# Fish Sick?



## dpeco02 (Apr 2, 2008)

I have a yellow Peacock, he is in with a Blue Hlhi, some MBUNA etc .
He has not eaten in some time. I notice he is losing some color, he hides more often than before. 
I am thinking sonething has made him nervous, however in looking or watching the tank, when he is out in the open, the only fish that will move him or chase him is the Blue Alhi, and not even bad. He seems fine other than dreary color and not eating, he is not bloated, not emaciated (hard to believe) and not acting real strange or anything. My main concern is his not eating, any ideas?
Weird is that I had two other peacocks die on me, but much quicker and with no obvious signs of distress. 
I checked all water parameters, all are fine, have a UV Sterilizer as well and the tank is 60 X 26 X 18 deep inches, 120Gal. 
Thanks for any advice.


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## lloyd (Aug 24, 2005)

did you buy all three of the peacocks from the same source? were they a recent acquisition? and if so... how long since they were introduced into the tank?
flukes are an opportunistic type of parasite that can affect fish one at a time, or even single out a species of fish within a community. HTH.


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

Almost all illnesses will eventually cause a fish to refuse food, if they are sick long enough.

What are the exact parameters on the tank?

How long have you had these fish?

What is the stock list?

Peacocks don't do well with most mbuna, so it may be stress/aggression that is causing your fish to be "nervous" or sick.

Are the peacocks all male?

List the species of mbuna and ratios, if you can.

You need to look at the underlying causes of losing these 3 fish.

Can you isolate the one who isn't eating?

Kim


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## dpeco02 (Apr 2, 2008)

Thanks for the responses. 
I know the peacocks are males, as is the alhi, there is three aceis (sp)Purple with yellow fins, One Rusty, two red zebras, three kenyis, 6 yellow Labs, two scolofi (sp) and some various mixes? I am not sure the male to female as is hard to tell. 
All the Mbuna are smaller however, no bigger than two inches, except the bumblebee that is three inches or so (but so far he seems to be very mild as compared to all the fish).
I know the parmeters of the water are fine I check them every other day or so. 
I am at a loss. I do not see any type of parasites, what do flukes look like? This fish does not appear to be breathing faster, does not appear to even be sick. 
I cannot figure it.


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

By 2 inches, all those mbuna are beginning to sexually mature. The Rusties are probably already capable of breeding. I see multiple problems with your stock list that could be adding to the stressors in your tank.

These aren't pairing fish, and should never be kept in groups of two per species. You also have some singles that will increase your aggression with the other "pairs" should they attempt to spawn. The Yellow labs can crossbreed with the red zebras, so you'll have increased stress and tension there. The "mixes" are hybrids, I assume, so you can expect the unexpected from them as far as personality and aggression go.

It's a very high stress tank to even attempt to keep peacocks in, and the larger the mbuna get, the higher the stress will be.

The "quick" deaths of the two peacocks truly sound aggression related.

If the fish had gill flukes, he would be flashing against objects in the tank. You can't see them, but the fish will usually be visibly in distress if they have them. You can sometimes notice a redness in the gill area.

As I said, not eating can be caused by many things. We know it's not a holding female. The next most obvious problem that you have is your stock list.

Without any other symptoms or signs of illness, it's impossible to make a call on this.

Observe the tank closely. You can try adding epsom salt at 1 cup per 100G, which serves as a laxative and will help prevent bloat in those not already affected.

Just keep in mind that stress can literally destroy a tank when we make poor stocking choices. You're going to need to resolve this sooner or later, and it may even be the answer to your problems right now!

Kim


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## dpeco02 (Apr 2, 2008)

Kim thanks for your honesty as well as educated responses. I am sure you are righton all accounts. 
I am not the most experienced with Cichlids, and am not by any means a collector, so hybrids woudl not matter tome as long as they are nice looking, and I am not one to bring fish back to the store and I do not sell them, they will live or die with me.

I feel bad I have made some poor choices, however it was not by design, mostly bad advice.

I will try and keep an eye and try to take out any aggressors that are too aggressive. Would you consider or feel that maybe taking out the multiples of all species, except maybe the Labs would be a good Idea? I know from doing a lot of reading the males USUALLY, and I say that lightly, have egg spots, should I try to remove and just attempt to keep obne of all?
thanks for all your assits, 
Darren


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

You aren't the first hobbyist who has been misinformed by a LFS, and you won't be the last.

If you don't care about breeding, why don't you shoot for an all male tank?

Unfortunately, you will have to remove ALL females from the tank in order to have some peace. Both males and females have egg spots. The only true way to sex the species you have is by venting them. The kenyi are dimorphic, so once they mature you can tell by colour...Males will be yellow while females will remain blue.

Kim


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## dpeco02 (Apr 2, 2008)

Thanks Kim, Venting?? Not even sure what that is. Iknow it has something to do with the sex organs on the underside, however have never done it, not sure I would know what to look for. 
I would not mind an all male tank at all. I just love teh fish, would love them to just get a long somewhat ya know?!
I will wait. I am taking the red zebras out as ell as the Keni, have friend that will take them. 
I hate to get rid of them as they are nice looking fish, however I need to remove the trouble.
Thanks. D


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