Your Flowerhorn is most likely getting attacked by its tank mates or ramming itself on the rocks. I'm thinking it hurts itself on the rocks. Flowerhorns should only be kept in 80degree+ water. 77 is too low and will make it susceptible to parasites/diseases, which makes me think its not comfortable. Bump the temp up and he will heal rapidly and act a lot better. Skip Melafix. Good ole salt is fine.
HELP!!! My new Flowerhorn is peeling!!
- Thread starter bermudezaa
- Start date
Hey guys!
Thanks for your help!
His tankmates are variety of cichlids, including several Jaguar-Dempsey hybrids that are about his same size, but namely a Red Devil which is much bigger. Yesterday I stayed up watching the tank once the LEDs came on and the Red Devil did chase him several times. However, the Flowerhorn was pretty nimble and I didnt see him "crash" once.
@The Bass Hole, hell yea! MUFC all the way! Lol.
@Water, thanks for the suggestion. I'll adjust the temp when I get home and I have some aquarium salt that I will blend in with some water and add it to the tank. What are the benefits of using that over Melafix? (Besides the fact that I already have salt and dont have to go buy the Melafix.) Would adding the salt mess with the parameters? Would it affect the other fish? Because as I said, Giggsy is the only one that is hurt.
Also, my friend is giving me 3x 6" Tinfoil Barbs. He recently treated them for Ick and they seem to be healed. Good idea to adopt them and throw them in the cichlid tank?
And additionally, what do you guys think about the lack of eating from Giggsy? Is it the wounds? The stress? The pellets? I'm going to call the LFS where I got him from today to see what they were feeding him.
Thanks again!
Thanks for your help!
His tankmates are variety of cichlids, including several Jaguar-Dempsey hybrids that are about his same size, but namely a Red Devil which is much bigger. Yesterday I stayed up watching the tank once the LEDs came on and the Red Devil did chase him several times. However, the Flowerhorn was pretty nimble and I didnt see him "crash" once.
@The Bass Hole, hell yea! MUFC all the way! Lol.
@Water, thanks for the suggestion. I'll adjust the temp when I get home and I have some aquarium salt that I will blend in with some water and add it to the tank. What are the benefits of using that over Melafix? (Besides the fact that I already have salt and dont have to go buy the Melafix.) Would adding the salt mess with the parameters? Would it affect the other fish? Because as I said, Giggsy is the only one that is hurt.
Also, my friend is giving me 3x 6" Tinfoil Barbs. He recently treated them for Ick and they seem to be healed. Good idea to adopt them and throw them in the cichlid tank?
And additionally, what do you guys think about the lack of eating from Giggsy? Is it the wounds? The stress? The pellets? I'm going to call the LFS where I got him from today to see what they were feeding him.
Thanks again!
Salt is the safest thing you can use. If you have catfish in your tank then I would take those out since they are sensitive to salt, but other than that you're good to go. I would skip on the tinfoils. If your FH isn't eating, it maybe because of internal parasites, or the temperature being too low. Remember, FH's need to be kept in water temps of 80 or more. I used to keep mine in 82 degree water.
Hello again guys.
Ok here's the update from last night.
The temp was raised but it was still below 80 degrees, so I brought out the glass canopy and am using it again. That should make it a couple of degrees hotter.
Giggsy is not "peeling" anymore but he still has those "open" spots but the seem to be developing a scab-like...thing.
And I fed my guys live food yesterday - giant mealworms as well as Rosy Minnows. They all ate, and even though Giggsy didnt catch one, she did scavange several from the remains of those caught by my green terrors.
I will be gone for the weekend, but I will update you guys once I get back.
Everyone enjoy the long weekend and thanks a million for your help.
You guys are the best!!
Ok here's the update from last night.
The temp was raised but it was still below 80 degrees, so I brought out the glass canopy and am using it again. That should make it a couple of degrees hotter.
Giggsy is not "peeling" anymore but he still has those "open" spots but the seem to be developing a scab-like...thing.
And I fed my guys live food yesterday - giant mealworms as well as Rosy Minnows. They all ate, and even though Giggsy didnt catch one, she did scavange several from the remains of those caught by my green terrors.
I will be gone for the weekend, but I will update you guys once I get back.
Everyone enjoy the long weekend and thanks a million for your help.
You guys are the best!!
It could also be an early stage of dropsy, so I would watch out for that as well as how the other tankmates treat "Giggsy"
Hello again guys.
1. What is dropsy?
2. I was out for the weekend, but I have noticed that Rooney (the Red Devil) has been way more aggresive/territorial than usual. Do you think that it's due to the new "challenge" presented by Giggsy? Because this aggression isn't only towards him, but towards all the other fish as well. I havent seen him actually attack and cause harm to the other fish, it's more like he's chasing them away from the two big "caves". Should I re-arrange the current setup? The set up was done on the day of Giggsy's introduction (about 11 days ago). The Red Devil is the only one giving Giggsy a hard time. However, I did notice an increased aggression between my African Cichlids, but there were just two or three dominant ones chasing the "weaker" ones around. I did not see any actual fighting. The dominant ones did not mess with each other though. Do you think this is attributed to the increase in temp? (from the high 70s to the low 80s over the past week as suggested by you guys).
3. The head wounds are healing as there are new scales growing on them, but I also saw a similar, smaller type wound on his side (which has also began to heal). Do you think this problem will persist?
4. The wounds do look like a beating more than a parasite/illness, which I guess it's better in a way, but now I need it to stop.
5. I havent checked the parameters yet, but the temp was gradually increased over the weekend and my tank is currently at a little over 83 degrees. Is that too hot?
