# Red Devil Disease



## Orang-E (Mar 7, 2016)

I have had a Red Devil for 4 years, all of the sudden over the weekend he got very sick. He now appears to be very close to death, he lays down on his side most of the time, and he rarely moves around except to change his laying position. He physically looks okay. He no longer eats When he moves, he is always twisting his body and it looks very painful and he scratches against rocks too. There is only one other fish in the tank, a smaller assorted african cichlid(I've had him for about 2 years), and today he started twisting his body and scratching against rocks too.

I have a 40 gallon tank, Aqueon Quiet Flow 55-75 filter, water temp has been at 75 degrees for years, I change about 25% of the water every other week, I feed him almost entirely reptile sticks, although a few weeks ago I put in about a dozen feeder goldfish(maybe he picked up a disease?), I try to keep the tank clean there is not much waste on the rocks I clean them quite often.

Is there anything I can do? What is the cause?


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## Sinister-Kisses (Jul 19, 2013)

Probably the feeder goldfish - never a good idea and completely useless as far as dietary nutrition goes. They're usually carrying one disease or another.

The tank is also ridiculously way too small for the poor thing, and your maintenance routine wouldn't be sufficient in a tank that WAS the right size for him. You should be changing 50% of the water EVERY week, and in a tank that is way too small for a fish you'd need to do more.


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## Orang-E (Mar 7, 2016)

Is there anything I can do? 
Other than buy a new tank immediately...


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## smitty (May 7, 2004)

Look at him closely and be sure he does not have ich.


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## BillD (May 17, 2005)

The first thing I would do is a couple of large water changes, of 50% or better. It may be too late, but is worth a try and costs nothing. The advice above is worth looking at as well.


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## Fish Jerk (Mar 9, 2016)

Probably mostly just bad water quality. You fed him a dozen goldfish in a 40 gallon tank and do water change every other week? Would be funny if it weren't so serious.

Completely change the water out and feed him very lightly until you can get a proper tank for a red devil, or someone who will take him.

And don't listen about goldfish, it's fine to feed them goldfish and I never had any hint of a problem from it. Even if they have some disease it won't matter much because mainly they will get liquified in their stomach acid, but it's actually much less likely a feeder will have a disease than other fish you pick up at the store which could have been taken home and brought back and come from all different sources.

But you need to keep them in a separate little tank and just give them one per day max (or for a very large fish only what they will immediately eat, and take it out if they don't eat it. Otherwise you will foul the tank and open them up to the (probably imaginary) diseases your feeders might carry.


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## Fish Jerk (Mar 9, 2016)

Also, increase water temp.


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## Orang-E (Mar 7, 2016)

Alright so I put him into a separate tank and completely cleaned the 40 gallon tank. I'm letting the water set for 3 days(what I was told) and then will put him back in there. He is no longer laying on his side, but he now has more white bumps on his side. I don't think it is ich, because it seems like it is coming from inside of his skin. And his skin is peeling badly and his fins are not good.


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## mambee (Apr 13, 2003)

I'm looking at the tanks and stock list in your signature and something seems amiss.

I've heard that bumble bee cichlids are extremely aggressive. How is one co-existing with a 13" red devil in a 40 gallon tank?

How is it possible for kuhlii loaches and danios to exits with a 12" oscar, in a 29 gallon tank no less.

How do you have adult jack dempsey and jewel in a 10 gallon tank.


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## Fish Jerk (Mar 9, 2016)

And jack dempsey and two others in a ten gallon?

Really you need to get rid of 3/4 of your fish.

Oscar and red devil and jack dempsey are too big for ALL your tanks. SA cichlids are big fish that need big tanks...they are cool fish but not worth keeping to me any more because of that.

But almost nothing can catch and eat the danios because they are too quick. Just paradise fish and maybe a couple others.


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