CichlidFish.com - Fish That Think.

by **snowdrop99** on Mon Apr 16, 2001 5:26 pm

Help! My red devil has'nt eaten in three weeks.He is in a 29 gallon tank alone. I've had him about 1 year and never had a problem. I have never fed him live food. I had the water checked and it is good. The only thing i can think of is that he is in shock from when i cleaned his tank i might have taken out too much water. I took out almost half the water. I'm so worried about him and no one seems to know why he is not eating. Can anyone help me?

by **TigerO'sRule** on Mon Apr 16, 2001 10:16 pm

Usually 50% won't hurt them too bad. Unless you put really cold water in there. He has obviously eaten somthing in the past three weeks or he wouldn't be alive right now. They can usually make it 10 days safely and 15 at the most. So he HAS been eating at least something. I'm thinking mabey internal parisite. Although I don't know the cause of an internal parisite I know that it makes the fish not eat and it is very hard to spot. But I've heard if you look real close you may be able to see it in the gills. I'd try salt and raise the temp to 82. Try treating for internal parasites see how it goes.

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Clint
CDevoe1111@aol.com
hey BTW I found a really cool bbs that our own oscar2001 made it is really cool but we need more people. come check it out http://ub3.homepagetools.com/Oscar2001/
I'm not asking you to leave this one b/c this one is great to just come get registered and lets get it runnin.

by **oscar2001** on Tue Apr 17, 2001 9:58 am

Did you dechlorinate or used aged water at the same temp and simular ph?
Did you put anything new in the tank or cleaned an ornament?
when you tested the wate did you test for ammonia,nitrite and nitrates. If so were there any readings of these?
Did you put in a new filter media? If so did you rinse it out first?

Sorry for all the questions but all these things can affect your fish.
So the more we know the better help We can be.
If you use a medication ensure to keep an eye on your tank readings as it will start up the cycling process from almost scratch again.

Regards

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TONY S
Oscar Cichlid Fan Club

anthonysnell@aol.com

[This message has been edited by oscar2001 (edited 04-17-2001).]

by **TigerO'sRule** on Tue Apr 17, 2001 4:14 pm

good questions tony I guess I just took that all as I assumed oh well :-D

------------------
Clint
CDevoe1111@aol.com
hey BTW I found a really cool bbs that our own oscar2001 made it is really cool but we need more people. come check it out http://ub3.homepagetools.com/Oscar2001/
I'm not asking you to leave this one b/c this one is great to just come get registered and lets get it runnin.

by **snowdrop99** on Wed Apr 18, 2001 10:21 am

Oscar 2001,Thanks for your help. To answer your questions,yes, I always have 3 gallons of water sitting out.No, I did not put anything new in the tank.I brought samples of the water to different fish stores and they all said my water was good. How often should I clean the filter? I've had it about 6 m0nths and I do rinse it out when I clean the tank about once a month. Medication?

by **snowdrop99** on Wed Apr 18, 2001 10:26 am

Tiger O's Rule, Thanks for your help.I will try treating him for internal parasites but I don'nt know how to go about it. You mentioned "salt". Table salt? Just sprinkle it in tank?

by **TigerO'sRule** on Wed Apr 18, 2001 4:25 pm

No not table salt. Table salt contains iodine which is not ghood for the fish. there is de-ionized salt but it is still not meant for aquarium use. Use aquraium salt. And for internal parasite treating go to the lfs and find somthin I've never had to treat for internal parasites. But hopefully someone has b/c I dont have a clue what kind is the best. Sorry. And also be sure to raise the temp to 82-83.

Note: When using salt you add salt after every water chnge use directions. Only add enough for the amount of water you added.

------------------
Clint
CDevoe1111@aol.com
hey BTW I found a really cool bbs that our own oscar2001 made it is really cool but we need more people. come check it out http://ub3.homepagetools.com/Oscar2001/
I'm not asking you to leave this one b/c this one is great to just come get registered and lets get it runnin.

by **TigerO'sRule** on Wed Apr 18, 2001 4:27 pm

And to answer one of your other questions I would clean the filter at least once a month. I do it bi-weekly.

------------------
Clint
CDevoe1111@aol.com
hey BTW I found a really cool bbs that our own oscar2001 made it is really cool but we need more people. come check it out http://ub3.homepagetools.com/Oscar2001/
I'm not asking you to leave this one b/c this one is great to just come get registered and lets get it runnin.

by **snowdrop99** on Fri Apr 20, 2001 9:14 am

TigerO'sRule Okay I raised the temperature to 82 and put in aquarium salt. And silly me thinking I can use table salt to put in the tank. I am new at this as you probably guessed. My son who is 10 just had to have a red devil because his cousin had one. He thought it would be coolto see the red devil eat live fish, which I could never do.So guess who is taking care of him now? What does b/c stand for?

by **oscar2001** on Fri Apr 20, 2001 11:03 am

b/c is short for because

------------------
TONY S

Visit The Oscar Cichlid Fan Club

EMAIL ME
oscar2001@oscarcichlidfanclub.htmlplanet.com

[This message has been edited by oscar2001 (edited 04-20-2001).]

by **TigerO'sRule** on Fri Apr 20, 2001 6:55 pm

Thanks tony :-D

Don't worry I asked the same question when someone reccomended salt to me. And good luck with "your son's" Devil

------------------
Clint
CDevoe1111@aol.com
hey BTW I found a really cool bbs that our own oscar2001 made it is really cool but we need more people. come check it out http://ub3.homepagetools.com/Oscar2001/
I'm not asking you to leave this one b/c this one is great to just come get registered and lets get it runnin.

by **snowdrop99** on Wed May 02, 2001 8:00 pm

TigersO'sRule My red devil still is'nt himself. Should I treat him for parasites? Tell me about how to go about it. Anything else I can do? Feed him live fish? Maybe he's lonely? Helppppppppppppppppppppppp

by **Adam** on Thu May 03, 2001 4:27 am

How big is he? A 29 gallon tank probably isnt big enough for him and a teankmate if he is a year old... I am not sure exactly how big they get but I think it's similar to oscars. the problem also could be that the tank is too small... for oscars the rule of thumb is 1 in a 55 gallon. It could be that he is feeling cramped and that is why he's acting weird. If you dont feed live food like feeders I would thing that you shouldnt have to worry about parasites, but you might want to go and get a "general cure" medication for him from the pet store and just use the recommended dosing on the back of the box of whatever you get(there are so many brands but "aquarium pharmisuticals" is good). Try his most favorite food or try some live foods like worms or crickets I know they can get bored of eating the same things day in and day out. Good luck and let us know.

Adam

by **TigerO'sRule** on Thu May 03, 2001 8:07 am

If red devil's really do get that big then that is probably your problem. I guess I was just assuming they weren't that big. I was thinking along the lines of convict size. But I really have no clue. I'm with adam if that's the case. Other wise just go to the lfs and ask them what the best internal parasite med is(I hate asking them anything but I don't know whats the best for internal parasites b/c I've never had them) Then leave your salt up and your temp up and MAKE SURE there is NO sign of disease on the fishes skin.

Also does anyone on this board know much about dropsy????

by **Adam** on Thu May 03, 2001 1:29 pm

What do you want to know about dropsey? I could probably aswer your questoins.

Adam