Small Festae Sunkin Stomach?

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bbradtmiller

bbradtmiller

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Mar 8, 2011
313
48
61
Fort Wayne, IN
Hey guys, any ideas? There are some pics attached. When I see her eat it appears she eats it but ALWAYS spits the food right back out. I have been feeding frozen blood worms and krill. She still poops if that means anything?




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Poops what? Clear stringy poo? A sunken stomach is a sign of not eating for a period of time.
 
what did the festae eat before you got it? High quality pellets are a good staple to nourish the fish whereas frozen bloodworms and krill lack a lot of the variety a cichlid needs. I'm an NLS fan myself but hikari tends to be an easier pellet to train fish on depending on the type you get.

How long has the festae been behaving like this and how long has its stomach been sunken? There could well be an illness making the fish not eat. What are your tank parameters, tankmates, how long has the tank been up, how long since you last changed your tank up?
 
tomomothy said:
what did the festae eat before you got it? High quality pellets are a good staple to nourish the fish whereas frozen bloodworms and krill lack a lot of the variety a cichlid needs. I'm an NLS fan myself but hikari tends to be an easier pellet to train fish on depending on the type you get.

How long has the festae been behaving like this and how long has its stomach been sunken? There could well be an illness making the fish not eat. What are your tank parameters, tankmates, how long has the tank been up, how long since you last changed your tank up?
Click to expand...

Well all I have been feeding is bloodworms and krill so magnet jag is part of the problem. I picked up some hikari gold and tetra color, cichlid pellets. I will try to work these in. I do not believe it is an illness as the other festae had been fin. Tank mates are a fee barbs, just to have something active in the tank and to help the festae be not as shy. She has been acting like this for a few weeks. Nobody else in the tank does this.


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Was this fish qt'ed and treated for IPs before being introduced into the main tank? If not I would treat the tank with some API General Cure. Switch the fish over to a high quality pellet, I use NLS Thera A+ with a higher inclusion rate of garlic which is a good food to start with as the garlic is an appatite stmulant and acidifies the GI tract making it in hospitable to most IPs. After a while you can use regular NLS or any other complete high quality pellet. Stay on top of water changes and filter/substrate maintance. A clean environment is key to long term health. HTH.
 
Aquanero said:
Was this fish qt'ed and treated for IPs before being introduced into the main tank? If not I would treat the tank with some API General Cure. Switch the fish over to a high quality pellet, I use NLS Thera A+ with a higher inclusion rate of garlic which is a good food to start with as the garlic is an appatite stmulant and acidifies the GI tract making it in hospitable to most IPs. After a while you can use regular NLS or any other complete high quality pellet. Stay on top of water changes and filter/substrate maintance. A clean environment is key to long term health. HTH.
Click to expand...

Is there a brick and mortar store that sells NLS, or will I need to get it online? The tank she is in now gets a water change once a week on Fridays. Should I do more than once a week?


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As far as I know some sell it some don't. I think PetCo sells it PetSmart doesn't. As far as water changes go Ammonia 0, Nitrites 0, Nitrates below 20PPM lower is better. Do a substrate vacuming at each water change and let the numbers guide the amount and frequency you need. After a while you'll get a good idea of what you need to keep the tank in good condition. Two 25% percent changes a week is sometimes better than one 50% change or you might need two 50% changes depending on stocking, filtration, feeding ect each tank is different. Make sure your filters are kept clean too don't go too long between rinsing the media.
 
Aquanero said:
As far as I know some sell it some don't. I think PetCo sells it PetSmart doesn't. As far as water changes go Ammonia 0, Nitrites 0, Nitrates below 20PPM lower is better. Do a substrate vacuming at each water change and let the numbers guide the amount and frequency you need. After a while you'll get a good idea of what you need to keep the tank in good condition. Two 25% percent changes a week is sometimes better than one 50% change or you might need two 50% changes depending on stocking, filtration, feeding ect each tank is different. Make sure your filters are kept clean too don't go too long between rinsing the media.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the info, great advice. She was nibbling on some pellets yesterday. I'll keep the link updated.


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