Sick Firemouth

[luisrcrx]

not sure whats wrong but my fm just sits there at the bottom of my tank and he wont move unless my plecos or my jd forces it to move to a different spot. Sometimes it laying on its side,hes got no physical damage so im clueless. I added some stresscoat to the tank and i'm setting up a small rest tank for him at the moment. Ive had him since mid august and hes been fine until this last wednesday

 

[bigspizz]

Just from looking at him I would say post some test results and tell us more. Temp, how long tank has been up, filtration......

 

[mbunafishkeeper]

tank size? filtration? parimeters?

 

[evilxyardxgnome]

Is the JD bothering it at all?

 

[luisrcrx]

@ first my jd used chase my fm on sight then once in a while ,now since my fm been sittin on the bottom its only when the jd gets close 2-3" which is not that often. i was going to test my water tomorrow morning when i get off work but im going also do a water change (25-50%) and add stess coat.

 

[mbunafishkeeper]

ok how big is the tank?

 

[luisrcrx]

ok how big is the tank?

Its 75 gal (see sig) My temp dropped this morning to 76deg (i had all my windows in my appartment this morning and it was chilly when i got up)my heater is set at 79deg

 

[evilxyardxgnome]

75 is fine. If its not the parameters I would guess the JD could be stressing it out. Although you do not see him pick in the FM, FM are wimps.

 

[tapeworm]

Did you do anything different recently? Add more fish? How long have you had him? Could be that he's had a dormant bacteria/internal parasite awaken, and start affecting his health. Try putting him in a hospital tank if you have one, and see if he still behaves the same. Treat him with some some anti biotic like maracyn 2 and bump the temp up.

 

[luisrcrx]

ok sorry i havent been here for a while i had my sick fm in a hospital tank and no change but i do notice he cannot float like normal its like he's wearing weights, he'll try to swim but ass soon as he stops flappin he sinks like a stone. if i remember my marine biology fish have an air sak thats helps them maintain buoyancy. could my fm damaged this air sak or is it an internal parasite?