# Saulosi spat her fry, but still not eating



## JessicaMG (Oct 19, 2014)

Sorry this is so long winded. 
My tank is a 48" long, filtration is a fluval 406 external and a fluval U4 internal, plenty of surface agitation and an air stone for good measure, tank was fully cycled with ammonia before the fish were introduced August 2014.
Nitrate is 25ppm, ammonia 0, nitrite 0, pH 7.4-7.5 ( I add a buffer of sodium bicarbonate, epsom and aquarium salt to raise pH and hardness)
I do a 70 litre water change every week, sometimes every 5 days when I've been doing extra target feeding for the smallest fish. 
Their diet consists of: NSL cichlid formula pellets, specifically for Malawi cichlids 4 days a week, cucumber, romaine lettuce or nori seaweed once a week, then 2 non-consecutive days they don't have any food, but there's plenty of algae on the ocean rock for them to scrape.
I have 3 adult males, and 10 females, there is some aggression, fin nipping and excessive chasing, but I have twenty-one fry in another tank who have almost reached 1", and in a month or so, most will go into the main tank to boost numbers.
The female that had these fry was removed and placed in her own tank while holding, she then spat the fry after 22 days, and she was put into her own tank to recover. I fed her NLS and nori seaweed, kept the water clean, kept the lid light off to reduce her stress and moved her back 2 weeks later. After only a few days, she appeared to be holding again, so I removed her and had a look in her mouth, but there was no fry... She just has an enlarged buccal cavity, so I left her in the main tank, but since then she has been taking food into her mouth, then spitting it out, and continues to try to spit something out of her mouth, but nothing comes out, she's not actually eating anything, she's now in a tank on her own and still won't eat, it's been 4 weeks now and I even tried giving her a dried bloodworm in sheer desperation, she's getting noticeably skinny, and as the photo shows, there are no fry in her mouth. 
Does anyone have any advise? 
Thank you in advance, Jessica
IMG_6145 by jmgillespie8, on Flickr
IMG_6147 by jmgillespie8, on Flickr


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

That's a tough one. Were you absolutely certain there were no eggs present when you checked? The behavior of spitting food and trying to expel something from its mouth is typical with Bloat.


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## wortel87 (Apr 15, 2014)

having the same thing at the moment. acei female was holding, spat her fry and wont resume feeding. swims and acts normal, but when its feeding time everything is spat out again.

treated for bloat a few days back. still no change.

i hope you figure it out.


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## JessicaMG (Oct 19, 2014)

Well it's been 7 weeks since she stopped eating and she's gone back into the main tank, still spitting her food, but she doesn't appear to be any thinner, I haven't seen white stringy poop of any kind, and she was in the main tank for weeks and no one else has displayed any bloat symptoms, she's still got some life in her though, she seems interested when I put food in, and defends her corner, even darkens her face when the dominant male comes too close, could she just think she's holding? I have checked her again for fry, as she still has the appearance and behaviour of a holding female, but there is nothing in her mouth to cause an enlarged buccal cavity.


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## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

Really bizarre. I've stripped fish that still looked like they were holding for a day or two, but eventually they went back to eating.
Was there any evidence of feces while she was in her own tank?


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## JessicaMG (Oct 19, 2014)

Sorry for late reply, I didn't realise you'd replied. There was faeces in there while she was on her own, but not much. She's still alive, looking even skinnier, but she put up a **** of a fight while I was catching her to put her into the new 75G tank, she still has an enlarged buccal, I have watched her like a hawk when I feed, but she either swims off or spits any food she eats. It's been 14 weeks now, and I don't know how she's still here.


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## slater32 (Apr 27, 2015)

wortel87 said:


> having the same thing at the moment. acei female was holding, spat her fry and wont resume feeding. swims and acts normal, but when its feeding time everything is spat out again.
> 
> treated for bloat a few days back. still no change.
> 
> i hope you figure it out.


Had a recent fish that starting spitting food & then went to not eating. Had to treat with Metro for well over 2 weeks before the fish started eating again.
Treated another fish at the same time & that fish started eating again in less than one week.
My point is it could take some time...
I was getting frustrated not sure if I was doing the right thing, stuck with the Metro & eventually it was resolved.


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