EBAs suddenly very unwell- everything else in tank OK

[KrazoaSpirit]

How is your quarantine setup? To reduce stress I use fake lily pads up top to 'shade off' lighting. Then I keep bunched up fake plants for them to hide behind/under. I've also found air stones help calm fish! I also put a background up (cardboard, dark paper, fabric). With some fish I've had to cover the sides too. I also use a thin skim of sand on the bottom, glossy bare bottom tanks are stressful with reflections.

any kind of fake floating silk plant will work if you don't have the lily pads.

It’s a 10 gallon with a smattering of sand (not enough to cover the reflection though), a few artificial plants, no background. I do have a sponge filter for air flow, and I keep the lights out. I’ll try these suggestions on the qt tomorrow and see if it helps. I may try covering the front as well— it faces the side of the display so maybe seeing the other fish is an additional stressor? The acara is still looking very distressed.

 

[duanes]

Did you quarantine the jewel before adding it to the main tank?
It may have been an asymptomatic carrier of, or has immunity to a disease that your other fish (such as the Acara don't have immunity to)..
If you did QT, for how long?
I usually QT any new fish for two months, before adding to a display tank.
It often takes that long for diseases to become visible.

Also why did the family friend need to rehome the jewel?
Was it because of aggression to others in your friend tank? or??????
Jewel cichlids are known to be highly aggressive, especially with similar shaped, and iridescent cichlids.

 

[FINWIN]

It’s a 10 gallon with a smattering of sand (not enough to cover the reflection though), a few artificial plants, no background. I do have a sponge filter for air flow, and I keep the lights out. I’ll try these suggestions on the qt tomorrow and see if it helps. I may try covering the front as well— it faces the side of the display so maybe seeing the other fish is an additional stressor? The acara is still looking very distressed.

Got it. I've currently got a large acara that's pretty hyper, so I had to cover the sides as well as the back. Try the other stuff first and see if it works.

 

[KrazoaSpirit]

Did you quarantine the jewel before adding it to the main tank?
It may have been an asymptomatic carrier of, or has immunity to a disease that your other fish (such as the Acara don't have immunity to)..
If you did QT, for how long?
I usually QT any new fish for two months, before adding to a display tank.
It often takes that long for diseases to become visible.

Also why did the family friend need to rehome the jewel?
Was it because of aggression to others in your friend tank? or??????
Jewel cichlids are known to be highly aggressive, especially with similar shaped, and iridescent cichlids.

The family friend is an older lady. She was taking her tank down because it’s become too much work for her and I offered to take her two remaining fish, the jewel and a single cory.

I did quarantine the jewel but only for 7 days. I’ll keep that advice in mind about 2 months!