Baby ?Ocellaris dying off!

[Nick660]

I can understand pressure from an overly full stomach might cause difficulty with breathing and balance/bouyancy but I would expect the symptoms to improve as the food got digested.

These are the first fish I've really attempted to "power feed" to maximize growth, I'm hoping i haven't overdone it

(I was always under the impression that the classic warning "don't overfeed" was to do with water pollution, not that fish could eat themselves to death!)

Oh well, all i can do now is wait and see how they do.

Cheers.

 

[Tongue33]

Powerfeeding Cichla is not necassarily going to give you more than the already fast pace they grow at

And if they stop eating.... Then throw in some LIVE food. A guppy.. Or a few until the one not eating gets at one. Small P-bass are generally hard to keep if you are not tending to their natural needs.. And when small those needs are sometimes for LIVE fish

 

[Opiate]

ph on 7.9! lil alkaline isnt it? mine are flourishing in neutral water....after doin heaps of reserach i've actually found the they dun mind it a lil acidic..like 6.5-7.4...but yeh...hehe

 

[Nick660]

And if they stop eating.... Then throw in some LIVE food. A guppy.. Or a few until the one not eating gets at one. Small P-bass are generally hard to keep if you are not tending to their natural needs.. And when small those needs are sometimes for LIVE fish

In my case they were eating bloodworm eagerly one day, the next they stopped eating and by the end of the day they were dead! Certainly didn't starve to death that quick. Could there be some harm in feeding exclusively bloodworm when they are small I wonder??

ph on 7.9! lil alkaline isnt it? mine are flourishing in neutral water....after doin heaps of reserach i've actually found the they dun mind it a lil acidic..like 6.5-7.4...but yeh...hehe

pH 7.9 is not ideal but thats what i've got and has been since the pbass arrived. I didn't want to mess with trying to bring it down chemically in case I caused problems with an unstable pH!

Unfortunately I've only got one remaining survivor today (feeding vigorously though). I'm just hoping he makes it

Cheers.

 

[ermgravy]

Hey nick.. i no blood worms are kinda the fish equivalent to hotdogs... nice but aint very good for them... think they lack in protene.... not 100%

Just wanted to wish you all the best of luck with this situation!

 

[Nick660]

Yeah, I am a bit concerned about feeding exclusively bloodworm because i'm not sure about the nutritional quality either.
I've started trying to introduce tiny pieces of fish or mysis mixed in to hopefully wean the sole survivor off the bloodworms.
I'm avoiding feeders because i doubt i can get hold of an adequate, constant supply if it gets hooked on them!

Thanks for the good wishes.

BTW, how's your new C. pinima doing? Mine are feeding pretty good now on frozen lance fish although one is more dominant and is getting noticably bigger than the shyer one.

 

[ermgravy]

yea he's doing well... eating prawns n lance fish like a trooper... owns his tank! dats n aro's keep the hell outa his way...
again all the best!

 

[Morledzep]

Nick, how is your little dude doing? have you tried brine shrimp? mine love brine shrimp, bloodworms and mysis shrimp (at least while they are little). i don't think the hardness of your water is that big of an issue, ours runs 7.4 - 7.6 on any given day. and i know for a fact i've never lost a pbass to water quality.. but if you feel the need to soften it a little aquarium salt never hurt anyone..

 

[Nick660]

Nick, how is your little dude doing? have you tried brine shrimp? mine love brine shrimp, bloodworms and mysis shrimp (at least while they are little). i don't think the hardness of your water is that big of an issue, ours runs 7.4 - 7.6 on any given day. and i know for a fact i've never lost a pbass to water quality.. but if you feel the need to soften it a little aquarium salt never hurt anyone..

Things are not looking good i'm sorry to say

The one remaining pbass (out of 4) is looking ok at the moment and is accepting tiny pieces of fish.
Unfortunately, 2 out of 3 convict fry that have also been sharing the tank have died overnight - the other looks healthy though.
3 young bristlenose plecs in there also look ok.
All the dead fish had been feeding well on bloodworm prior to death.

Filtration is good (internal power filter and a sponge filter) - no ammonia detected.
Lots of water movement and an extra airstone to provide plenty of O2.
Course of treatment with eSHa 2000 completed.
Aquarium salt added.
Temp 86F.
15% daily water changes.
pH 7.9 but stable.

I'm out of ideas

 

[sabotage]

i 2 have very bad luck with lil cichla..Anything over 4'' Im good