worried about my dolphin

[danepatrick]

i've finally got my dolphin eating, but he won't eat with the rest of the fish. he's not being shy like he was before, because he's out alot more now. the only problem is that he won't eat the pellets. he'll only eat the left over floating pieces of frozen food that float over to his way. now, i notice he likes to sit at the top by the output and float into the bubbles. he'll watch the other fish eat, and normally when a new fish sees that, they join. but he'll just sit there and watch. it's weird. idk. i just wanted to see if anyone had an idea to stimulate this guys eating.

 

[Honda12]

I think that somebody in the tank may be bullying him. Keep an eye out and see if you notice anybody picking on him. That is probably why he isn't eating and why he is staying in the corner like that. What might help is to rearange your tank so that all of the fish have to reclaim territorys and this may help.

If he isn't being bullied or if you rearange the tank and it doesn't help, it could be that it might have an internal parasite and thats why it doesn't want to eat.

 

[KillerKlover]

Yea listen to Honda12 he has got some good advice i think some one is bullying him to.

 

[danepatrick]

I think that somebody in the tank may be bullying him. Keep an eye out and see if you notice anybody picking on him. That is probably why he isn't eating and why he is staying in the corner like that. What might help is to rearange your tank so that all of the fish have to reclaim territorys and this may help.

If he isn't being bullied or if you rearange the tank and it doesn't help, it could be that it might have an internal parasite and thats why it doesn't want to eat.

i rearranged the tank once already after i put him in. i've actually seen him chasing around my venustus which is like an entire inch larger than him. then i noticed tears on my venustus. i think my dolphin is one of the bullies in there now. so the situation is even more weird. how could/would i treat an internal parasite. i use salt in my water and i feed spectrum thera + a anti parasitic formula.

 

[Honda12]

What I used to treat my africans when they had internal parasites was
gel tek Ultra Cure BX. It is like $5 around here.

The only thing I can think of is an internal parasite. The only time I have fish stay up in the corner like that is when they are being picked on. So that is my only other guess.

Does your hap moorii ever breath from the surface at all when he is hanging out in the corner.

Also I had a young hap moorii that was an agresser but would always end up getting his but kicked. So he might of started something with the venustus and later got beat up when you weren't there.

 

[danepatrick]

What I used to treat my africans when they had internal parasites was
gel tek Ultra Cure BX. It is like $5 around here.

The only thing I can think of is an internal parasite. The only time I have fish stay up in the corner like that is when they are being picked on. So that is my only other guess.

Does your hap moorii ever breath from the surface at all when he is hanging out in the corner.

Also I had a young hap moorii that was an agresser but would always end up getting his but kicked. So he might of started something with the venustus and later got beat up when you weren't there.

thanks for the info about the med.
do you think he would even be eating the little bit that falls if he has an internal parasite? i just dont understand why he sits back and watches the others eat. from experience, if a fish sees another one eating, they usually join unless being bullied. but that's not the case here. ahhh. this is so frustrating.

no, he doesn't ever breath from the top. he mainly sits in the bubble wall. would that be kind of the same thing?

 

[Honda12]

No not necessarily. I would suggest giving that medicine a try and see if anything happens.

 

[danepatrick]

No not necessarily. I would suggest giving that medicine a try and see if anything happens.

k. i ordered it from fosterandsmith just now. thanks for the advice. i guess even if he doesnt have them, the med wont hurt. when i get it, should i separate him?

 

[Honda12]

No you dont have to. You could if you wanted to. With this medicine you soak the food in it, so it is really up to you. Its harmless to your other fish and wouldn't hurt them if you you didn't seperate him. Hope this will work for you.

 

[Scotty]

Hi there, what is the length of your fish? Why I ask is to me this fish does not look like a moorii. Puzzled by its shape! The Pseudtropheus lombardoi(kennyii) are known to be quite an aggressive fish, especially the male. Could be them giving this fish a hard time, especially if they are a bit larger than it. No harm in treating as fish will eat properly when totally healthy. Monitor your tank for a couple of days to see what is happening. Great looking fish and it would be a great pity to loose it.