# Help! Cyps not eating/wasting



## cdarminio (Mar 29, 2015)

I recently lost one of my male cyps to wasting. He was noticeably thinner, sluggish and not as colorful as the other fish. Now I think another male is beginning to waste...hes not eating NLS or brine shrimp, but is eating small flakes. I've read all the posts about wasting and what can be done to treat it. I think I will try adding Garlic Guard and Reef Iodine/Cichlid Trace Elements and see if it makes a difference. Does anyone have experience treating "wasting" with iodine?


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## judyok (Aug 12, 2014)

The thing that worked for me with a wasting Cyp was API General Cure. It's the only thing I can get locally that has metronidazole. Of course that depends on whether or not your Cyps had the same thing my Cyps had. The back of the box list "wasting disease" as one of the diseases it targets.


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## Mcdaphnia (Dec 16, 2003)

I've found iodide to be very important in growing up Tanganyikan fry and juveniles. A shortage of iodine can cause the tissue around the throat to swell, reducing the fish's ability to swallow. The iodine works best as a preventative, but can stop or reverse the progression of the disease if it is caused by iodine deficiency.

When I see this problem in someone's fish, it looks as if the head is still fat and the body is disproportionately thin and wasted. Often on young Tropheus, there is a notch on top just behind the head where the body connects and is significantly lower. Iodine deficiency looks like a Big Head, so that is what I call it. Often other people call it wasting, but if is wasting that is due to parasites or disease and it looks different to me. The head is also thin and wasted looking.


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## cdarminio (Mar 29, 2015)

Thank you both for your advice. On Friday I picked up some reef iodide and garlic oil, as well as some baby brine shrimp. The directions on the iodide bottle said 1 drop per 25 gallons. Should I follow this dosage amount or should be adding more since tanganyika has higher iodine levels than ocean water?

It's too soon to tell if the iodine or garlic is making a substantial difference, but after adding both, I've notice that all cyps are eating. I also noticed that they are breathing slightly heavy. I assume this has do with the thyroid gland in there throat reacting to the iodine.

I've had these F-1 cyps for about a year and until recently I haven't lost any so I doubt it was parasites and indeed iodine deficiency.

I'll keep this thread updated based on future results.


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## Mcdaphnia (Dec 16, 2003)

Garlic in high enough doses to be effective is an old fashioned dewormer with possible harsher side effects than the synthesized modern ones. I don't use it in amounts above what works as a taste attractant. I was thinking in aquarium terms, but I guess that last sentence inadvertently applied to my own food too. If you are into herbal stuff, here is an article with a list of organic dewormers for pets in general. http://www.petremedycharts.com/Learning ... _Pets.html I gut load the live foods I feed to my cichlids with raw peas and carrots, so the carrot one got my attention.

The person who suggested the iodine was at the time the director of Belle Isle Aquarium in Detroit. He said to use the reef iodine products at the dosage on the bottle for reef aquariums. There is probably no benefit or harm in increasing the dosage, but anything that sells to reef hobbyists is expensive iodine included, so I would follow the printed directions for the correct dose.


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## noddy (Nov 20, 2006)

Are Cyps especially sensitive to iodine levels? Even more so than all the other Tangs that we keep in our tanks? 
I had a group of 30 jumbo cyps that suffered from wasting. When all was said and done, I had 15 males left from the group. 
Are female cyps more sensitive to iodine levels than male cyps? I have never had any success dealing with cyp wasting but then again, I have never took into account the iodine levels in the tank. I'm currently growing out a group of Colouratus and will have to keep this in mind if I run into any issues.


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## Mcdaphnia (Dec 16, 2003)

noddy said:


> Are Cyps especially sensitive to iodine levels? Even more so than all the other Tangs that we keep in our tanks?
> I had a group of 30 jumbo cyps that suffered from wasting. When all was said and done, I had 15 males left from the group.
> Are female cyps more sensitive to iodine levels than male cyps? I have never had any success dealing with cyp wasting but then again, I have never took into account the iodine levels in the tank. I'm currently growing out a group of Colouratus and will have to keep this in mind if I run into any issues.


