Blue Acara In Trouble! Plz Help

[xmissxmelee]

my female blue acara is in trouble! i have just noticed that she is hanging around the bottom of the tank and that she cant use her tail. she looks bottom heavy as she can still use her front fins to scoot around and swim upright on the odd ocassion. i dont know if this is so sort of desease or if she has just somehow hurt herself. and she didnt eat any food tonight when usually she would goble it down! anybody know whats going on??

 

[roadmaster]

Would need much more information than you provided. Were it me,, I would see that water parameters were all in line = Zero for ammonia and nitrites, and nitrates under 40 ppm with 20 ppm being ideal. Would be nice to know how long the tank has been running with fish, what fishes are in the tank,what size tank, how long has the affected fish been in the tank, what size filter,what is water change schedule,how much water is changed,what chemicals or additives or medications are or have been used, what dechlorinator, what foods are offered and how often. Answers to these questions can sometimes reveal possible contributers to problems and help eliminate other factors as well.
If all water parameters are in order,, and I were to take a wild guess ,, I might wonder if fish could be bloated. In which case I would maybe withold food for a couple days and review what proper foods are for particular fish I was keeping.
Would try and offer a variety off foods suitable for the fish while not overfeeding.
This is all speculation on my part, but with what little info was made available,,it is all anyone can do.

 

[xmissxmelee]

i've had the tank up and running since feb this year. its a 4 foot with a aqua one 1000 filter, every few weeks the filter gets cleaned and a week later the water generally gets changed, i cant remember the ph of the water off the top of my head but its normally a mid to high 7. she shares her tank with the male acara, a large red headed cichlid, 5 plecos (i albino 1 choc 3 common, although the common boys are to be removed this weekend as they moving on to another project tank and my baby sailfin albino will join the ranks) and two 7 bar frontosa (one of which is also switching tanks and is to be replaced with my new texas cichlid). they get feed a variety of beef heart, bloodworms, and pellets (usually a bit of each everynight) and on special ocassions live brine shrimp. no meds of water condtioner has been added. the acara and her tank mates have been sharing this tank from when it was first set up the only exception being the frontosas added a couple of months later. everyone has been happy and healthy and my acaras have spawned on numerous occasions.

 

[roadmaster]

For the fish you are keeping and the size tank they are occupying, I would be changing the water at least once each week and at a rate of 50 percent using a water conditioner for new water added.
I would also clean the filter material in the old water I removed each week. these fishes are large waste producers and as they grow from juveniles to adults ,they create more and more waste and thus water changes will be needed on larger scale and more often assuming you wish for them to remain healthy.
Fish could be bloated as mentioned,or perhaps she is egg laden.
In any event,,water quality needs to be in top shape.
Have you tested the water for ammonia and nitrites? perhaps if you don't have a test kit available,,the local fish store would test a sample of your water if you brought them a sample?
In my view,,your fish would /will do much better with weekly 50 percent water changes that will help dilute/remove excess organics that are most assuredly present given the number,and particular fish you have presently.

 

[xmissxmelee]

ok thanks for your help. the tank will be gettin a clean up this weekend. my 4 foot was never going to be a long term tank i'm just waiting to save up the cash to get a 6 foot starphire made up with either a fluval 500 or sump set up. the reason the plecos are being shuffled this weekend is not only because we need them in the other tank but because of the amount of waste they are producing (its unbelievable). i'm not sure if i'll be able to get the water tested at the pet store due to time restictions but i do have a small tank with a baby acara (from another breeding pair i have since sold) and the sailfin albino pleco that i can always move her to if theres not an improvement.