Diseases/Breeding in a community tank?

[philfarm]

Hi everybody, I am new to the forum, but have done alot of reading and believe I have caught up on the basic info/care of these beautiful little fish, in part thanks to this site

However there does not appear to be any information on the diseases/ problems that these fish may be susceptible to???

The reason I ask is because three of my CPD’s are staying in the corner just under the surface of the water and are not taking any food, one looks somewhat malnutritioned and I do not think will live much longer so I am APPEALING to anyone with some experience on what could be the cause and what I can do to remedy this?

Some background information; I received 10 fish about a week ago (straight from the importer)with one dieing in transit, they were skittish the first 2days but have since settled in very well and are eating and displaying Happily(except the 3 in question) my water parameters are; PH:7 temp25’c, nitrates/nitrites are 0 with GH10ppm, it is a mature tank, I have tried feeding flake foods(this is taken well) shrimp pellets, chopped frozen bloodworms, frozen daphnia, live white worms…

ps. It is very rare to get such Interesting fish in “AFRICA” so losing even one would be a great shame!

Here is their home
:oops:

[Tom2006]

That is a gorgeous tank!! Welcome to the forum. Its FULL of info from when these fish first hit the shops. Very quiet site now though sadly but worth sticking around as there are still plenty of people who pop in to offer advice.

As for the troubled fish. It could just be that they are still stressed BUT it could be something else. I’m not one for treating unless I know whats bothering the fish but a good all round treatment that is plant/fish safe is Kusuri wormer and it is very effective against worms and parasites so worth a try. The problem with such small fish is that if they get ill, they can go downhill fast. Do you have any pics?

They really like live baby brine shrimp so if you can culture some yourself that would be an option

[philfarm]

Its a shame to hear the hype around these fish is fading, In my country its just starting :roll:

Surprisingly none of the sick fish have died yet. umm could you suggest anything else Iv never seen that available here… do you think its parasites? they dont show any external symptoms? My first guess was malnutrition, but if they wont eat what can I do?

[Tom2006]

I’m not sure how tough your import restrictions are? Have a look on Ebay for it.

That said, looking at the picure, although not fully clear, they don’t look unwell. What are you feeding them with? They tend to eat very small amounts and are very timid. It could just be that they are settling into the new tank.

[philfarm]

No they are sick just cant figure out what it is or what to do about it.. these three haven’t eaten at all since i got them!

I will be posting soon under the relevant thread on just how the hell you guys actually get a decent pic of these fish

[Tom2006]

Must admit, that last pic does look like the fish is unwell and certainly not eating. Are the other CPD’s doing ok?…or is it all of them?

[ged]

It kind of looks like they clamp their fins? I would guess the water they were shipped in had some bad bacteria built up, do you have access to mela fix it is a good natural based, I use it and have had great success with it, there is a stronger version called pima fix. If not I would use em tablets

[Tom2006]

Have you got anything you can quarantine these three in? It would be awful if they infect the rest of your tank.

[philfarm]

Ok I wont lie, now you guys have me worried, I’ll quarantine immediately when I get home, oddly enough its been about 2weeks and none of the three have died, the rest seem perfectly fine, fighting and displaying to no end!!

Would seachem pura-guard be ok?

[Tom2006]

I’ve never used that so can’t advise. What I would say is that if they have been link that for about two weeks then it can’t be anything serious. Melafix could work or something like the Kusuri wormer already mentioned. Good luck!!…nice to hear the others are doing well

[philfarm]

hey guys,

Some good news , all the fish seem to have recovered, ”event the very emaciated one” they are now swimming happily with the others and taking food happily..

but thanks alot for the advice(especially Tom) It is and will continue to be appreciated!!

[Tom2006]

Thats REALLY great news!! Did you treat in the end? Whatever you did, I’m glad you got it sorted. I’m sure in your lovely tank you’ll have some fry in no time.

[philfarm]

I should probably ask this question under another thread, but would they breed in this set up? More pointedly would any fry survive? Im keeping plenty of shrimp, corys and dwarf cichlids in this tank!

I do have seperate breeding tanks but will I be able to see if a female is ready to lay eggs? And should I move her and a male then or the whole shoal? Firsthand advice would be great, there is alot of generic reading out there, most of it conflicting! Also any recommended reading/links/threads I should check out?

Thanks,
Phil..

[Tom2006]

They will almost certainly breed (as long as you have both sexes of course). :lol:

You might get the odd fry surviving but its unlikely. You would have much more chance if you devoted a smaller tank to it. I’d give them a month to settle and fatten up and then select either a small group or just a male and female. Put them in a small tank with lots of plants/moss. Give them a couple of days and you should get a spawn. The eggs don’t stick and will sink to the floor where the adults will probably try to eat them so IF you see the spawn get the adults out as soon as you can. If not then just give them a few days and remove the adults.

[lake_tuna]

@philfarm wrote:

hey guys,

Some good news , all the fish seem to have recovered, ”event the very emaciated one” they are now swimming happily with the others and taking food happily..

but thanks alot for the advice(especially Tom) It is and will continue to be appreciated!!

Your CPD’s were probably not sick if you figured that they were sick just from their behavior.. They are very skittish fish.

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