I don't know of any research done on that. Some fish would have to be subjected to a iodine deficiency to test that. I treat them all, so if there is a species difference it is not making a difference. I put iodine in all my tanks that have Central American or Rift Lake fish. If it's a Tropheus or a lampeye it gets iodine. If it's a guppy or a Guapote it gets iodine. Carnivores get some krill or other seafoods. Vegetarians get some dried seaweed sheets (nori) once in a while. They eat it enthusiastically when they have not had it for a while but the attraction wears off if you feed it all the time. You can almost smell the iodine in seaweed.


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## cdarminio (Mar 29, 2015)

Unfortunately it looks like another one of my male cyps is wasting. I have been dosing with iodine, so now I assume it is being caused by stress.

For food I was feeding NLS cichlid formula, but only 3 males eat this (and I have to soak the pellets). I'm worried that because they are not eating the pellets they get weak and die quicker. I think I may just feed them frozen mysis.

I currently have 5 males and 1 female in a 40 gal breeder with some lamp. multis. I originally had 8 males and 1 female, but the sub males keep getting picked on by the dom males until they get skinny and die. Can I add more cyps to dilute the aggression?

Another though I had was to add another cichlid to keep the males cyps' aggression under control (I used to keep a lone tropheus with them and never had aggression issues until I removed him). Is this likely to work?


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## noddy (Nov 20, 2006)

cdarminio said:


> Unfortunately it looks like another one of my male cyps is wasting. I have been dosing with iodine, so now I assume it is being caused by stress.
> 
> For food I was feeding NLS cichlid formula, but only 3 males eat this (and I have to soak the pellets). I'm worried that because they are not eating the pellets they get weak and die quicker. I think I may just feed them frozen mysis.
> 
> ...


Have they been in a 40g breeder the whole time or did you move them there recently?
What type of cyps are they?


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## cdarminio (Mar 29, 2015)

They've been in the 40 since I first got them. Bought them as cyp leptosoma "mpimbwe blue". I'm going to try to add more to dilute any aggression.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Why not try them in a 48" tank with a dozen individuals?


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## noddy (Nov 20, 2006)

cdarminio said:


> They've been in the 40 since I first got them. Bought them as cyp leptosoma "mpimbwe blue". I'm going to try to add more to dilute any aggression.


If this is a 3' long tank, it is to small for Cyps IMO. They need at least 48" in length. 
I don't think adding more will help at all.


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## cdarminio (Mar 29, 2015)

noddy said:


> cdarminio said:
> 
> 
> > They've been in the 40 since I first got them. Bought them as cyp leptosoma "mpimbwe blue". I'm going to try to add more to dilute any aggression.
> ...





DJRansome said:


> Why not try them in a 48" tank with a dozen individuals?


I do have a 55 gal (48" x 12") that I may be able to use for them. Is giving them more space likely to solve the problem?


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## judyok (Aug 12, 2014)

Something that helped stimulated my Cyps when I had a couple of them not eating was feeding them baby brine shrimp. I know it's teeny tiny food, but they did eat them and it seemed to stimulate their appetite.


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## Leyshpunctatus (Feb 19, 2016)

+1. Mine even eat microworms and Hikari First Bites.


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## cdarminio (Mar 29, 2015)

judyok said:


> baby brine shrimp.


 :thumb: Thanks for reminding me I have frozen brine shrimp in addition to mysis. I just defrosted a cube and fed them. They look like stereotypical cyps again (eating machines).


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## judyok (Aug 12, 2014)

Well what really worked was the actual live moving baby brine shrimp. Their movement seems to coax them into a real feeding frenzy


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## cdarminio (Mar 29, 2015)

Yeah I figured that's what you meant, but frozen was all I had atm. I did go pick up some live brine shrimp and of course they ate it all in a few seconds. Is there a difference between baby and adult live brine shrimp?


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## cdarminio (Mar 29, 2015)

Does PE Calanus seem like it would be a good frozen food for cyps?

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/p ... 2916&r=947


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