Red devil cichlid not eating

[jeffyjj]

Hi Everyone,

I Had a male green terror in my 50 gallon tank for a year. My wife surprised me with an orange Midas cichlid(big adult) so I had to return the Green terror to the LFS for free.

My tank is already cycled with ph between 7.2 and 7.6.Ammonia=0,Nitrite=0 and Nitrates=10ppm.Its been 2 weeks Days my Cichlid Has not eaten anything.I tried frozen gel food form Ocean Nutrtion,NLS pellets(Sinking&Floating),Dry blood worms,Hikari(Sinking and Floating).But he is not eating any of them.

I kept the light off for 2 days.I properly acclimated him using drip method.

Moreover I treated him for parasites with api general cure.He rearranged all the decorations and he always remains at the front corner of the aquarium

Regards,

[Topogigio]

It's very normal for big fish to not eat for a while when moved... Just give him a week or 2.

[jeffyjj]

Thanks for your instant response.Its been 2 weeks now.

[Topogigio]

I wouldn't worry if its only been 2 weeks... I had a big Hartwegi go on a hunger strike for 6 weeks when I first got him

[jeffyjj]

I wouldn't worry if its only been 2 weeks... I had a big Hartwegi go on a hunger strike for 6 weeks when I first got him

Thanks Topogigio I will wait for the good thing to happen.

[jeffyjj]

Hi,

Water conditions are perfect ,My red devil is still not eating.Can see white patches near his mouth and on his hump.Currently treating him for ich with seachem paraguard.Please help I don't want to loose him.

[Topogigio]

if he has ich, turn the lights off, and bump the temperature up ~ 27 - 29 degrees ... this is of course if he has whitespot (ich)

[jeffyjj]

Hi,Thanks for the reply,

What about the white patches near his mouth and on the humps..Have you come across this problem.

[Topogigio]

patches & lumps (like a pimple head?) sound like some sort of infection, pausable causes: digging sharp gravel or stones, even maybe foul water (im not saying you have a dirty tank)... maybe all the food you tried feeding him fouled the water because it was uneaten, or maybe he ate food that became fouled in the water, i dont know???

i just had a look at your pic again & i see you are using big landscaping type rocks/boulders - for me these are the worst type of substrate one can use, as any uneaten pellets will lodge/accumulate amongst the gaps, putrifyiung/fouling your water over time.. fish-poo will also accumulate amongst these gaps.... unfortunately you CAN'T just pull all the substrate out as these will inevitably stir all the crap that may have accumulating, compromising your water quality, not to mention the substrate to a certain degree is also filtering your water (surface being colonised by good bacteria).

if i were you, and you do find that crap is accumulating withing the gaps i would just try and gravel vac as much as you can, and remove the stones over 7-14 day period, whilst at the same time doing daily water changes ~ 5%-10%

[jeffyjj]

Thanks for your reply,I am using smooth stones, Moreover I do good gravel vacums ,and my parameters are intact with nitrates at 10ppm today. I always take out the food after 10 minutes so it does not foul up the water..I mostly feed him by tying the gel food or shrimps to the string .He has not eaten till now. I think stress is the factor, He cannot adjust to the new tank. There is a drift wood in the tank,I think may be may be the sharp edges are scratching him, But the gravels are very smooth.Today I could see Fin rot too.Ich has not gone for the last 3 weeks bt its not spreading anyway.I stopped using seachem paraguard.

White patches are still there and fish losing its color.

I switched off the light and bumped up the temp to 27 deg as you suggested.Is it ok to switch on the UV sterlizer.

[jeffyjj]

[Topogigio]

Maybe it's because I'm looking at the pic using my phone, but I don't see patches/anything wrong with the fish... With tail-rot, there is medication that treats this condition... Interesting paraguard treats both white spot & tail rot...I wouldn't switch the uv off... And hopefully there is no carbon present... I don't know what else to say as it seems you are doing everything right, except I don't see a tinge of blue/green in your water as expected from daily use of medication .

[jeffyjj]

[jeffyjj]

Look at this guy turning his back to a tasty shrimp.If he eats something then he can get relief from stress.I better add paraguard with a lesser dose may be a higher dose stressed him out.What about adding Seachem garlic guard directly to the aquarium to increase his appetite.I soaked this shrimp in garlic guard but no use.

[jeffyjj]

No carbon or purigen present.

[Topogigio]

I would try a garden earthworm or even live brine shrimp (i know there is no nutrition in the brine shrimp but it maybe enough to get his appetite back)

[Firemouth]

Yeah, throw in something live.
I'd try a shoal of small dither fish/live food too.

Hate watching a prize fish go downhill like its had the bone pointed at it.

[jeffyjj]

No live food available here actually.What dither fish would you suggest.Won't the red devil get internal parasites if it eats the dither fish.

[Firemouth]

I dunno, try some platies or swordtails.

They'll swim around mindlessly and hopefully provide some sense of security.
If he decides to eat them , means he's feeling abit better.

As for the parasites, not sure about that either.
Reakon you've got nothin' to loose.
I've fed my fish all manner of critters over the years and they loved 'em all.
Except once when I fed a bee to a convict.
Didn't go down very well.

[Ducksta]

In all honesty I think you're trying to hard and stressing him out more.
Also tying strings on to his food... It will make it behave less naturally in the water (ie. it will make it not go with the current) and therefore he'll know something is not right.

I agree with adding some dither fish. Something that is up in the water column. Platies/Swordtails are a good option if they are available cheaply in your area throw 6-10 in. Nothing to lose.
Even something really small like a school of zebra danios. Anything to get some action in the tank that will draw him out.
Once he starts knocking them off you know he's got his attitude back. He may not eat them, he may just kill them. So make sure to be ready to fetch bodies out so they don't decay.

[jeffyjj]

Thanks everyone for your replies.I decided to fetch some zebra danios may be 6-8 of them.Moreover I would like to know what should I feed the zebra danios.is it ok feed the the same frozen gel food from ocean nutrition.

Basically I used to just dump the food into the water and he used to go back without having it,after that I came to the conclusion of hanging the food I front of him.From now on I will just dump the food and wait for 15 minutes and take it away if it's not eaten but now I am sure Zebra danios will attack the food.Hope everything comes back to normal.

I would like to thank all he forum members who have supported me this much,I did not receive much support and concern from any other forums.Thanks again guys.

[Ducksta]

The danios will eat whatever is available. So the frozen gel or a pellet or anything. You might want to break up a bit of the food for them (although I would just let them peck it pieces themselves)