sick fish

[hir0]

I don't know where to start. i can't seem to find any visible symptoms. i've had about 5 young leleupi die over the past few months. every time it's the same signs. they stop eating, their stomachs become sunken in. they slowly lose their equilibrium, and then they eventually get picked apart by the other fish and die. well, until now it hasn't really bothered me. now, my adult male leleupi is showing the same signs. the confusing part, is that he's in a different aquarium. i looked at him for quite a while, and i couldn't find anything visibly wrong with him. i checked the water out, amonia and nitrites were 0, and the ph was 8. i didn't check the hardness, because i am lazy. does anyone have a clue? they start off not eating, and then they start to fade in color. i'll post a photo of my male leleupi soon maybe it can help. thanks in advance.

 

[hir0]

ok, now that i look at the photos - it looks like the scales turn into a darker pale color. but this is usually once the fish has already lost it's equilibrium and is not eating.

even if i cannot save this poor fella, i'd like to stop the recent trend i've been having. would it be a bad idea to throw in some fish medications?

 

[Schnauzer]

hirO ,
How often are you doing your water changes . I have been keeping fish for 49 years and I have never found anything that kept fish alive and healthy longer than very frequent water changes . Stress like being bullied or a nervous fish in a high traffic area will cause a lot of health problems .
Not eating I believe is often caused by an internal bacterial infection . I just took a quick look in a catalog and Mardel Laboratories sells Maracyn-Two for interal infections .
I am not saying I know what is wrong with your fish . These are just my findings over the years .
Good luck .

 

[squidfish]

hirO

I have had the same occur on a couple of my fish but they also showed a strange 'flexing' of the body and irritation around the head. They then stopped eating and became disorientated. Never did work out what it was. Thought it may have been some kind of external fluke infestation because of the strange body flexing and head irritation being a symptom of gill infestation. Treated with Sterazin but not sure if it had any affect. Some fish in the tank still show the signs of the flexing and apparent head irritation but seem in great condition apart from that, feeding well, breeding prolifically and no more deaths. Sometimes I just wonder if its strange malawi behaviour I'm watching.

Cheers

Rich

 

[phishphorphun]

Possibly "bloat"? If the fish isn't getting any nutrition, it could explain the loss of color prior to their demise.

Perhaps the leleupis aren't as hearty as some of our other tangs. I lost two last month when the temperature spiked in the tank due to a heater malfunction. The calvus and comps survived and are healthy today but the leleupis couldn't handle it and passed.

Here are a couple links that may help.

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=24132

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=27023

 

[hir0]

thanks for the advice. actually the male leleupi was the kingpin of this aquarium. he appeared to be in excellent health. he hid under a rock for the last few days, and yesterday i noticed that he was sick. i think it has to be some kind of internal infection - but then i'm no fish doctor. the water quality in my tanks is always very good, and i do regular water changes. i'll have to dose the tank with something i guess just to make sure

 

[RazorBlade]

Hi Hir0.

I'm no fish illness expert, but here's my take:

Looks like an internal bacteria infection. Those 'black spots' looks like 'decay' of some sort. As the old saying goes: "The fish rots from the head".

I've had healthy-looking fish 'die' on me before, based on your symptoms. I've attributed it to old age and stress/bullying (It's a Malawi tank after all, and the fish are full-sized adults). The internal bacteria infection is most likely secondary in my case, but a weaken immune system could be the blame as well.