Green Terror stopped eating randomly

[Cichlids186]

About 1 month ago my green terror just stopped eating. It will sometime put the food in its mouth then spit it out. However he is still the same aggressive fish and his colors are still bright and colorful. It’s been a while so I’m sure he must eat a tiny bit of food but he is not like himself. I have had him for 4 years and I don’t know what to do please help.
Sorry for the poor quality but this has been unusually large for a while now and I’m unsure if this has anything to do with it. He is in a 125 with a festae cichlid and has been for the last 3 years

 

[Cabie]

I would examine his feces under a microscope to check for internal parasites.

 

[Cichlids186]

I would examine his feces under a microscope to check for internal parasites.

Ok if I did determine they were internal parasites how do I treat it?

 

[Rocksor]

Ok if I did determine they were internal parasites how do I treat it?

depends on what type of internal parasite

 

[Cabie]

Ok if I did determine they were internal parasites how do I treat it?

Each type of parasite requires a different medication, so that's why you need to identify it first so we can determine what medication to use.

 

[Cichlids186]

Ok I will attempt to do so soon but if it’s not an internal parasite does anyone know what else it could possibly be?

 

[Gourami Swami]

Possibly an infection of some kind in/near the anus? Or combination of parasites and infection. Or perhaps even an internal tumor or growth. It is hard to say from just the picture. The eating behavior changes sound consistent with fish suffering from parasites, but I am not sure if that would be the same for any sort of digestive tract/anal issue.
If you can inspect the feces for parasites, that would be a good start. Most parasitic infections are treatable with various methods, such as Epsom salt (soaked food or syringed down into fish's stomach). If the fish is not eating at all, may be hard to get feces. Do you ever see the fish poo, and if so it is brown or white/stringy?
If it is an internal infection, antibiotics may be effective. There are several available on market like fish amoxicillin. If it's a tumor, probably not much can be done about it short of surgery.

 

[Cichlids186]

Possibly an infection of some kind in/near the anus? Or combination of parasites and infection. Or perhaps even an internal tumor or growth. It is hard to say from just the picture. The eating behavior changes sound consistent with fish suffering from parasites, but I am not sure if that would be the same for any sort of digestive tract/anal issue.
If you can inspect the feces for parasites, that would be a good start. Most parasitic infections are treatable with various methods, such as Epsom salt (soaked food or syringed down into fish's stomach). If the fish is not eating at all, may be hard to get feces. Do you ever see the fish poo, and if so it is brown or white/stringy?
If it is an internal infection, antibiotics may be effective. There are several available on market like fish amoxicillin. If it's a tumor, probably not much can be done about it short of surgery.

Possibly an infection of some kind in/near the anus? Or combination of parasites and infection. Or perhaps even an internal tumor or growth. It is hard to say from just the picture. The eating behavior changes sound consistent with fish suffering from parasites, but I am not sure if that would be the same for any sort of digestive tract/anal issue.
If you can inspect the feces for parasites, that would be a good start. Most parasitic infections are treatable with various methods, such as Epsom salt (soaked food or syringed down into fish's stomach). If the fish is not eating at all, may be hard to get feces. Do you ever see the fish poo, and if so it is brown or white/stringy?
If it is an internal infection, antibiotics may be effective. There are several available on market like fish amoxicillin. If it's a tumor, probably not much can be done about it short of surgery.

It barely eats therefore I haven’t seen any poo in a long time I’m going to keep an eye on it even more then before and attempt to see some. It puts the food in its mouth then spits it out so it’s very possible it’s an internal parasite because he wants the food but I guess just can’t eat it.

 

[Cichlids186]

Still have not seen his feces yet but I added salt and he is putting the food in his mouth more frequently but still spits it out.

 

[Cabie]

You could try to examine the feces of the other fish that is with him. Most parasites are very contagious, so you might find something in the other fish's feces too even if you're not seeing any external symptoms yet.