RTM acting funny

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C

caribemob

Piranha
MFK Member
Feb 24, 2008
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philadelphia
i have a 75 gal with 4 growout's and i'am noticing that my RTM is always smacking hisself off of the driftwood, however i see no other fish doing it, also he shows no sign's of ick at all and my water conditions is damn near perfect. i was wondering if this could be a sign of dominance as in marking his territory or does he have something parasitic or bacteria. i had these fish Dovii, trimac, xiloaensis, RTM all are 3'':nilly: they are eating well and jousting like cichlids do but nothing looks wrong:(
 
I know there are people out there that had noticed this problem can more people chime in, also does any body think fish mark their territory by smacking themselves on tank ornaments. because there is no sign of ick and no other fish is acting like this and he is the dominant male of my tank since the first day i got them which was monday:confused:
 
Id add one tablespoon of kosher salt per 5 gallons of water and get the temp in the tank to 82-84 for at least a week before I put any meds in there.

Good Luck.
 
do not medicate your tank on one person's diagnosis........we have a tendency to over medicate

Try some nice big water changes
 
I most likely think it is a form of parasite. I had a similar thing happen to my green terror last month. He was the only sick fish in the entire aquarium, so I decided to treat the fish not the entire tank. The easiest way i found out how to do this is add about a teaspoon of salt to a 5 gallon bucket with an airstone and then place teh fish in there for about 25-30 minutes. If the fish gets really lethargic then take him out and place him back in the tank. I have used this method a couple of times over the years and its always fixed teh problem and I've never lost a fish. Here is some more information of salt f youre hesitent http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=226328.
 
Rijkaard;3402692; said:
I most likely think it is a form of parasite. I had a similar thing happen to my green terror last month. He was the only sick fish in the entire aquarium, so I decided to treat the fish not the entire tank. The easiest way i found out how to do this is add about a teaspoon of salt to a 5 gallon bucket with an airstone and then place teh fish in there for about 25-30 minutes. If the fish gets really lethargic then take him out and place him back in the tank. I have used this method a couple of times over the years and its always fixed teh problem and I've never lost a fish. Here is some more information of salt f youre hesitent http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=226328.
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How does stressing out a sick fish improve his health?
 
I have never had a cichlid become stressed out when putting them in the solution. Most new world cichlids live in river systems that are connected to the ocean meaning that their natural habitat contains a certain level salinity. I personally have never seen one of my fish become lethargic but i have read that if placed to long in the solution they can become that way. It was more of warning of an oh &^#$ moment if you forgot. Everytime I've ever done this the fish when placed back in the tank went right back to his presick routine. If you are worried about the stress than place the fish in the solution for the minimum time. Fifteen minutes should be more than sufficient to kill the parasites in a smaller fish.
 
You could also try the anti-parasite food by Jungle, but I've read that most fish don't like it so you have to starve them a couple days till they take it which I'm not comfortable doing.
 
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