Severum twitching head and not eating

[fishie111]

1. Tank size. 75G

2. Type and size of fish and all tankmates. 2 aequidens sp. atabapo (3 and 3.5 inches), 4 geos pindare (2-3 inches), 1 festivum (3.5 inches), 1 hecklii (3.5 inches), 2 other severum (3 and 2 inches), 2 bristlenose (3 and 4 inches), 7 boesemani rainbowfish (1 - 2.5 inches).

3. How long the tank has been established. 1 year

4. Results of testing. ammonia & nitrite = 0 nitrate = < 10 ppm, pH = 7.8. Temperature = 79F.

5. Decor of tank. Caribsea Torpedo Beach sand, 2 large pieces of malaysian driftwood, artificial plastic plants.

6. Any other specific parts of tank. Rena XP4, 50-60% water change weekly using Prime to condition. Feeding 1x per day: NLS cichlid pellets + one or more of: Ken's earthworm sticks, Ken's veggie sticks with calcium, UltraColor veggie disks. On occasion, Ken's flakes (earthworm, beefheart, liver, or veggie).

The severum in question is about 5 inches. This morning, he didn't want to eat and swam quietly between one of the pieces of driftwood and some plastic plants at the rear of the tank. I noticed his tail looked a bit picked at- but nothing major. He kept twitching his head every few seconds- kind of like a nervous tic in a human.

Any thoughts as to what might be going on?

I know there are a few too many fish- I'm planning to move 3 or 4 of the cichlids to my 46G- either the pindare or the festivum+aequidens.

 

[TangoWRX]

Some kind of paracite causing irritation? eg Gill flukes
Only thing that really comes to mind. Does it flick off any decor?

 

[fishie111]

It seems to twitch in open water and not against any of the decor.

 

[Lupin]

I was also thinking gill flukes when it was mentioned the severum twitches its head. It would be much easier to detect the issue if a gill scrape is done so the possible issue can be identified under a microscope. How does its poop look since you indicated its lack of appetite? Assuming we are dealing with internal parasites especially if the poop is white and stringy (although this sign is a little tricky to help pin down the exact issue as it does not always indicate internal parasites), then praziquantel is the right treatment to battle both the possible flukes and internal parasites. I'd treat the whole tank with praziquantel. Luckily, the praziquantel treatment is very mild and does not disrupt the beneficial bacteria. Trouble is pure praziquantel is a little tricky to find in some places and they don't come cheap either. You can buy it under the names, Droncit or Prazipro.

 

[fishie111]

Thanks for the advice so far.


I will find some praziquantel and treat the tank. It looks like I can get my hands on Prazipro, at least via mail order- I'll check locally tonight. I have another drug on hand called Flubendazole that is supposed to be effective against gill flukes- but I don't think I have enough to treat my 75G.

Is it possible that aggression is also a factor? This morning the severum was out hanging below the others who were doing their usual morning begging for food routine. However, as soon as I started distributing food, it went into hiding. Despite being the largest fish, it seems to be at the bottom of the pecking order.


I tried to direct some food towards it. At one point it must have grabbed a pellet, because it spit out what looked to be a partly chewed pellet and then did a "mini-twitch". Other than that, there was no head-twitching this morning. I have not been able to observe its poop.


I am thinking about moving the severum to a hospital tank until it is eating well again. The best I can do is a 20GH- a little cramped, but it's the biggest empty tank I have on hand right now. Alternatively, I can move the tank boss (the male aequidens sp. atabapo) into my 46G and see if that makes the severum more comfortable- however, that risks spreading the potential parasite to another tank.


In the meantime, I'm going investigate the idea of doing a gill scrape.

 

[fishie111]

So I moved the severum to a hospital tank by itself. When I came near the tank, it hid, but if I fed it and left, it would eat the food I provided. I saw no head twitching. I decided not to treat with meds since its behavior seemed normal once I moved it out of the 75G.

After 2 weeks of this, I moved him back into a community tank- this time as less aggressive one- tankmates are keyholes, angels and tetras.

Now we are back to square 1. When, I go to feed- the severum moves away from me and hides while the other fish feast. If food comes close to him, he looks at it and then twitches his head. When I move away, it comes out of hiding and patrols the tank, even appearing to look for food- chasing some of the little fish, taking floating plant leaves in its mouth, and picking through the gravel.

What is up with this fish? It's active, and its colors are healthy.

 

[Cichlaholics Anonymous]

I'd try with the praziquantal...I had a similar condition occur with a juvenile frontosa, and it didn't end well after a few months of twitching.

 

[fishie111]

I came to the same conclusion. I started to treat the tank he is currently in and plan to treat my 75 as soon as I obtain some more medication. I think that will cover the fish that may have been exposed to whatever the severum has.

I'm currently using Flubenzadole, which, from the research I have done, should be as effective as Praziquantal. It covers a broad range of internal and external parasites.