Interesting thing happened w/ my t. Salvini

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo

cichlidfish

Peacock Bass
MFK Member
Jun 18, 2005
4,643
978
120
54
About a month ago I noticed she was developing a bulge in her belly, not pooping and looking like she was having swim bladder issues, and was swimming upside down at times.
I put her in quarantine did lots of water changes, fed her epsom salt soaked food for 5 days, and NLS cichasoma formula/Thera a+.
Anyway, wasn't quite sure what was wrong, but she is doing much better now. The bulge is gone, swims regularly (for the most part) and is eating very aggressively. In fact she almost bit me as I dropped pellets in the water lol.
I am thinking constipation, and not bloat which I thought it might be. But I still haven't seen her poop.

IMG_2707.JPG
 
Glad she's on the mend Steve.

Thanks Darren. Salvini are probably one of the most sensitive or hard to keep IME. It took years for her to reach 5". I have never seen one swim upside down though.
I'm still uncertain what happened or the cause, but she's very active now.
I not only had to remove her to treat her, but the other fish were ganging up on her, especially a female HRP. Now nothing bothers her.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Stanzzzz7
Thanks Darren. Salvini are probably one of the most sensitive or hard to keep IME. It took years for her to reach 5". I have never seen one swim upside down though.
I'm still uncertain what happened or the cause, but she's very active now.
I not only had to remove her to treat her, but the other fish were ganging up on her, especially a female HRP. Now nothing bothers her.


I've never seen upside down swimming in my salvini - they spend a lot of time in ambush pose in the amazon swords though, nose skyward just waiting... for something to wander by.

My males have remained pretty dark, stubbornly refusing to color up like the females - the biggest one is starting to get there, the other two are probably just staying dark to show deference I suppose.

but the females have gotten pretty gorgeous! I'll try to get some up to date pics up tonight.

nice salvini you have! Very vibrant yellow coloring.
 
  • Like
Reactions: cichlidfish
I've never seen upside down swimming in my salvini - they spend a lot of time in ambush pose in the amazon swords though, nose skyward just waiting... for something to wander by.

My males have remained pretty dark, stubbornly refusing to color up like the females - the biggest one is starting to get there, the other two are probably just staying dark to show deference I suppose.

but the females have gotten pretty gorgeous! I'll try to get some up to date pics up tonight.

nice salvini you have! Very vibrant yellow coloring.

It was very bizarre. I wish I took a video. She was very off balance, like swim bladder issues. Possibly something pressing on the swim bladder causing this?
Males are generally less colorful, but some are just as colorful as females depending on the catch location.
I'd love to see pics. Here is a male I had bought from the same LFS (tank raised stock).

IMG_0257.JPG

IMG_0134.JPG

IMG_0256.JPG
 
  • Like
Reactions: dan518
That female is stunning, glad she's doing better. I wasn't aware they were more sensitive either, thanks for the info.
 
  • Like
Reactions: cichlidfish
That female is stunning, glad she's doing better. I wasn't aware they were more sensitive either, thanks for the info.

Thanks. Diet is also very important. While they are mostly carnivores, plant/algae matter has been found in the stomachs of wild fish. This is where switching from hakari sinking pellets to NLS makes a difference IMO.
 
  • Like
Reactions: kewpiefishypewpie
MonsterFishKeepers.com