# Sick fish quickly deteriorating!



## Ruthiebaby88 (Jul 29, 2010)

Sorry just realized I should have posted this as an independent thread instead of adding on to the old one...

Yesterday during a water change, even though I had done a 50% water change a week ago - the nitrates were 80! So I did a 75-80% water change. I noticed my peacock was looking a little pale and a little frayed around the edges. He seemed a little sluggish. My boyfriend saw him this morning and he looked about the same.

This afternoon I found him wedged under a rock - I don't know if he got himself under there or a rock fell on him? Anyway he looks like he could die any minute! He has a white spot on his side, his eyes are bulgy, fins are frayed and when I lifted up the rock he floated up towards the top upside down. I don't know whether he can right himself - I've got him in a baggy for moving into the hospital tank right now - but I will have to move the 2 blue fish out of there first because this guy is going to get devoured by anything alive! His stomach is concave.

Another problem - we have an automatic feeder which at some point in the last 3-4 days just stopped working. We noticed when the food level wasn't dropping.

I know I have too many fish in the tank because they have been breeding like crazy. I just haven't gotten around to giving some away yet. It's difficult to count them when they are constantly swimming and look similar and there are a lot of rocky hiding places but I'll give a stab - -

Yellow Lab Mixes (thought they were pure when I got them but turns out not!)
3" x6, 2" x 2, 1" x1, 2 tiny babies
Pseudotropheus Socolofi (these are the only group not breeding)
3" x6
Pseudotropheus Elongatus
3" x6, 2" x2, 1 tiny baby
Bristle Nose Pleco
3 upside down cats
3 petricola cats

55 gallon
water parameters today
pH 8.0
temp 78
ammonia 0
nitrates 0
nitrites 15

I know I have to catch all my fish, sex them to get the correct ratios and then get rid of the extras - but any ideas how to revive my peacock? Or is it past all hope considering he's floating upside down?


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## dielikemoviestars (Oct 23, 2007)

You're overstocked, but not hugely. The 80 nitrates wouldn't have caused his symptoms, either. Those are only borderline high.

The rock falling on him probably did a good amount of trauma, and I'd bet he's been taking a beating from the elongatus and socolofi, which are too aggressive of tankmates for him.

If he's floating upside down, your best bet is to leave him be and cross your fingers. The last thing he needs right now is more stress.


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## Ruthiebaby88 (Jul 29, 2010)

Thanks for the input - I'm definitely moving him in to the hospital tank so he's by himself and doesn't have to worry about the other guys picking on him

Here are some photos


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## Ruthiebaby88 (Jul 29, 2010)

I moved him to the 10 gallon hospital tank which is cycled and had a water change yesterday

So sad - he was just bobbing around the tank upside down getting pushed between the filter and the air pump - I turned those off so he could have a break

I wonder if I should medicate the tank


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## eeztropheus (Jan 10, 2010)

Yeah looks like he got the $#!% kicked out of him.


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## Ruthiebaby88 (Jul 29, 2010)

Now I'm thinking maybe it's an illness?

The stripes are gone from the entire back 1/2 of his body now

I tried to feed him a pee in case it was the bloat but he wasn't interested

Should I medicate the tank?


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## Ruthiebaby88 (Jul 29, 2010)

I noticed blood at his fins


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## Daxx (Aug 29, 2011)

looks to me his swimming bladder popped!
In nature fish tend to swim undernead rocks to get stucked there untill they get everything under controle again, but prob wont make it because his bladder really POPPED and issent reverseble anymore.
keep an eye on him!!!


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## heyzeusbrains (Jul 12, 2011)

Your fish has a sad look in his eye. This might be a good time to consider trying out the clove oil and vodka treatment...


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## Ruthiebaby88 (Jul 29, 2010)

The fish is dead today - I can't believe it all happened so fast!

How can you tell his swim bladder popped? If it popped wouldn't he sink? He was bobbing upside down at the top

I have no idea what you are talking about - the clove oil and vodka treatment? What's that euthanasia?

Well there still seems to be an increase in aggression in my main tank over the past few days. 3 fish are getting picked on and have frayed fins.

My plan is to wash the hospital tank, ornaments, gravel out with bleach water and leave it in the sun to dry for a day. Then move the fish that are getting picked on into there and try to rehome them.

Actually I should sex all my fish and make sure I have the right ratios and rehome all of the extras

How big does a baby have to be in order to be able to sex them?

