PseudotropheusCichlid F

FAQs on Pseudotropheus Cichlids

White cyst - like bump on cichlids nostril 7/5/14
Dear WWM Crew,
We have been in the fish business for about 1.5 years. The question I have pertains to our 120 gallon cichlid tank. We have 22 cichlids from Lakes Victoria, Malawi, and Tanganyika. Some of our fish are 6 inches all the way down to 1 inch. We check our water every week or 2 and we do 10-20% water change every week. Currently, our water tests perfect in every category. It has been the same for the last 2 months (prior to that it was cycling). We just purchased a 6 inch bumblebee (Pseudotropheus crabro) 2
weeks ago. It has been acting fine and feeding well. All of our other fish appear themselves and very normal. Three days ago I noticed a white pimple/cyst on its right nostril. It has grown a bit since then. It is
about twice the size of an O. I am unsure of what to do. I don't like using medicines, but of course I will if that is what he needs. I have researched and could not find any descriptions or pictures that matched our
bumblebees situation. I would really appreciate your advice and I thank you so much for your time.
Sincerely,
Allison
<Looks like an infected nostril, with a prolapse or similar causing internal tissue to expand outwards. May clear up in time, but I would definitely treat with an antibacterial or antibiotic (don't forget to remove carbon, if used) as per Finrot. The use of Epsom salt at 3 teaspoons per 5 US gallons/20 litres would be beneficial. Have bcc'ed our resident cichlid expert, Chuck, to see if he can chime in here. Cheers, Neale.>

Re: White cyst - like bump on cichlids nostril 7/5/14
Neale,
Thank you so much for responding! We will get him into our hospital tank and begin treatments. What medication do you recommend?
<Whatever's sold in your area that's good for Finrot would be a good first choice. Seachem Kanaplex or the old favourite Maracyn 1 + 2 combination are two options. Basically, avoid the "natural" (read: unreliable) treatments such as Tea-Tree Oil. On the other hand, using Epsom salt often helps reducing swelling, and a modest addition of sea salt can be beneficial to cichlids if they're under the weather a bit, though don't go nuts, a teaspoon or two per gallon is ample.>
He's a lovely fish and we don't want to lose him. Thank you again.
<Most welcome, Neale.>
Sincerely,
Allison

White cyst - like bump on cichlids nostril /Chuck's go 7/7/14
White Bumps On Cichlid's Nose
Dear WWM Crew,
We have been in the fish business for about 1.5 years. The question I have pertains to our 120 gallon cichlid tank. We have 22 cichlids from Lakes Victoria, Malawi, and Tanganyika. Some of our fish are 6 inches all the way down to 1 inch. We check our water every week or 2 and we do 10-20% water change every week. Currently, our water tests perfect in every category. It has been the same for the last 2 months (prior to that it was cycling). We just purchased a 6 inch bumblebee (Pseudotropheus crabro)
2 weeks ago. It has been acting fine and feeding well. All of our other fish appear themselves and very normal. Three days ago I noticed a white pimple/cyst on its right nostril. It has grown a bit since then. It is
about twice the size of an O. I am unsure of what to do. I don't like using medicines, but of course I will if that is what he needs. I have researched and could not find any descriptions or pictures that matched our bumblebees situation. I would really appreciate your advice and I thank you so much for your time. Sincerely, Allison Hicks
< You crabro has an infection in its sinus cavity. Sometimes cichlids dive into the sand and gravel sifting for food and a small particle of the substrate gets lodged in the sinus cavity. This particle can irritate the
lining causing and infection even after the particle becomes dislodged. The infection seals off the sinus cavity and no circulation comes through making it difficult to treat. This infection may work its way to the surface where it can be treated. At one inch it is going to be difficult to really clean the area. I would recommend placing the fish in a small hospital tank and treating with a Nitrofuranace (Furan-2) type of compound. It has any bacterial and anti-fungal properties.-Chuck>

My Auratus Cichlid is sick 3/23/14
Hello,
<Sarah>
My female auratus cichlid seems to be struggling to survive. She is in the tank with a male auratus who has been harassing her attempting to mate but she doesn’t seem interested. She spends all her time getting away from him and is now completely exhausted. She lays in corners hiding and only stirs if i walk up to the tank. I’ve noticed over the past few days that she has stopped eating, and has stopped pooping, and that area has become swollen and red.
<These fish need to be separated. Now>
I’m wondering if there's
anything I can do to make her better? There are 3 other cichlids in the tank and 4 zebra danios. The cichlids eat Omega One Cichlid pellets and the danios eat flakes. All the levels in the tank are healthy, I do regular water changes (once a week, about 50%) and it’s a 45 gallon tank. Please help! And thank you so much for your time!
Sarah
<Let's have you read here: http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/afcichdisf8.htm
and the linked files above. Bob Fenner>
Re: My Auratus Cichlid is sick 3/24/14
Thank you so much for responding so quickly! I have temporarily elevated her in a large net in the same tank so none of the other fish can get at her, she's resting and in the past couple hours she seems to be feeling a bit better.
<Good>
I don't have a proper hospital tank and everything is closed for the evening. what would be the smallest safe size of container I could put her in until I can get to the store in the morning?
I don't think I can leave her in the net.
<A floating plastic colander... READ where you were referred. B>

