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| FAQs on Convict Cichlid Health
Related Articles:
Convicts, Freshwater Angels,
Discus, Juraparoids,
Neotropical Cichlids, African
Cichlids, Dwarf
South American Cichlids, Asian Cichlids,
Cichlid Fishes in General,
Related FAQs:
Convicts 1,
Convicts 2, &
Convict Identification,
Convict Behavior,
Convict Compatibility,
Convict Selection,
Convict Systems,
Convict Feeding, Convict Reproduction,
& Cichlids of the World,
Cichlid Systems,
Cichlid Identification,
Cichlid Behavior,
Cichlid Compatibility, Cichlid Selection,
Cichlid Feeding,
Cichlid Disease, Cichlid
Reproduction,
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Convict Cichlid 7/7/05
Hi there!
Just have a quick question...
I have a male convict whose eye appears to be peeling. The eye itself
looks okay, but on one side the skin looks like it has been peeled
back, and is still hanging on. My convicts just had a set of fry and
have been protecting them against 2 Jewels and a Cobalt.( We are
removing the convicts soon.) Is it possible that this happened in
battle or is it something else i should be wary of? Should I treat him
or will it repair itself? Thanks for your time.
Amy
<Is likely an injury related to spawning, protection. I would add some aquarium
salt, separate from the African cichlids pronto. Bob Fenner>
Convict Cichlid With Strange Growth 7/20/05
I have a convict cichlid (relatively young, I'm sure) who has (seemingly
overnight) developed a white round 3-dimensional growth at the base of his fin
(at the joint if you will). The cichlid is only about 2 1/2 inches long and the
growth is about 1/8 of an inch (perhaps a smidgeon less). Please let me know if
you can figure anything out. The only thing I've come up with is maybe a tumor
of some sort, but I really don't know.
Thanks in advance.--Rachael
<Could be fungus from a wound. Wipe the area down with a cotton swab. Put a
little iodine on it and treat the water with Nitrofuranace for wound
control.-Chuck>
Convicts Suffering 9/19.5/05
Hey there, I read different articles for hours on your website, and am still
trying to figure out what to do with my fish. I am clueless by the way. <Not so.
You know to ask questions>
Symptoms:
I have a 30 gallon tank with four small convict cichlids. I have a filter meant
for a 60 gallon tank, so the water is well filtered. I had many plants in this
tank, but the fish kept attacking them, so I moved them to my Jewel Cichlid
tank. No problems there. The convict tank started smelling, A LOT!! So I added
some pink stuff meant to take away clouding and stinkiness It took away most of
the stinkiness, I changed the filter, and did a 25% water change.
The main problem:
The smallest convict has been laying around on the new fake plants a lot, I
thought he was hiding from the other fish, and left him for a week, laughing
about his laziness, but he (I think it's a she actually) <Females will have a
red blush on their sides when mature> has had a turn for the worse with heavy
'breathing'. I thought the water change would help. The pH level is perfect,
brand new active carbon filter, so technically the ammonia level should be ok
Can't seem to find any other tests at pet stores to put the water through. I
guess they don't have nitrate testing kits here? I don't know. I have no idea
what to do. Aquarium salt? Or do I have to go get some other kind of stuff? I
thought convicts were the easy care quick to breed variety of fish to have? Got
any ideas for me. Should I go back to guppy farming?
<There are many reasons a fish may lose energy and start to pant. The first
thing to check is water quality. You should be testing for ammonia, nitrite, and
nitrate. If your LFS does not stock them, find a better LFS. Any ammonia or
nitrite, or very high nitrate, could be the cause. The fix is more water
changes. Big ones, 50% a day for a few days to lower nitrate. If it's an ammonia
or nitrate problem you will have to do daily water changes until you have
established bio filtration. Be sure you do not clean the "bio media" section of
your filter. Ammonia and nitrite are not removed by charcoal or the particle
filter, but by bacteria growing on the bio media. If you did clean it, then it
is likely this is ammonia poisoning. Do those water changes and get the tests.
