# Demasoni Hiding, Lethargic, not eating much!



## JP_92 (Aug 2, 2013)

So I have a demasoni and it looks completely fine physically but yesterday it was not swimming around much. It was just staying on the bottom around the middle of the tank for the most part and last feeding it only ate a few bites of flake. I haven't seen any bullying towards this fish but I do think I might have been feeding too much food, although every other fish in the tank is fine. Today I didn't feed any of the fish and the demasoni is now hiding under a rock, unnoticed by any of the other fish. I thought it was dead at first glance but its just not moving much. As im typing it just moved out of its hiding spot but its just sitting motionless in a different spot now.

Anybody have any thought on what the problem could be and what I should do?


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## JP_92 (Aug 2, 2013)

adding more info...
tank is cycled. Did a 30% water change 2 days ago and I use prime. Nitrates are around 15ppm area. temp is 79. pH is 7.9, GH is 215ppm and KH is 125ppm.

75 Gallon
1x Rusty / Socolofi / Demasoni / Flavus / Acei (Itungi) / Thickskin / Red Tail Shark
2x Yellow Lab / Rock Kribensis

It's been in the tank for 8 days now and never really was overly active but a lot more than it is now.
All the fish are around the same size 3" or so except the thickskin which is around 1.5".


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## k7gixxerguy (Jan 12, 2012)

when I learned about bloat for the first time, I had one fish do just that. I didnt see any marks on it or chewed fins, it would just stay in the same spot but towards a corner and never swim around. Later when it set in on a couple others I saw that they were getting beat up a bit from being in a weakened state or vice versa, getting beat up made then susceptible to getting sick. Look for the other tell-tale signs of mucousy feces, not eating, or spitting food. Also make sure it isn't just a female holding. From what I've read on here, demasoni have a longer digestive tract which seems to make them a bit more prone to bloat than other species.


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## JP_92 (Aug 2, 2013)

Well after 1 day of not feeding any of the fish the demasoni has started to come out from its hiding spot. It's still lethargic though, swimming slowly and it tends to stay near its hiding spot but completely out in the open. One thing *** noticed is if I come look at the tank up close, it will usually go into its hiding spot. I fed the other fish a small amount while it was hiding. Still haven't seen any bullying. My small yellow lab came over in its hiding area and the demasoni chased him out. That's the only aggression *** seen towards or from it. I'm not sure if its a male or female demasoni but I don't think its holding eggs because it still looks the exact same as when I bought it. I haven't seen any feces. Do you think the demasoni would benefit from me placing it in my 10 gallon for quarantine or would catching it possibly be too stressful at the current moment?


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## JP_92 (Aug 2, 2013)

Day 2 the demasoni is still lethargic looking and ignores feeding time.

Now my Rusty cichlid has decided to also stop eating. It also hides in its cave which is completely opposite of how it normally acts which was most aggressive in the tank. It however has 2 symptoms that the demasoni isn't showing. It made a bunch spitting motions even though it never had any food. It also was flashing, scratching what seems to be its gills on the gravel. One of my rock kribs has also done some flashing too.

My initial thought was bloat for the demasoni but the rusty is making me thinking a internal parasite or gill flukes. Now I'm new to cichlids so any help would be greatly appreciated at this time!


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## JP_92 (Aug 2, 2013)

I decided to put some salt in my water which I wasn't doing before. Im slowly putting in around a 65% dose of salt, dissolved in water of course. Both the demasoni and rusty came out of hiding and all fish seemed to enjoy it so far. Still would like some input from experienced users though.


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## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

What's the dosage?


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## JP_92 (Aug 2, 2013)

Right now *** used half the water I mixed. I dissolved around 40ml's of salt in it. So around 4 teaspoons should be in the tank and 4 teaspoons should be left in the mix bucket.


