# Chromide Cichlid Swimming wobbly and stays at bottom



## SB (Oct 27, 2010)

it's been doing this for a couple weeks

This is too complicated for me. I think I'm going to get rid of the fish. I'm over this hobby, thanks for lookin out.


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## Robin (Sep 18, 2002)

Need more information. The symptoms you describe could indicate many different things.

Tank size?
How long has the tank been running with fish?
How long have you had this fish?
Is the fish eating? If not when was the last time it ate?
Water parameters: ammonia, nitrite, nitrate:
Tankmates: 
And other fish showing any kind of symptoms? Any recent illnesses in the tank or have you added anything new to the tank in the last couple months? fish, plants, decorations.

Robin


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## SB (Oct 27, 2010)

The tank is 24L x 14.5H x 12W inches.

The tanks been running for two months and I've had the fish for 6 months.

The fish eats. I feed it cichlid pellets once a day.

I don't know anything about the water conditions, i put some aquarium salt in the water though.

There is a sucker fish and a small guppy, i put it in there for the cichlid to eat but it can't catch the little guy. They both look and seem like they are healthy.

I put a new fake plant in about a month ago.

I do small water changes once a week.


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## Robin (Sep 18, 2002)

Try this: 
Do a partial water change of 30% using a good quality dechlorinator. Siphon the gravel.
Add Epsom salt at the rate of 1 tablespoon per five gallons. Dissolve it first and add it gradually over 8 hours time. 
Don't feed him for 24-48 hours.

Robin


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## SB (Oct 27, 2010)

thank you berry much  i will try that


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## SB (Oct 27, 2010)

it didn't work :?


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## toolate_frozen (Dec 1, 2010)

Thats fish brother! Don't let this discourage you. Try loading him up on some rich food. Perhaps brine shrimp, maybe blackworms. Chromides are largely herbivorous when older so you could try lightly cooked peas, squeezed from shell. 
Get your local fish shop to test your water for nitrates. If they won't, then they don't love you enough! If you have nitrates above 25ppm, then consider doing a series of larger water changes, like the 30% Robin suggested, but twice a week until nitrates drop.

Quick question, do you match the temp, pH and salinity when you do a water change? I find many novices have no idea they even need to do this. Novices also tend to over-feed. Make sure any uneaten food is removed from the tank if its not eaten quickly. A rule of thumb is to feed for about 30 seconds. As I often say to customers, it takes most fish months to die of starvation but days to die from over-feeding.

SB, fish keeping can be complicated, but its not hard. You don't need to deeply understand the advanced concepts that are being chucked around to have a happy fish tank. Remember that part of it is entirely luck. Ask any experienced fish keeper and they will tell you that losses are inevitable. I'm surprised there aren't way more considering the massive stress put on fish before they get to your tank. You might have just got a dud fish. Sum total, if it dies, get a new one. In fact in this case, don't get a new one, get a different cichlid that won't out-grow your tank!


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## Robin (Sep 18, 2002)

Any change in his symptoms at all?

Robin


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## SB (Oct 27, 2010)

toolate_frozen:
How much water do I need to bring for them to test it?
I try to match the temp best I can, and I add the salt at the end. I don't know how to change water pH before I add it but there is a piece of drift wood in the tank. When it eats it grabs a pellet and goes to the bottom and eats it for a while then goes for another one. It takes way longer than thirty seconds, so should I feed it just one pellet? 
And thanks for the pep talk, this fish has given me problems in the past but I feel like it's because I had no idea what I was doing, hopefully I can get it better, if not I'll try til it dies!

Robin:
The not-feeding it for 48 hours seemed to help a little bit but he still sits at the bottom. He has moments where I can tell he's trying really hard to swim but then sinks back down. His belly does seem a bit swollen but he eats if I give him food. The underside of his body has gotten red but I'm pretty sure that's because he sits at the bottom all the time. He sometimes tries to chase the sucker fish, does that just add to the stress? I really don't want to remove it because all I have are one gallon tanks to put it in but I will if it'll help..? Again thank you for helping me with this, I don't know what I would do with out this forum!


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## toolate_frozen (Dec 1, 2010)

SB it sounds like the pellets you are feeding are a bit big. Shouldn't matter much though. Basically if there is food laying uneaten on the bottom after your fish are clearly full then you are over feeding. 
Belly turning red? Can you post a photo? They do turn orange eventually so hopefully its just that.
The best way to ensure stability when changing water is to have a barrel large enough to hold one water change. In your case, one 20-30 bucket would do. Know the pH of your tap water, know what pH you want to achieve (6.8 - 8.0 would be best for chromide), add pH up/down/buffers (depends on your tap water), add your salt, leave it a few hours, re-check pH of new water. If it's very close to the pH of your tank, you can do your change. Otherwise, keep adjusting and checking until its right. Eventually you will know how much ph adjusting chemical to add and you won't even need to check the new water. You may need to add a heater to the bucket/barrel so it doesn't cool down while you adjust.


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## Robin (Sep 18, 2002)

Sometimes when fish over-eat they'll have symptoms such as you describe. It may be that and he just needs to fast a little longer. The Epsom salt works as a laxative. Did you fast the entire tank when you fasted this fish? 
It may be swim bladder disease which can be caused by a number of things not all of them treatable.

I would first of all fast the fish again for at least a day. Then feed him one or two peas. Just one or two. Sometimes this will work.

If this doesn't work then you can try treating with a combination of maracyn and maracyn-two. Best to treat in a separate tank. 
Epsom salt in the water at a rate of 1 tablespoon per five gallons will help. Just make sure you dissolve it first and add it gradually over several hours time.

let me know how it goes.

Robin


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## Robin (Sep 18, 2002)

Most fish will adjust to a wide range of ph levels, regardless of the ph they have in the wild so keeping the ph level at a constant level is more important than matching a particular ph. If you do weekly partial water changes then your tank's ph will remain steady. It's when you let the tank go for a few weeks or more that the ph of the tank will drop and therefore be significantly different from that of the new water.
In most cases if you do the weekly partial water change you don't need to add anything to the water other than dechlorinator.

Robin


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## SB (Oct 27, 2010)

no change in his condition. i wasn't able to get a good picture of his bottom side to show ya'll the red.


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## Robin (Sep 18, 2002)

What have you done in regards to treatments since the last time you posted?


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