I have never done this - is it easy to tell the difference between the males and females? I found a photo of the difference on a frontosa - I don't know if they all look the same down there?

My brother thinks I should take the dead fish to the pet store for an autopsy. Do you think that's a good idea? Is it expensive? The behavior of the other fish seems find - just some are aggressive and others are trying to hide - those 3 have frayed fins but don't otherwise look sick.


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## newforestrob (Feb 1, 2010)

Its never a good idea to put a peacock in with that mix of mbuna,you dont need an autopsy,he was killed,
I would get your numbers sorted,they might be extra subdom males that are getting picked on,usually victim fish wont be welcomed back to the tank,fix them up and rehome them or back to LFS,good luck yes,clove oil and vodka=euthanasia


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## Ruthiebaby88 (Jul 29, 2010)

Thanks - They had all been living together for a year and 3 months - the peacock seemed like he was holding his own - his fins and color looked good until the past few days

The feeder stopped working for a few days - the routine the fish had was 4 pellet feeds daily with the auto feeder, then when we happened to be looking at the tank we'd give them flakes, algae wafers, shrimp, peas or worms from the worm farm. So for 3-4 days they'd just had the sporadic snacks without the regular feeds.

The pseudotropheus socolofi are the only group that hasn't bred yet and they have gotten very aggressive the past few days singling out a few fish to pick on.

How can you tell the difference between infection and aggression??

I figured it was infection because the fish continued to get rapidly worse after being moved to the hospital tank - of course it was already floating upside down at that point. How would aggression cause a fish to float upside down?


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## Ruthiebaby88 (Jul 29, 2010)

Thanks - They had all been living together for a year and 3 months - the peacock seemed like he was holding his own - his fins and color looked good until the past few days

The feeder stopped working for a few days - the routine the fish had was 4 pellet feeds daily with the auto feeder, then when we happened to be looking at the tank we'd give them flakes, algae wafers, shrimp, peas or worms from the worm farm. So for 3-4 days they'd just had the sporadic snacks without the regular feeds.

The pseudotropheus socolofi are the only group that hasn't bred yet and they have gotten very aggressive the past few days singling out a few fish to pick on.

How can you tell the difference between infection and aggression??

I figured it was infection because the fish continued to get rapidly worse after being moved to the hospital tank - of course it was already floating upside down at that point. How would aggression cause a fish to float upside down?


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## newforestrob (Feb 1, 2010)

well the obvious physical damage would be from attacks from another fish(s),which could also bring on external infection,like white fuzzy,or red,internal parasites,is a different story and obviously cant be seen,except for changes in behaviour,and upside down is definately swim bladder as a reult of the aggresion that he recieved


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## Ruthiebaby88 (Jul 29, 2010)

How would a swim bladder issue be the result of aggression?

Isn't that an internal organ? You think they bit him in his bladder?

I took down the tank and disinfected it.

Now I can see a few other fish being picked on - I will put them in the hospital tank for a week or so to recover - then I will sex the fish and try to get my ratios right.

How big does a fish need to be in order to easily and accurately see the difference in the vent?

It's my first time so I'm definitely not an expert.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

If the fish is sick or damaged enough, he will lose control of his swim bladder and be unable to stay upright.

It is easiest to vent fish once they have produced fry. Depending on the species, 2 or 3 inches. Peacocks like yours are easy because only males are colored.

I have never vented a fish. I just remove either the aggressor or the victim (if I am pretty sure it's not a female) one at a time until the remaining fish seem relatively peaceful.


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## Ruthiebaby88 (Jul 29, 2010)

I just had the one peacock - I actually got him by accident and he seemed to be doing ok until suddenly he wasn't

The fish I'm really not sure about are the pseudotropheus socolofi - I have 6 they haven't produced any fry yet. Their coloring looks the same though some are markedly larger than the others. They are 1 1/5 years old. There are a couple of smaller ones that are getting picked on. One I moved into a hospital tank and was fine after a few days - kept busy every day moving the rocks around in the tank to create a big open space around the ornament (? male behavior)

The other one was moved to the hospital tank and promptly died - I believe as a result of the splashless bleach incident I described in another post

They were smaller but I don't think that necessarily means they were male or female? The other mbuna in my tank that are the same age have been breeding like crazy - yellow labs. I think I must have some male/female imbalance causing excessive aggression in the tank. The aggressors are the biggest fish. The victims are the smallest - though strangely all of the juveniles are left alone.


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