1 of 3 Not Doing Well

[Fish Tank Travis]

Well, he doesn’t seem to be doing well after the water change today. All of the other fish in the tank are acting completely normal and eating well. However, the little one is still not interested in any food and is now hiding inside the pvc tube that is in the tank and won’t come out. I’m going to see how everything goes overnight tonight and if he hasn’t improved then I might dose the tank with another dose of the API General Cure and let it remain in the tank until the water change next weekend.

Any other suggestions? I’m definitely open to ideas because I really don’t want to lose this little bass. Especially because it appears to be an Azul, and everything I’ve seen says they are a bit more rare. I got all three for $90 total, so this one was $30. One of the others also looks to be an Azul and the third looks to be a regular tem at the moment.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[Fish Tank Travis]

Here are a few pictures of the little one. It finally came out after I had the lights on and fed some red wigglers. It seems interested in the red wigglers but hasn’t actually eaten one yet and it’s been several days since it has eaten anything. It has only eaten two or three red wigglers in the threeish weeks I’ve had it.

 

[kno4te]

My suggestion would be to move to another tank and try to feed as a solo fish. Could be bullying from the other pbass (maybe more pbass needed) vs bad genetics and low quality azul from being cb.

Try feeder guppies that are from a trusted source or pretreated with meds. Increase the temps if not done so already to increase activity and feeding. Get a power head to get the water moving.

Bad to say to use feeders but just so it can get on some size and girth. Since it’s finicky it might be a better option. Just my suggestion.

 

[Fish Tank Travis]

My suggestion would be to move to another tank and try to feed as a solo fish. Could be bullying from the other pbass (maybe more pbass needed) vs bad genetics and low quality azul from being cb.

Try feeder guppies that are from a trusted source or pretreated with meds. Increase the temps if not done so already to increase activity and feeding. Get a power head to get the water moving.

Bad to say to use feeders but just so it can get on some size and girth. Since it’s finicky it might be a better option. Just my suggestion.

Thanks for the suggestions. I don’t have another tank I can put him in...this is my only QT tank. I also don’t have any source of feeder guppies. I have not seen any aggression from the others towards this one. It has been going after the red wigglers quite aggressively tonight, but it hasn’t actually eaten one yet. It just picks them up, carries them a short distance and drops them.

It appears to be “wasting” according to the terminology on the back of the API General Cure box. Hopefully, it will end up putting down one of the red wigglers tonight and will actually start holding some weight.

I wish I was better able to care for this little bass but I’m kind of out of my element with this situation because this is the first sick fish I’ve had to deal with.

 

[Tony A.]

You might try and cut the worms up and rense the slime off them.
Or try some black worms from your LFS. They might have guppy's to.
Better to feed feeder than to starve to death. Then when its healthy then you can pellet train it.
Some fish just can't stand the wigling of the worms or the slime. Some " cichlids" just don't like red wiglers . You might try and dig some worms up. My bass ate small live baerers before they were pellet trained. Get the guy heathy first, then you can worry about the pellets.
PS . NEVER EVER. Feed live fish or dadpoles from the wild to any tank fish.

 

[Fish Tank Travis]

You might try and cut the worms up and rense the slime off them.
Or try some black worms from your LFS. They might have guppy's to.
Better to feed feeder than to starve to death. Then when its healthy then you can pellet train it.
Some fish just can't stand the wigling of the worms or the slime. Some " cichlids" just don't like red wiglers . You might try and dig some worms up. My bass ate small live baerers before they were pellet trained. Get the guy heathy first, then you can worry about the pellets.
PS . NEVER EVER. Feed live fish or dadpoles from the wild to any tank fish.

Thanks. I might stop by my LFS tomorrow and see if they have any good looking feeder guppies. I’m just worried that the feeder guppies might end up making it sicker, but you’re right, it’s probably better than not having it eat at all.

 

[isde02]

How long have you had these guys? Just wondering because in the first pics they looked stress. I would probably let them settle in first and get comfortable before treating for anything. Adding meds, changing temps and doing frequent water changes before he's settled will make him more stressed.

I would try bloodworms, that's my go to food for stubborn fish and usually works. Also it puts you one step closer to pellet training. If that fails I would then try adding dithers like sd's because they eat anything and your bass will learn from them.

 

[Tony A.]

How long have you had these guys? Just wondering because in the first pics they looked stress. I would probably let them settle in first and get comfortable before treating for anything. Adding meds, changing temps and doing frequent water changes before he's settled will make him more stressed.

I would try bloodworms, that's my go to food for stubborn fish and usually works. Also it puts you one step closer to pellet training. If that fails I would then try adding dithers like sd's because they eat anything and your bass will learn from them.

Blood worms. I new I forgot something . try his mothid first then mine lol.
What he said sounds better than mine. Try his first. Then mine LOL.

 

[isde02]

Blood worms. I new I forgot something . try his mothid first then mine lol.
What he said sounds better than mine. Try his first. Then mine LOL.

It's all trial and error bro, you know how it is, something is bound to work.

 

[Fish Tank Travis]

The little one ate one of the red wigglers last night and is looking a bit better this morning. It’s fins are not clamped down like they usually are. I didn’t have time to get a picture but I will try to get one tonight.

I’ve had the bass for over four weeks. The reason I’m worried about the little one is because the other two have easily doubled in overall size in the last four weeks, but this one hasn’t really grown at all. This is what leads me to believe that it is having some issues. I have tried bloodworms and it ate a few small ones, but hardly anything. If all else fails, it can hopefully survive for the next month or two and the other two will be big enough to move into the bigger tank and I will be able to focus more on this one as an individual.