# Female apisto question, why is she dieing? **Pics**



## CanuckGame (Feb 13, 2013)

hey guys, im rather new to Apistos and i am LOVING them, i have 3 cacatuoides (1 male 2 female)

now i THOUGHT one of the females was spawning, and for all i know, she was? she made herself a cave underneath my driftwood, she ignored the flowerpot caves i put in, and she hid in this cave for 4 or 5 days, i never even seen her once, she never came out to eat.

now yesterday i saw her come out, and she was on the brink of death, floating around, going to the top for air, struggle swimming on her side.... the male apisto looked really concerned and started waving his tail at her, and nudgeing her up off the ground telling her to go back in the cave or to go to the top....

she eventually went back into the cave yesterday, and now my lights just came on for the day, and she is now laying on the bottom, looks like shes about to die, has foggy eyes, struggling to breathe, just laying there....

whats going on?? i have tried to make a perfect environment for these fish, all my other fish seem to be thriving, i have Live Plants, driftwood, i bought Almond leaves (just put in yesterday)

i dont want her to die, and im not sure why this is happening, but it looks like its too late..

here is a pic of her yesterday










here is her now, having her last moments it looks like..










PH-6.5
GH-60 mg/l
KH 30 mg/l
Nitrite-0
Nitrate- also showing 0
Ammonia-0

the male keeps going to the female, laying beside her, nudging her gently, scaring everyone away that comes near.

*** only done 2 things to my tank this week,

added a DIY Co2 system, 2 days ago
added Almond Leaves yesterday


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## CanuckGame (Feb 13, 2013)

the male is certainly acting strange as well, i dont know if its because hes upset, or hes sick too, he keeps going next to her laying on his side and then **** swim away.

sorry for the glare


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

I have moved this to the illness folder for better assistance.


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## Call_me_Tom (Feb 11, 2013)

Is your tank cycled? I don't think your nitrates are supposed to be 0.


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## CanuckGame (Feb 13, 2013)

yep, my tank is cycled, i cycled for 5 weeks, i did a water change 24 hours ago maybe thats why my nitrates are at 0? not sure this is my first tank, all my other fish seem to be doing great, except the male apisto seems to be depressed, but besides that acting healthy.

i was told on another forum to remove the female, i put her in my 10 gallon, it just finished cycling 4 days ago.. shes in there alone, not looking like she has too much longer, is there anything i can try to do to help her recover?

and thanks Cichlidaholic for moving the thread.


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## cichlid-gal (Apr 27, 2012)

Just seeing this....do you have another tank you could move her too? A hospital tank?

Your nitrates should not be 0...(are you testing correctly, drops from bottle #1, slight shake of tube, shake bottle #2 for 30 seconds, put drops in tube, shake tube for 1 minute, let sit 5 minutes...I made the mistake when I was 1st testing of shaking the tube for 30 seconds instead of the bottle...maybe you are doing the same???) Because your ammonia and nitrites are both 0, even if you are not cycled your fish should not be ill (yet) as most often they will get ill because the ammonia or nitrites are high...so possibly something else is going on.

It could be an aggression issue...your male could have been overly aggressive with her, she could have some other illness, it's hard to say at this point. Are there any other sick fish in the tank? Are there any fish missing or acting differently? What other fish are there in the tank?

Either way, moving her to another tank might help with figuring out what is going on. Keep us informed and sorry about your girl...they are beautiful fish so I am really sad to see her so ill


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## CanuckGame (Feb 13, 2013)

you're right, i just re did my nitrate test, and its reading "5" now.

sorry about that.

i have moved her to my freshly cycled 10 gal, she isnt doing well thats for sure, is there anything i can do to help her?

the male was never aggressive towards this female but was very aggressive towards the other female. he seemed to have paired off with this female thats why hes acting very depressed now.

i hope she lives, she was beautiful, it will be a miracle if she survives at this point.


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## cichlid-gal (Apr 27, 2012)

Well, maybe someone else will have some other suggestions but I really can't tell from the pics or descriptions what might be going on. Hiding and hanging out on the bottom are not good things. And moving her might help if she is not too far gone if ther is something wrong in the tank. There could be something wrong with the CO2 system and I know nothing about Almond leaves. Possibly those were the culprits...I am also concerned that you are seeing some symptoms in your male, that might mean there is something that is tank wide. Again, hoping an illness expert will chime in.


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## BelieveInBlue (Jul 17, 2011)

Can't see clearly enough, but in the first picture her stomach looks pinched. Has she been eating at all recently? If so, it may be parasites.


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