a week, every week, with a good dechlorinator. Essential to keeping nitrates down.

For now, since it's been a while... go slowly, and do 20% today and tomorrow (1/5th of your water).


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## LadyFishLover (Mar 9, 2012)

Kay! Will do. Boogie seems to be a lot more active since his tank is cleaner and fuller. He's been swimming around and exploring, acting more or less like 'Boogie' haha. He even let me pet him from his hump to his mouth, he's so cute xD The ONLY thing thats still bothering me about how he's acting, is he is still rubbing his head against rocks, 'flicking' of sorts..


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## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

Post a couple of pics if you can. 
Epsom has a laxative effect on fish and sometimes aids in digestion. If he's eating and having normal bowel movements, then I don't think it's needed.
Go ahead and test water parameters with what you have, they may not be out of date. When testing nitrates, be sure to shake bottle #2 for at least 2 minutes before using. Check results after 5 minutes. If you don't have the test kit instructions, you can find them here.


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