# Help my Cichlid is sick!



## Vinny6 (Sep 4, 2017)

Hello,

I have a Red Devil cichlid that is approx. 6 years old. She recently started to display behavior that worries me. She has gotten pale in color and she is usually a vibrant bright orange. She has a big belly and somewhat of raised scales and a protruded anus. She is usually active and likes to move her rocks around. But lately she has just by the filter and looks like she is struggling to breathe. So, I placed inside her tank something to produce more bubbles for her. She eats normally but, today she chose not eat. I usually feed her cichlid crisp and blood worms. She is pretty picky so she does not eat anything else. I usually swap between blood worms and crisps for her. When I approach the tank she wants to greet me but not as excited as she used to be. Recently (yesterday) did a 30% water change the test results are as follows: Ammonia- 0 Nitrate- 20 Nitrite- 0 Total Hardness- 150 Total Chlorine- 0 Total Alkalinity- 40 PH- 7.2 The woman at the pet store said the water quality was pretty good. To give her peas and add some salt. I did so and she did not eat and looks about the same even though I added the salt. I have her in a 29 gallon tank and she is a lone fish. Any one please I need some help!

Thanks!


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## Vinny6 (Sep 4, 2017)

Here are some photos to show how big her belly is.


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

Hi Vinny and Welcome to C-F!!

Sorry to hear and see your fish is ill.
Did you notice if the fish had white, thready (thin) feces when it was still eating normally? Or were there the normal dark color similar to the food it was eating?

How much and what type of salt did you add to the aquarium?

Have you been doing regular water changes and if so, what is the normal percent of water changed?

The questions I asked may help to determine the next steps you need to do so be as detailed as possible.


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## Vinny6 (Sep 4, 2017)

Hello,

Thanks for help. Her feces has been white greyish color not stringy or thready. Based on the cichlid crisps she eats it is similar in color to that. Its pretty normal looking like usual. I added aquarium salt from the brand API. Since it is a 29 gallon tank I added 5 tablespoons according to directions. I did not remove carbon filter though. I change her water about every week and a half 30% every time.


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

Thanks for the info.

Here is a link to the Bloat article, don't be concerned that the title is Malawi bloat though as this can occur with many fish.

For now, you can start with treating with Epsom Salts as noted at the top of page 3. You can either perform the Epsom salt bath in a separate bucket as a dip for 15-20 minutes to see how the fish reacts and while keeping aeration in the bucket or you can treat the entire tank since it's only 29G. Using the Epsom salts should help to draw out excess water that accumulated in the fishes body and may help the digestive tract to get moving again.

If it is actually Bloat, you will need to also treat with one of the medications listed in the article since the fish is NOT eating.


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## Vinny6 (Sep 4, 2017)

Thank you! I will try this ASAP.


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## krazyju84 (Jul 10, 2014)

It could be something similar to what i dealt with before.

viewtopic.php?f=23&t=368386

I tried epsom and general cure for many days without much success. I believe Kanaplex did the job for me. Good luck.


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## Vinny6 (Sep 4, 2017)

Update!

I tried the Epsom salt and she did perk up a bit she started to move around a little but still goes back to the filter and just stares. Belly is still big and still pale in color. I did another water change today and added some of the medication Metro (because she has not eaten). I am going to add the salt as the day goes on. Thanks for the response.


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## Vinny6 (Sep 4, 2017)

Update!

It is the second day with the metro and salt routine but not seeing any major improvement she is definitely more alert and swims more but, her belly seems like it has gotten bigger. I have tried feeding with peas but still has not eating. I soak the pea in blood worm juice to get her to smell the food she is first drawn to it but then just stares at it and swims away. It is the 4th day without eating. I put in more salt in her tank but noticed that it seemed to irritate her because she is struggling even more to breathe. She has not pooped. Should I do another water change to take salt out? I saw some videos of force feeding metro and food, would this be necessary soon if she does not eat? If anyone has done this, does anyone know when they see drastic improvement?


