# Ruby green lost color



## cmcpart0422 (Oct 4, 2008)

I just had one of my female ruby greens die and now my male has gone grey/brown on me but i still have another female in the tank. Does anyone know what could cause this? The Ph is about a 7.8 and the tank temp is right on 80. Any information or input would be great. thanks


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## ponderbc (Oct 4, 2008)

I had my male die and now my female is nosing the top of the water and she has some seriously bulging eyes. I think its kinda like separation anxiety. I can't get my female to pull out of whatever is goin on. :-?


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## ponderbc (Oct 4, 2008)

I had my male die and now my female is nosing the top of the water and she has some seriously bulging eyes. I think its kinda like separation anxiety. I can't get my female to pull out of whatever is goin on. :-?


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## RAFF (Apr 27, 2007)

What are you feeding them?


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## ponderbc (Oct 4, 2008)

Sea weed, algea wafers , Ocean nutrition spirulina flake, and the occasionalbrine shrimp


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## RAFF (Apr 27, 2007)

Sounds fine. Have you checked the temp recently? I had some peacocks that had the bulging eye look bfore. It turned out the heater malfunctioned and the water was 88 degrees. I cooled it down and they were fine. This may not be it but it sounds like something in that water is causing some serious stress. It may be water peramiters or a contaninant like some kind of aerosal spray. I have never heard of a cichlid that died of a broken heart. Two things I have leaned is if you had a dead fish in there it may have released nitrates making the water toxic for others, also if a cichlid is keeping its head at the top of the water it usually means there is little oxygen in the water, usually caused by too much heat. I would check the ph, nitrates, temp etc. Just in case it is something contaminating the water, I would do a 50% water change.


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## ponderbc (Oct 4, 2008)

waters 78 degrees. water params are like they have always been. Every other fish in that tank is doing great. good color plenty of activity eating very very good. I do 10 percent water changes every 2 days. All my nitrite levels are 0. I have to air pumps with 4 airhoses i nthe water and one 60 gal filter and a 30 gal filter on it. Extra water movement. Iam clueless


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## LadyBarbara001 (Sep 8, 2008)

ponderbc said:


> waters 78 degrees. water params are like they have always been. Every other fish in that tank is doing great. good color plenty of activity eating very very good. I do 10 percent water changes every 2 days. *All my nitrite levels are 0*. I have to air pumps with 4 airhoses i nthe water and one 60 gal filter and a 30 gal filter on it. Extra water movement. Iam clueless


That one statement says there is something really wrong with your tank. Your nitrate levels should not be 0 in a cycled tank. Your ammonia and nitrite levels should be 0, but only an uncycled tank will show 0 for nitrate.

You need to retest your tank, and check for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels. You also may want to have your LFS check your water perimeters for you, just as a back up.

Have you added any new fish lately? How long has your tank been established? I'm wondering if you may have crashed your cycle...or something has destroyed your bio filter.

Hope everything works out with this.


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## RAFF (Apr 27, 2007)

If your water is fine, then I would hate to go back to it but it could be something your feeding. I used to breed several types of tropheus with are herbivore like ruby greens. There were several types of veggie foods on the market which would still give them bloat. I have some ruby greens now and I just give them omega one spiruluna 3xs a day. Once every few days I give them a regular flake and once every 2 weeks I give them frozen brine shrimp.


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## alanastar (Mar 6, 2006)

Have you checked the hardness of your water (GH) ?
"Ruby greens" are from Lake Kyoga and may be less tollerant of higher GH than fish from Lake Victoria proper.


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## patrickeriksson (May 26, 2007)

Do you have a quarantine tank available? If so, move the fish. That way you will eliminate any problems with the tank or water. Bulging eyes suggests pressure buildup, the fish is having a hard time moving liquids within it's body. Try adding epsom salt, a couple of teaspoons per 10 gallons of water. Yes this will also increase GH but that should not be a problem. Don't feed and alsa turn off the lights. Less stress means greater chances of survival. If you decide to medicate, make sure you stick to the plan and don't switch medicine half way through, especially when using strong medications. I would start off with trying Metronidazole as it does not appear to cause any stress to the fish. These were just some suggestions and there are many things you can do but it's important that you make a decision and stick to it.


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## ponderbc (Oct 4, 2008)

She croaked this morning. I checked and my nitrate level was 20 ppm ammonia 0. The ph was fine and the water was plenty hard enough. I don't remember the exact hardness off hand.


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## cmcpart0422 (Oct 4, 2008)

does anyone know why my ruby greens seem so stressted. I have 3f and 1m and none seem to want to eat and they just hide all day


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## patrickeriksson (May 26, 2007)

cmcpart0422 said:


> does anyone know why my ruby greens seem so stressted. I have 3f and 1m and none seem to want to eat and they just hide all day


Ruby's can sometimes be a bit shy. How big is the tank and how many fish do you have in it. If you have more species than Ruby's, what are they?


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## cmcpart0422 (Oct 4, 2008)

its a 30 gallon and its just the 4 ruby greens in the tank. I do have a divider that takes up about 5 inches on the side for 3 baby fish that wont be there long.


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## alanastar (Mar 6, 2006)

More fish will encourage them to come out more. I use to grow on young 0.5" malawi's in with them with no probs, taking them out when they start to breed regular.

Also LOTS of cover in the tank - rocks,pots,plants ect. In a 60 G i had 3 sides covered in backing paper to make them feel more secure. Before long you will be over run with them.
 :thumb:


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