6. Giggsy still refuses to eat pellets, so I will have to go get some more rosy minnows/giant mealworms today. How often should I feed my guys live food?
Thanks again!
1. What is dropsy?
2. I was out for the weekend, but I have noticed that Rooney (the Red Devil) has been way more aggresive/territorial than usual. Do you think that it's due to the new "challenge" presented by Giggsy? Because this aggression isn't only towards him, but towards all the other fish as well. I havent seen him actually attack and cause harm to the other fish, it's more like he's chasing them away from the two big "caves". Should I re-arrange the current setup? The set up was done on the day of Giggsy's introduction (about 11 days ago). The Red Devil is the only one giving Giggsy a hard time. However, I did notice an increased aggression between my African Cichlids, but there were just two or three dominant ones chasing the "weaker" ones around. I did not see any actual fighting. The dominant ones did not mess with each other though. Do you think this is attributed to the increase in temp? (from the high 70s to the low 80s over the past week as suggested by you guys).
3. The head wounds are healing as there are new scales growing on them, but I also saw a similar, smaller type wound on his side (which has also began to heal). Do you think this problem will persist?
4. The wounds do look like a beating more than a parasite/illness, which I guess it's better in a way, but now I need it to stop.
5. I havent checked the parameters yet, but the temp was gradually increased over the weekend and my tank is currently at a little over 83 degrees. Is that too hot?
6. Giggsy still refuses to eat pellets, so I will have to go get some more rosy minnows/giant mealworms today. How often should I feed my guys live food?
Thanks again!
Good morning all.
Just googled "Dropsy" and that's (thankfully) not what Giggsy is going through.
As for the mixed population, I've had most of them for quite a while (over a year) and they've thrived together and there is never any "cross-aggression"
As for the water parameters, I was using that Master Test Kit from API. I have 4 testing tubes and about 8 bottles of liquids. I will re-test the water when I get home and/or in the morning and post the parameters tomorrow morning (as my home comp is messed up).
As for the rosys, I was afraid of that and have only done it once. My tinfoil barbs used to eat crickets all the time and tried feeding them to the cichlids about 3 weeks ago, but they were not interested (except for the green terrors). I did feed them giant mealworms last night. Also, I noticed that Rooney is not a big fan of live food (he eats pellets like a madman though). Is this normal from Red Devils? What type of live feeders do you recommend, if any at all?
My current setup is pretty much interconnected "caves" through most of the bottom third of my tank. This allows for easier dominion by Rooney. I'm thinking of setting up two different cave systems at the sides, which a "barrier" of plants in the middle of the tank. Do you think this would help?
I do feel that my tank is a bit overpopulated at the moment and will probably trade some of my cichlids for loaches, but it is so damn hard! I'm emotionally attached to all my cichlids.
As for the 83 degrees being fine, how much is it allowed to fluctuate? Because I did put on the glass canopy on it, since it does make it hotter but I have to manually play with them to try to keep it balanced.
For instance, during the day when I'm at work (9AM to 7PM pretty much) the daylight lights are on (9:45AM to 7:00PM) and the room temp is about 72 degrees (when I get home the temp is usually at 83.5, last night it was at 84.1) but by the time I get home the lights switch on to the actinic lights until about midnight, which is when the LEDs turn on. So during the day I leave the canopy open, and when I get home I close it to "trap" the heat to try to maintain the temp. However, it still drops a bit as this morning it was at 82.4 degrees. Is this daily drop of temp healthy?
Thanks again and sorry for continuing with the questions every time I write.
I hope you all have an awesome day today.
Just googled "Dropsy" and that's (thankfully) not what Giggsy is going through.
As for the mixed population, I've had most of them for quite a while (over a year) and they've thrived together and there is never any "cross-aggression"
As for the water parameters, I was using that Master Test Kit from API. I have 4 testing tubes and about 8 bottles of liquids. I will re-test the water when I get home and/or in the morning and post the parameters tomorrow morning (as my home comp is messed up).
As for the rosys, I was afraid of that and have only done it once. My tinfoil barbs used to eat crickets all the time and tried feeding them to the cichlids about 3 weeks ago, but they were not interested (except for the green terrors). I did feed them giant mealworms last night. Also, I noticed that Rooney is not a big fan of live food (he eats pellets like a madman though). Is this normal from Red Devils? What type of live feeders do you recommend, if any at all?
My current setup is pretty much interconnected "caves" through most of the bottom third of my tank. This allows for easier dominion by Rooney. I'm thinking of setting up two different cave systems at the sides, which a "barrier" of plants in the middle of the tank. Do you think this would help?
I do feel that my tank is a bit overpopulated at the moment and will probably trade some of my cichlids for loaches, but it is so damn hard! I'm emotionally attached to all my cichlids.
As for the 83 degrees being fine, how much is it allowed to fluctuate? Because I did put on the glass canopy on it, since it does make it hotter but I have to manually play with them to try to keep it balanced.
For instance, during the day when I'm at work (9AM to 7PM pretty much) the daylight lights are on (9:45AM to 7:00PM) and the room temp is about 72 degrees (when I get home the temp is usually at 83.5, last night it was at 84.1) but by the time I get home the lights switch on to the actinic lights until about midnight, which is when the LEDs turn on. So during the day I leave the canopy open, and when I get home I close it to "trap" the heat to try to maintain the temp. However, it still drops a bit as this morning it was at 82.4 degrees. Is this daily drop of temp healthy?
Thanks again and sorry for continuing with the questions every time I write.
I hope you all have an awesome day today.