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## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

Well, all I can tell you is the dosage for treating external symptoms like infections. Standard dosage is 2 tbsp per 10g, or 48 tsp for a 75g tank, added over 6-12 hours.
Here are some questions to hopefully fill in some blanks:
Water Parameters (Temperature, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, pH and if possible GH and KH)-
What and How Often You Feed-
How long the fish have been in their current tank-
How long the tank has been running-
Regular water change amount and frequency-
List any water additives-


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## JP_92 (Aug 2, 2013)

Water Parameters : Temp 79, Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrates 25, pH 7.9, GH 215ppm, & KH 125ppm. (tested just now)
Feed twice a day cobalt cichlid flakes. They eat it all in 2-3 minutes.
Rusty and Krib have been in 2 months while the Demasoni has been in for 2 weeks.
Tank has been running around 4 months.
Do a 30-50% water change weekly, amount depends on nitrate level.
Water additives: Epsom Salt, baking soda and just now salt. I started the tank with info from the article fishgal wrote http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/water_chemistry.php 
Prime on water changes.


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## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

Looks good. I'd continue monitoring the fish during feeding time to ensure they're all eating. The hiding may have more to do with the small amount of fish in the tank. Is it all male? I have 1:3 Metriaclima sp. 'elongatus chewere' and 4 demasoni juvies in a 55g, all of which were very skittish, hiding anytime I approached or passed the tank. I've since added a dozen greshakei juvies to grow out and they act as a great dither. The whole tank is constantly moving now, with very little hiding or skittish behavior. Also, all 3 chewere females are currently holding.


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## JP_92 (Aug 2, 2013)

Is it really a small amount of fish? It's mostly all male. one of the kribs is a female. Aside from that one *** never seen anybody try to mate with anyone else and I know for sure the rusty, flavus, acei are male. unsure on the rest. The thickskin is still developing but it should be a male.

So whats the thoughts on why the demasoni and rusty have stopped eating? its beeen 3-4 days for the demasoni and this will be day 2 for the rusty. Both just skipped feeding.


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## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

If it's all male then you're about where you want to be. Depending on species, you could add a few more, 12-15.
Fish not eating is worrisome. If you can, separate the non-eaters to a quarantine/hospital tank (you may want to divide the tank) and observe for bowel movements. Or if you can, observe in the main tank but it's usually easier in a separate bare bottom tank. If your fish are both not eating and not having regular bowel movements (or they are but they're stringy and white/clear), I would assume bloat and treat accordingly, the main tank included. See the article linked below for more info.


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## JP_92 (Aug 2, 2013)

I saw the rusty take a dump earlier today and it was brown, not stringy. Havent seen the demasoni have any bowel movements but it was lucky that I saw the rusty poo in the main tank because I usually don't notice any of the fish taking dumps. I was thinking of treating the tank with something like prazipro, seachems paraguard, metro or clout if its bloat. Im still researching though and Im not really positive what the actual problem is.


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## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

PraziPro and Paraguard aren't really suitable for bloat. Between metro and Clout, I prefer metro.


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## JP_92 (Aug 2, 2013)

Ok metro it is! hopefully I can find some tomorrow and hopefully its not too late for the 2 fish.


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## JP_92 (Aug 2, 2013)

ok so the only metro I could find was API General Cure (250mg metronidazole/75mg praziquantel per packet) Threw the 2 fish in a ten gallon with a divider, sponge filter and heater. fingers crossed.


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## JP_92 (Aug 2, 2013)

Update: The demasoni died. Note the tribute avatar. It turns out my hospital tank heater which was old, hit the side of the tank (no suction cups) while I was creating a divider for the two fish. It got a crack and filled with a bit of water. I didn't notice it was damaged until the next day and the temp was around 73°F. The rusty survived the temp drop and I have replaced the heater with a brand new one. Today is the 2nd treatment of the medicine. If both fish end up dead it would be terrible and a HUGE failure. If the rusty can pull through he'll be given the nickname of "Iceman".


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