# German Red Peacock spitting food out.



## SonicsDC25 (Jul 29, 2013)

My German Red Peacock has been spitting his food out ever since I got him (2.5 weeks and counting I think). His stomach isn't inverted, so there MUST be something going inside his stomach. I have him in a 10g QT right now and have tried both New Life Spectrum and New Era pellets (New Era being a very soft pellet), but he spits them both out. This morning he was VERY pale, which is why he is in the QT now. What could be going on? His feces is also a regular pink/orange, so I'm not sure what's going on.

:!: What is the size and dimensions of your tank and what SPECIES of fish do you have? (This helps identify potential aggression or overstocking problems.)
-55G 48"x12"20"; Jalo Reef, Msobo Deep, Sunshine/Blue Neon/Ngara/German Red/Green Face peacocks (all except Jalo Reefs are juveniles).

:!: How long has it been set up? Is it CYCLED? (This can rule out cycling issues.)
-Cycled and running for 3 months.

:!: What are your water parameters: Temperature, ammonia (NH3/4), nitrite (NO2), pH, GH, KH and nitrate (NO3)? It's not sufficient to say that your water tests "okay" or "fine." Sometimes a misunderstanding about WATER CHEMISTRY requirements is the root of the problem. If you don't have TEST KITS, you should purchase them. In the meantime, your local fish store will probably test your water for you -- just be sure to get the actual results rather than just a "thumbs up".
-0 Ammonia, 0 NO2, 20PPM NO3, 10 KH, 12 GH, 8.2pH, 80 degrees.

:!: How long have you had the fish and what symptoms do they have? What do you FEED them? Have you introduced any new fish recently? What is your MAINTENANCE schedule, and what product/s (if any) do you use to neutralize chlorine or chloramines in your TAP WATER? (This helps to determine if a new disease has been introduced to the tank or if it's some kind of husbandry problem.)
-Just got the fish in question today and they have white feces/waste with a the scales on the right side looking a bit weird. Haven't fed yet, weekly 50% water changes and yes I de-chlorinate.


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## SonicsDC25 (Jul 29, 2013)

I just can't catch a break here, I've added the Kanaplex and today he ate about 2 pellets, then the 3rd he just spits out and isn't interested in it. NOW I think he may have a fuzzy patch starting to grow on his mouth and it's really concerning me because he's in the same tank as my fry. I'm not sure if it's the start of Columnaris or some other kind of fungal disease. Don't even know what to treat the tank with now, except maybe continuing the Kanaplex, but I don't know if this med will help with that white patch...


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## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

SonicsDC25 said:


> (2.5 weeks and counting I think)





SonicsDC25 said:


> -Just got the fish in question today


Which is it? 
Are you medicating with Kanaplex in the fry tank?


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## SonicsDC25 (Jul 29, 2013)

Sorry about that, I copy and pasted my other post and forgot to edit it, it's 2.5 weeks for this particular fish. Yeah I treated the QT, which has fry, with Kanaplex. Right now he has increased his swallowing to 3-4 pellets, but afterwards he is either not interested in the food or just spits it out. Yesterday since I was home all day, I fed him frequently with 3-4 pellets and each time he swallowed it all, so I'm hoping that the Kanaplex is making progress.


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## SonicsDC25 (Jul 29, 2013)

Well that white bit on the mouth is gone today and his pellet limit is still 3-4 before not being interested anymore or spitting it out.


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## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

Sounds like he could still be adjusting or just simply has a small appetite. I'd try him back in the main tank for a few weeks after finishing your meds.


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## SonicsDC25 (Jul 29, 2013)

I'm not sure what his previous diet was, seeing as how he refused arguably the 2 top brands, I'm still hesitant to add him back into the main tank, especially since he had at least 2 weeks to adjust to my food when he was in the main tank


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## SonicsDC25 (Jul 29, 2013)

Well his limit has reached pellet #11 before spitting the 12th out, still chewing quite a bit before swallowing, but the time he takes to chew 1 pellet is less than what it was before. I read in the sticky that you shouldn't be feeding during bloat treatment, should I stop feeding him in the morning and evening then?


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## wortel87 (Apr 15, 2014)

to bad you started medicating. i dont think there is actually anything wrong here. you separated him bringing more stress. fish sometimes just wont eat when you introduce them. most of the time this is not bloat. you told us he has regular feces this means he's eating something. just because you dont see him eating wont mean he doesnt. it can take a while before it will feel comfortable.

to make it a little more clear. i have a fish from day 1 she refused to eat. i tried feeding peas, new life spectrum, and spirulina flakes. all was spit back out. untill i tried some pellet food that i dont feed anymore. and she gobbled it up. now till this day i'm forced to hand feed her these pellets. she still wont touch the other stuff. took 3 weeks of her not eating for me to find this out.

this is just the mystery of fish keeping... not everything is a disease.

you should not feed regular food during bloat treatment. you could try feeding him thawed peas to clear him out. mayb you will find he likes them  my fryeri goes nuts for thawed peas


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## SonicsDC25 (Jul 29, 2013)

Well after waiting 2-3 weeks to see if he'll get used to the food, I got worried since he was inactive @ the bottom by the sand and was very pale in color, which is why I felt it was necessary to take further precautions. If he was still active and displayed even moderate colors, I probably would've tried to keep feeding. I'll only try to feed him medicine soaked pellets from now on and will move both him and my other peacock into the main tank together when I see them looking better.

By the way, how will you know that they've recovered? You can't feed them, so what physical characteristics will help show that they've recovered? They can't really get that active in a small breeding net/box lol.


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## SonicsDC25 (Jul 29, 2013)

Seems to be getting a bit better as well, I had a pellet soaked in Metro on a toothpick (bottom flat end) and right before I put it into the water, he jump up and grabbed it .


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## wortel87 (Apr 15, 2014)

good to hear  keep it up


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## SonicsDC25 (Jul 29, 2013)

Ok this is weird, I switched my Green Face from the breeder box to the breeder net and vice versa with my German Red, and seems he has that white area on his mouth again. It doesn't look like it's protruding on the mouth or anything, is it just the color of his skin in that area or do you think it's a fungus? I'm still treating the QT with Kanaplex, so I'm hoping that this is nothing.


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## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

I'm thinking it's from nibbling at the slots on the bottom of the box.


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## SonicsDC25 (Jul 29, 2013)

I wouldn't be too surprised if it was, he's 10x more active than he was before and it's been 4 days since I've treated the QT with Kanaplex & Metro. I'm hoping that's the case because I'm looking to move him and my Green Face back into the main tank since they both seem good now, well aside from that white area that got my attention today =/.


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## SonicsDC25 (Jul 29, 2013)

And actually, when the German Red was in the breeder net before and the Green Face was in the breeding box, the German Red kept nipping at the net towards the Green Face since both were side by side, maybe that could attribute to this? Because before I put the Green Face into the QT with him, the white area from before was actually gone within a day.


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## chiroken (Sep 25, 2007)

I too was thinking maybe the chin was more likely damage, either ramming himself while you were trying to catch him or from the container itself?


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## SonicsDC25 (Jul 29, 2013)

Just an update (tad late), he's doing great now in the main tank. He's a lot more active in going after the food, but still takes longer to chew the pellets than the others. He also digests the food pretty fast because his stomach isn't as large as the rest, but nonetheless he's doing great  The white area on the lips were indeed probably due to him nipping at the net because it cleared away quick.


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