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## krazyju84 (Jul 10, 2014)

You shouldnt just keep adding epsom salt without doing water changes, dont over dose but keep it constant. Try Kanaplex, it worked for me in similar situation.


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

I assume by adding salt you mean ONLY Epsom salt, correct?

Are you also performing the daily 30%-40% prior to re-dosing every day both the Metro and Epsom salt? If not, double check the Bloat link I posted previously.

Have you seen any feces at all?


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## Vinny6 (Sep 4, 2017)

Hi

Yes I have only been using Epsom salt. Yes I have been doing the proper water changes. Still no feces. How long can cichlids be with out eating?


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## caldwelldaniel26 (Jun 11, 2017)

Some species can go two weeks to a month without eating... As a last ditch effort there's the clout method as explained in the post "bloat cure" at the top of the forum in gray.


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

I've been doing some additional searching on another forum for info on treating food for force feeding using Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate) only. There was much more technical info related to this topic but I just posted the gist of the treatment below.

_"For a 3% solution of Magnesium sulphate, add 1 level tablespoon (15 grams) magnesium sulphate to 500 milliliters of distilled water. Stir, and it's good to go.

Use an eye dropper or pipette to add to pellet food (or any other food that will readily absorb it), and stop dripping water once the pellets become saturated. Use only enough water to saturate the food, with no excess water, so that the water soluble vitamins in the food remain intact. Feed twice a day, for 3-5 days. (I went with 5 days)

In extreme cases, the oral solution could be administered to a fish via a pipette.Just make sure to use a flexible tip so as not to damage the fishes esophagus when squirting the solution down the fishes throat. Only a small amount is required, but repeat daily until the fish is accepting pre-soaked pellets, and continue treatment for 5 days."_

Additional comments for clarification:
The reason for using distilled water is to eliminate any chlorine or chloramine from tap water.
The mixed solution of Epsom salt and distilled water can be kept in a sealed or covered container until needed. Just shake it up prior to adding to any food.
Be sure the food is soft enough to be able to pass easily through the eye dropper, pipette or syringe.
Add a small piece of flexible air tubing or a soft tip to the end of the eye dropper, pipette or syringe to avoid hurting the fish.
Be sure the tip of the tubing extends past the fishes gills so the food goes in the gut.

I would try this option before changing any medications assuming that you are actually dealing with bloat caused by flagellates/parasites.


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## james1983 (Dec 23, 2007)

I have tried soaking food in an Epsom salt/water mixture and it work great both times. Pretty cheap too, a bag of salt is a few dollars and lasts forever.


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## caldwelldaniel26 (Jun 11, 2017)

Heck yeah, epsom salt is an awesome commodity for cichlids and it covers a wide range of things. One thing to add, I believe when you have to resort to pushing the solution of epsom salt, it should only be the magnesium sulfate and distilled water, not with food. I could be wrong though, it's been a while since I've had to go that route.


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

I've seen the above suggested but the addition of treating the food helps to get some nourishment as well as having something in the gut.

You can read the discussion at Treating Hexamita aka Spironucleus, the 1st post provides some links to studies/papers that are technical. Just note that many of the comments in the topic are from aquarists requesting help and get off track in some places.


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## caldwelldaniel26 (Jun 11, 2017)

Thanks for the clarification Dee. I medicate food if they are eating and it's been a while since I've had to push (force feed) anything, but it is an effective method sometimes. I take in a lot of sick fish and have tried just about everything. It used to be that salt, epsom or sodium chloride, would cure anything in the aquarium. But now there are some very resistant strains of ich, flukes and bacteria. Some, so much so, that I've literally just had to euthanize the fish and sterilize everything it came into contact with.


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## Vinny6 (Sep 4, 2017)

Update!

So I switched from Metro to kanaplex and I am still using Epsom salt. I finally today see some stringy white poop coming out but she has now formed black spots on fins. She still has not eaten anything. If this second dose of kanaplex does not help much I'm going to try to force feed her.


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

Any updates on how the fish is doing?


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## joselepiu (Jul 22, 2017)

+1...


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