Order online if you can't get them locally. For now I would not add anything to
the tank except fresh, dechlorinated water. Discontinue the "pink stuff". Do
water changes to keep the tank fresh. Don>
Old Convict Cichlid Can't See Well 9/26/05
Hello, I know you must get many of these e-mails from people worrying about
their
diseased fish.
< That is what we are here for.>
Here is yet another. I browsed through many of your previous
inquiries but did not find my problem. I just noticed yesterday that my convict
of approx 5 to 6 years has sunken in eyes. I fed the fish. All the others
(convicts) did their usual scramble but he only attempted a few flakes with not
much luck. I don't know if he has loss of appetite or if he just can't see
well. He did try to attack me through the glass when I was looking at him per
usual. He is the king of the tank. I'd hate to see him go. Have any ideas?
Thanking You in Advance, Donelle
< Usually this is associated with trauma/damage to the eyes. He could have
fought other convicts that have damaged his eyes during a fight or gotten
weakened by a disease. I bet if you test him you will find that he is probably
going blind and no medication will restore his sight. If you see pop eye or a
white cloudy film on the eyes then these can be treated. At six years old your
convict will have a difficult time in a tank with faster and younger
convicts.-Chuck>
Belly Sliding Convict 6/16/06
Hello, I have a convict cichlid that is laying on the bottom of my tank
a lot. It tries to swim around but seems to tire very easily. When it does swim,
it looks as if maybe its "dragging its tail" so to speak. Not that it looks
paralyzed but seems to swim at a 45 degree angle. I cannot see any spots on it
anywhere and it seems like its trying to survive. Feeding time, it tries to eat
like the rest of the fish but just doesn't have a lot of strength and stops to
rest frequently. So far, none of the other fish are showing anything like this
and I'd like to catch whatever this is before it spreads. My tank is a converted
lobster tank like you see on a grocery store and its over 100 gals. Can you help
me?
< Do a 50% water change, vacuum the gravel and clean the filter. Your convict
may have an internal infection that has infected the swim bladder. Place the
convict in a hospital tank and treat with a combination of Metronidazole and
Nitrofuranace.-Chuck>
Convict Cichlid With Swimming Disorder 1/10/07
Dear Crew, My friend needs help with her female black cichlid with gold
undertones (adult)
< Female convict cichlid, Archocentrus nigrofasciatus.>
which cannot swim down from the surface. She is feeding well. She is upright and
not bloated, but the dorsal fin remains above water level and is suffering
damage. When she tries to swim downward she has a strange "bobbing" motion. The
pH is 7.3 Hardness is -190 All others in tank are fine.
Would really appreciate your help. Kind regards, Nola, for friend Janie
< Your fish has an internal infection. Do a 50% water change, vacuum the gravel
and clean the filter. Treat with a combination of Metronidazole and
Nitrofurazone or Clout.-Chuck>
Sick Cichlid, or just old? Terrible English
no doubt though
Hi, love the site. Michael
<Thank you Michael... trouble with your letter here... Spaces twixt your
sentences, commas... but I will make allowance for your email as I see
the suffix .fm on your addr.... Where are you writing from?>
I think my convict cichlid is sick, I bought him from a "Big" LFS who I
won't name, he looked pretty unhealthy when I got him, flushed color,
white spots.
Anyway I nursed him back to health and he was doing fine until about a
week ago when he started developing a big reddish brown patch on his
tail fin (see pic)
<I see this>
IDK what it is, I thought it was just his age not sure how old, bought
him fully grown) until I noticed the fry, and my Texas Cichlid (mother)
constantly picking at it.