Auratus 10/5/13
I recently rescued an Auratus female from an LFS who was just going to put her down because she was born without a tail. She swims just fine. Maybe a lil bouncy lol. But fine none the less.
<No worries>
Her color is my main concern. She was a dark dark brown (no white at all) when I brought her home. Her color has since turned more golden and she is getting a pretty shiny mask. But she still isn't anything like all the other Auratus I have seen
Is this something to worry about
<Ah no. Your female Auratus is turning into a male... a natural course of events. Bob Fenner>

Re: Auratus 10/5/13
Really? That's amazing. I'm open minded. No problems raising transgender fishes. Lol.
<... just protogynic synchronous hermaphroditic...>
She is in a tank with our kribensis fry. She/he had always herded em around and whatnot like they were hers. As one or two get big and start being mean she keeps them away from the little ones till I move them out. We really are in love with this little fish. I guess I only have one question then.... I've heard of a single fish having babies by itself. That isn't something this fish will be capable of is it?
<Not this species... but there are others. Search the words: "Amazon Molly"... be prepared to have your mind blown>
(maybe a dumb ??? But I'm curious)
Thanks
<Cheers, BobF>

Cichlid Two-Part Question, "Assorted/mixed Pseudotropheus", traits, undesirability of hybrids 11/18/09
Hello,
<Hello,>
I have two questions, and any information that can be given would be so very much appreciated.
<Fire away.>
Firstly, I bought four freshwater cichlids from Petco, and I'd like to figure out exactly what type of cichlids they are. The only name given at the store was "Small African Cichlid," and the clerks at the store don't know anything more than that (they don't really know much at all), none of them are specialists. I've attached a picture to show you what the fish kind of look like.
<Without an actual photo of *your* cichlid it's really difficult to answer questions like this. There are 2000 cichlid species to choose from, and many of them are very similar!>
Mine don't have those spots nor striped fins, their tail fins are more translucent, there isn't a variation in color (except for what I mention below), and they're not quite as iridescent. *BUT* the shape of the body and the face is exactly like that. The fins are very similar, but a little different. There isn't a bulge a the end of the top fin like there is on the fish in the picture.
<What you have is almost certainly some type of Pseudotropheus hybrid.
These are very commonly traded by the less responsible pet stores. Being hybrids, you can predict virtually nothing about them with any certainty.
But at a guess, they're most likely to become fairly big (around 15 cm), be extremely aggressive (not community fish at all), nippy (will damage slow moving tankmates) and be more or less omnivorous (needing a diet that contains both plant and animal foods). Colours will likely not match anything in any books you have. Muddy blues and yellows tend to be commonest. I've said it before and I'll say it again: never buy a Malawian cichlid not specifically sold under a Latin name.>
Here are the physical details I can give you that might help you distinguish. You'll have to excuse me if I don't know most of the terminology. -- The fish are each mostly one color (no spots), a couple have a slight vertical fade of their color -- from the top to the underbelly (the top being darker than the underbelly). Of these cichlids, I have one that is a light blue, an orange, a yellow, and a salmon colored one that is more red-ish on top and more of a pale pink on the underbelly. Their tail fins are flared out *a bit* like a triangle, but the edges are rounded off. None of their fins are extravagant, flowy, nor long.
This is all the information I have for you, unless you have some questions that I'd be able to answer. They're the cheapest cichlids in Petco (if you happen to go in there often, or ever...not that I'm asking you to go to the lengths making a trip to Petco or anything).
<The "cheapest cichlids" is the clue. Nobody wants them. The only people who buy them are inexperienced fishkeepers, who quickly learn that these fish are worthless. Hybrids are a curse on the hobby, and the reason why so many Malawian cichlid aquaria don't have the bright, vivacious colours you see in magazines (where wild-caught, or at least pure-bred, species are used).>
*The second part* to this is, if you do know what kind I have, is there a way to tell their sex without venting them? Is there some other distinguishing characteristic(s) or behavior that might give me a good idea of the fish's sex?
<Males are generally slightly bigger, much (MUCH!) more aggressive, and usually, but not always, have more yellow spots on their anal fins. Females can have yellow spots, though rarely many, and often none at all. Wild and pure-bred species often have quite strong differences in colouration, but these will be weak or absent in the case of hybrids.>
I know all of this is very long, vague and probably not possible to answer, but if you have any ideas I would be very, very grateful. I've done hours of research online trying to figure out what kind I have, but I've got nothing.
<As will be the case with hybrids.>
Thank you in advance for any help.
<My pleasure.>
Sincerely,
Ariel M.
<Cheers, Neale.>

Re: Cichlid Two-Part Question 11/18/09
I am such an idiot. I should have done that in the first place. D'oh! >_<
There are some pictures of mine attached (hardest pictures to take, ever).
And you're right about the aggression, well at least for one of them (the biggest one). It's awful to the other fish. I only have the same cichlids in there, but he(?) bullies all of the other fish and hogs all the food.
<Certainly Pseudotropheus "something". Likely hybrids. But do check out things like Pseudotropheus zebra and Pseudotropheus saulosi, among other things, as these are particularly commonly traded. Adult Pseudotropheus zebra (and indeed some hybrids) are incredibly aggressive, and males can, will kill off any fish in the tank they consider rivals. Minimum tank size for these "big" Pseudotropheus species (and hybrids) is 55 gallons because of this. Not "easy" fish by any stretch of the imagination. Cheers, Neale.>

Re: Cichlid Two-Part Question
How long does it take for them to become fully grown?
<About 6-12 months.>
The biggest one is only about an inch and a quarter right now.
<He's just a baby, and already causing problems... Cheers, Neale.>

Please visit our Sponsors