# suicidal fish? not eating, tail fin nipped and tattered



## TKC747 (Dec 5, 2008)

I have a yellow lab which I got recently. It appears that it has been picked on by other fish in the LFS tank. When a cichlid loses a battle over dominance, does it stop eating? The fish seems to have lost all interest in living and eating and just hides in one of the corners or behind a clay pot. When a fish is killed by another fish, is this how it progresses? I have taken the fish out but it is still not eating? How do I nurse this little guy back to health?


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## Dewdrop (Nov 20, 2007)

When you took it out, did you put it in another tank by itself? Are you sure it isn't holding? They can hold when pretty small in size.

I would leave it in a tank by itself for a while & with the light out for a couple days. Keep the water super clean so it's tail will heal. Watch for signs of bloat or something else being wrong. Feed it very lightly but several times a day to help get it over it's shyness. Be sure to vac up uneaten food every couple of days and keep the water really clean.

If you recently added it by itself to a tank where the fish already had established territories, those fish might have picked on it too. It can be hard to add a new fish. Especially if the new fish acts like it was beaten up. If a fish acts weak, others will take advantage of that and pick it to death.


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## TKC747 (Dec 5, 2008)

It's in its own tank for now but it isn't holding because whatever food I feed it, if sighted it will take it in but it will spit it out again. The other labs in the main tank will eat anything I feed them and they are all very active.


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## justinf67 (Jul 19, 2009)

if it takes food into its mouth and spits it out, then that is a sure sign for bloat... post in the illness section for help on treating bloat


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## 55gal (Jan 19, 2009)

Diseases caused by aggression can happen very fast, I would keep an eye out for any other fish who might be acting a bit paranoid and not eating.

How long has your tank been setup ?

I have found if you bought your Cichlids when young, everything in your tank will be fine. As they mature, if your stocking list is not correct you most likely will have problems. 

What's your stock list ?

A well maintained tank is a happy tank. 8)


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## TKC747 (Dec 5, 2008)

justinf67 said:


> if it takes food into its mouth and spits it out, then that is a sure sign for bloat... post in the illness section for help on treating bloat


It looks a bit on the malnourished size. I've seen bloat and don't think thats it.

My tank is in day 27 of its cycle. Recently I got a bacterial bloom so I thought my cycling was starting so I got 5 more yellow labs, because at the LFS, the labs were thinning out and I was worried that I would miss a chance to buy them. They are juveniles between 1 and 1.5 inches and I have six.


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## justinf67 (Jul 19, 2009)

do a quick search on fish spitting food.....also, you can expect many issues if you are cycling with fish... what are your water parameters?


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## TKC747 (Dec 5, 2008)

ammonia 1 ppm
nitrite .25 ppm
nitrate just a hint? can't tell

used ammolock to protect the fish
25-50% WC every other day


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## iplaywithemotions (Dec 18, 2008)

I've saved quite a few of my fish (with same symptoms as that of yours) using Parasite Clear from Jungle Labs. You should be able to find it in most of the LFS, even the chains (e.g., Petco, Petsmart). Its fairly cheap. It is basically a tablet that you throw into the water and it dissolves. Follow the instructions. Do not feed the fish while you treat.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Fish can appear malnourished with bloat as well as "bloated". Watch for poop. If it's frequent and brown, maybe not bloat. If there isn't any or it's long, white and thready then it's likely to be bloat.

If you are cycling with fish I'm thinking ammolock will not be able to completely protect them.


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## TKC747 (Dec 5, 2008)

I'm doing 25% WC every other day, 50% WC every 6 days.

Thanks for the heads up DJRansome, in what way will they be damaged do you think? The ammonia has never been higher than 2ppm


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

It is recommended that inexpensive cycle fish be chosen with the idea that they are likely to be killed by the toxic chemicals. They may die, develop illnesses due to weakened immune systems, and I've always had the idea that the ammonia permanently burns their respiratory systems (not sure if/where I read that). The nitrite is even more toxic. I know when I had a nitrite spike of 0.05 once in a quarantine tank my fish were all gasping at the surface. The problem lasted only 24 hours or less because I had other bacteria to add to the tank and bring the nitrite to zero almost immediately.

There are lots of posts on this forum regarding advantages to fishless cycling which includes avoiding permanent damage to your fish.


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## justinf67 (Jul 19, 2009)

man, my fish are used to good quality water...example: I was taking out 2 two inch fish to be taken to my lfs. I put them in an 18 gallon rubbermaid with an ac50 that was in use....for some reason it spiked my nitrIte to .25ppm unbeknownst to me...only reason i even knew was because a few hours later they ended up dying. a few hours with the spike and they were dead...


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## Dewdrop (Nov 20, 2007)

When I was starting my tank, my cousin mention cycling to me before I got started. I didn't understand what he was saying but kept the word cycling in mind when I went to buy my first fish. I ask the lady in the little LFS about it and she said it was an old wives tale (I knew it had been years since my cousin kept fish so I kinda believed her) she said if it would make me feel better I could buy this product called Stress Zyme by API, which I did.

With the help of people online and LOTS of water changes (sometimes 3 per day), I got through the cycle without losing any fish but I don't know what kind of internal damage it did to any of them. I had 2 species that went through the cycle and never reproduced. Maybe they were all male, I don't know but I've always wondered if them going through the cycle had something to do with it.

I wouldn't expect anything from your fish that are going through the cycle & wouldn't buy any more that you expect to keep, until the cycle is done. I'm sure your LFS will get more yellow labs in & hopefully better quality ones. You said this last one looked malnurished & that don't happen over night. I'm sure where you live there are many other LFSs that you can go to or order online. Good luck with the ones you have & I hope your cycle finishes up soon so you can get more fish :thumb:


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## TKC747 (Dec 5, 2008)

I guess I was too lazy to look for ammonia solution, couldn't find it after 4 bus rides to other neighborhood hardware stores. Thanks for all the supportive advice and alll the experience. I guess I just didn't do enough research and just blindly jumped in. Now I know. Thanks everyone.


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## TKC747 (Dec 5, 2008)

Dewdrop said:


> When I was starting my tank, my cousin mention cycling to me before I got started. I didn't understand what he was saying but kept the word cycling in mind when I went to buy my first fish. I ask the lady in the little LFS about it and she said it was an old wives tale (I knew it had been years since my cousin kept fish so I kinda believed her) she said if it would make me feel better I could buy this product called Stress Zyme by API, which I did.


Some retailers really suck...I had cichlids in high school, before the internet, the guy at the LFS told me that Tanganyikans were peaceful (not true with all of them) and he told me that johanni were tanganyikans...he totally lied through his teeth...I'm just glad cichlid forum exists with all you knowledgeable people online :thumb:

But I have to take the blame for cycling with fish...patience and having alot of money is a virtue :lol: (If I could afford it I would have gone to New Jersey to get that darned ammonia solution)


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## Dewdrop (Nov 20, 2007)

It's not suppose to be hard to find but I bought some ammonia at Walmart the other day (for another purpose) and looked at the lable to see if it was just pure ammonia for the heck of it. They only had the one kind and sure enough it had suffacant or something in it.


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## TKC747 (Dec 5, 2008)

Could'nt find Clout or Parasite Clear, so I treated it with API's General Cure.

The little guy is now fine, eating and active, Bloat, just like DJRansome said. :thumb:


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