<These fish may not be compatible>
He's also acting a bit strange
,laying on the bottom of the tank, shallow breathing
and he seems to be lacking energy
I've been doing partial water changes every other day I've treated him
for parasites and ick
Is he sick, or just old thanks for any insight you can give me sorry
about the poor pic, the spot is a lot darker
--
Michael McLaughlin
<I would separate these cichlids, treat the Convict with a Furan
compound... See WWM re Cichlid Disease... Bob Fenner> |
Re: Sick Cichlid, or just old? thanks for the reply! 2/1/07
Hi guys
<Michael>
Thanks for the timely reply I will remove him from the tank and treat
him ASAP
Thanks for the help
Michael
<Real good and welcome. BobF> |
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Convict is pooping weird 3/3/07
I have a male and female convict about 3 inches each, they tried to have
babies about one month ago and failed. Days later the males poop started to
turned white and stringy. He stopped eating for about 3 days. After the 3 days
he started to eat again and his poop went back to normal so I thought nothing of
it. Now about four days ago they laid a second batch of eggs and today they
hatched and are hidden under a rock, but the male is pooping white again, and he
also didn't eat this morning. I have 3 other convicts in the tank and he still
protects his territory, but when he wins the battle he goes right back to his
spot and does nothing. The female protects the babies all day and still manages
to eat. If it was a parasite then why would it go away and then come back,
<Maybe...>
that doesn't make any sense. No other fish are displaying any of the same
symptoms. Thank you for you time.
<Does seem odd that the other Convicts aren't affected... If it were mine, I
might treat all of these fish... with Jungle's Parasite product containing both
Metronidazole and Praziquantel...
Bob Fenner>
Convict doing head spins,
Convict Going Loop The Loop 8/23/07
Hi there. You guys really have a wonderful and quite often when I have the
time I spend it here. I am relatively new to the hobby (about a year) and am
quite fascinated with cichlids. I have 3 convicts, 1 male and 2 females. The
male I have had since he was a toddler. The females I introduced later and there
weren't any problems. It's been about 6 months and recently I think the one of
the females and a male seemed to have formed a pair. They've been digging up the
sand in a corner of the tank and they protect it as their own territory. My male
convict suddenly started acting funny today. He started spinning quite
energetically. Not horizontal in circles, but vertically, like he was doing head
spins. I have seen fish with swim bladder problems and his spinning seemed too
conscious to be a swim bladder problem, but I am no expert. He did this twice in
a span of 10 minutes and after that he went back to being normal. I have been
keeping an eye on him and he's not done
it again (over the last hour and a half). Am a bit flummoxed by the behaviour.
Could you please throw some light on the above. Thanking you in advance, warm
regards. Sujay
<It is not part of any spawning ritual that I am aware of. Never heard of this
before. Check the water quality and offer some live food. Spawning can be
stressful and you want to make sure your fish are in good shape.-Chuck.>
Re: Convict doing head spins
7/25/07
Thank you
Have been keeping an eye on him and he's not done it again.
Was wondering whether it could be the onset or symptoms of some internal energy?
Regards... Sujay
<Not sure what "internal energy" means in this context. But, as ever, keep an
eye on water chemistry and water quality. Trying mixing up the diet a little,
and offer some green foods and algae as well as the usual flake and bloodworms.
Practically all cichlids eat some green foods, even if only incidentally to
their normal diet, and just like any other animal, the vitamins and fibre in
green foods are important. (Even cats, the most completely carnivorous animals
on Earth, make a bee-line for the partially digested plant matter in the
digestive tracts of the prey animals they eat.) When cichlids lose swimming
ability, it's usually either environmental or dietary, so if you can cross those
two things off, you've made a good start. The last time I saw "spinning
cichlids" it was a tank full of baby Pelvivachromis taeniatus into which I'd
poured some freezing cold water without thinking... they recovered within half
an hour or so, but it was pretty scary to watch! Cheers, Neale>
Bloated Jellybean Convict 9/27/07
I have a female jellybean convict who has successfully bred, but due to
aggression of the male was moved to a different aquarium.
This female has recently blown up to a huge, uncomfortable looking state, she is
not eating well and just sits in her cave gasping.
Her scales are not opened up so I don't think she has a disease. I am afraid to
move her back to the original aquarium in her "state" due to the aggressive
nature of the other fish. Will she eventually lay the eggs with no male, absorb
them or die? What can I do to help?
Thank You, Carolyn
< Your jellybean convict is a genetic mutation that has been bred to assume an
unusual body shape. Unfortunately these body shapes have a tendency to create
internal deformities as well. One of which is severely bent intestines. The
result of this seems to be food particles lodged in the intestines. These
intestines then distend and swell as the internal bacteria begin to digest the
food. The extension of the gut stresses the other organs to the point to where
they no longer may function. I recommend placing the fish in a clean hospital
tank and treating with both Metronidazole and Nitrofuranace.-Chuck>
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Convict Cichlid has bulge in
stomach 12/12/07
Hey,
<What?>
I have had two convict cichlids for 5+ years, and just recently one of them got
a sort of bulge in the stomach. It actually seems to have appeared randomly. A
while ago I had a feeder fish that I am assuming was eaten (not quite sure)
<... a very poor idea. Read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/goldfshfd.htm
and the linked files above>
and I thought that it might have been the fish with the bulge that ate it, but
it seems odd for it to still be there (and the bulge is rather large). So for
the past couple of days, I have been watching them eat and it looks like the
fatter one is eating the majority of the food. It still acts normally, but the
bulge looks very odd and I'm afraid something could happen to it.
I have considered separating the fish in the tank to feed them separately and
make sure they both get the same amount (they are always together, so I don't
want to completely separate the two). The fatter one seems to always rush to the
food and beat the other one to it.
Why do you think the bulge is present? It seems like even though it is eating
the food, it should be able to digest it and not have the bulge. Do you have any
other suggestions?
Thanks so much!
-Chantal
<... no useful data re water chemistry, foods/feeding... I suspect there is
something amiss here environmentally... But it could be a disease, parasite
introduced inadvertently with the "feeder". Keep reading. Bob Fenner>
Re: Convict Cichlid has bulge
in stomach - 12/13/07
Sorry that was of no help. Here is some extra info, and basically all the
info I have left.
I moved about an hour away from home in August and took my fish with me.
They are also in a new (bigger) tank now, but their environment is the exact
same. They have a better/new filter, and I used a lot of their old water for the
new tank. The bulge appeared around early November.
My fish don't typically eat feeder fish, and the one that was in my tank was not
meant to be eaten either. I had goldfish and feeder fish living in the new tank
before I moved my fish in there so that it wouldn't be squeaky clean and brand
new once they got in. The one feeder fish disappeared, so I am only assuming it
got eaten, but that happened probably around September/early October, so it was
a pretty long time ago.
That is really all I have on my fish. I am definitely going to start feeding the
fatter one less once I find a way to separate them during feedings. It just
still seems odd that a bulge would appear. I have been feeding them the same
amount of food for the longest time.
Thanks again!
<... could also be a tumour/tumorous growth of some sort... Only way to be sure
is to sacrifice, necropsy the specimen... Otherwise your proposed changes, good
maintenance are about all that can be done. Bob Fenner>
Sick Convict Not Depressed 1/14/08
Hey, I wrote about a month ago about my convict cichlid that had a bulge in
its stomach. I think that is what killed it about a week ago. Now I still have
one left, and it has been very light colored with brownish stripes (it does not
look normal compared to its usual light color). She has definitely been a lot
less active than usual as well. I was wondering if it is possible for her to be
depressed and what I should do. The two fish were raised together, and now she
is pretty much alone in a 30 gallon tank. Thanks, Chantal
< The same factors that made the first convict sick are probably still making
this convict sick. I would recommend some water quality tests and make any
adjustments that are needed.-Chuck>
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