Bull, George And Mr. Blue Are Here !

[hamfist]

An uneventful trip back from Newmarket and the new guys are in the house.
Half an hour in the new tank and they are all confident. Unfortunately, I can see already that Mr Blue (the H.carpintis) is going to get bullied. In fact it is already just starting to happen. he is confident with me, but very placid with the other fish.
So, anyway, there's Bull, the Costa-Rican red head Midas. He's about 8" at the moment. He lives up to his name and is clearly going to be the boss of the tank. Calm but very good at calmly intimidating the others.

Here's George, a male Green Terror, about 7". He's next in line after Bull, and George likes to chase the carpintis around.

He's a bit thin. Hopefully, I'll be able to feed him up. GT's are reknowned for difficult guts and gut infections. I'll be hoping for the best with him.

Lastly there's Mr. Blue, the male Herichthys carpintis escondido. He's long (8") but thin and either has not eaten much recently and is stressed or has a gut infection. I don't think it is infectious, as none of the other fish in his tank (including Bull and George, and a load of others) had similar problems. I'm hoping a change of scenery will do him good. He was in a small tank with a mass of other aggressive cichlids and I don't think he enjoyed it. I'd think he's going to need rehoming really, as I don't think he'll be able to cope with the bullying of the others.

My little Flowerhorn, now called Mac, has accepted the others graciously into his 500 litre home. Although he had little choice as they are all WAAAAAY bigger than he is ! They are all ignoring him, which is probably for the best !

 

[rdp50734]

Looking good! Cant wait for the flowerhorn to grow up!

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

George looks lovely!

Is that darker patch on his flank natural colouring for a Green Terror?

Can't say I know much about any of your new fish, Hamfist, with the exceptional that I believe that GTs can be nasty so-and-sos!

 

[kaivalagi]

Gorgeous fish! That Midas is something special, I bet he turns into a right brute

Shame about the Texas being so malnourished...

 

[ChilliPepper]

GT's are reknowned for difficult guts and gut infections.

Never heard of this before. My GT was amazingly healthy, ate any food I put in the tank as well.

Hope it works out. Risky adding a load of adults with these temperaments, though worth a try. Can I ask why you didn't buy juvis?

Also, something seems a bit odd about the GT. Maybe it's a bad photo, but I'd have thought for a 7" fish he'd be pretty deep bodied and have a hump, by now? Maybe just needs feeding up.

 

[star4]

Please dont take this personally I dont wish to sound insulting or anything, but that Texas looks really sick to me, its colour is all off too and something does not look right about the markings or the depth of the body to be a carpintis.

 

[markandhisfish]

cant comment on the texas as thats a fish i know nothing about , but i have to agree , maybe its just the pic , as they can do that at times but something just doesnt look right with the gt .

 

[hamfist]

I agree, the carpintis really does not look well at all. I expect him to die in this tank, to be honest. The GT is also undernourished, which stops him having that chunky look.
From what I've read, as I've never owned one before, GT's are well known for getting bacterial gut infections, having white stringy poo, and stopping eating. I'm hoping that this one just hasn't had quite enough food. They all were really in quite a stressful tank, so it's no surprise that some are not top notch. There were about 15 fish like this in a tank, somewhere around 55 gallons.
The GT did eat a load of bloodworm last night, so my plan is simply to give them all loads of clean water and a great variety of food with plenty of green matter. That should do the job.

Bull was really the whole reason I went up there. He is a really unusual and gorgeous fish. He is in absolutely top condition. Has dug a big hole in the middle of the tank and claimed it as his won.

@ NoTG .... yes GT's are mean, but are nothing compared to a Midas. It's quite possible that the Midas will not tolerate anything else in the tank, although I'm giving it a go.

All seems relatively peaceful in there this morning, although I'm now off to work for the day. Hopefully all will be well on my return !!

Oh, did I mention that these three in total only cost me £15 (about $25) !!!

For me, the Midas alone is worth three times that.

So, it's a pity about the carpintis and I do hope he pulls through, but it will not be a tragedy if he doesn't make it.

 

[star4]

I hope the texas pulls through too, as you say lots of greens will help.

 

[ChilliPepper]

Oh, did I mention that these three in total only cost me £15 (about $25) !!!

I think the Midas is worth that. Did he do you a deal on the other two for free? Not being funny, and I know they are beautiful fish, but I don't think full grown GT's sell that well. They sell OK less than 4" before their nature comes into it. Mine was pretty docile until she got to 5" then she turned into a b@££@. A lot of people don't know what they are getting into, not the case with you I know, but I think the LFS hope that these type of people will come along.

I do hope it works out Hamfist, and the Midas is lovely. It won't be too much of a shame if he decides to have the tank for himself

I'm not sure where you read about the GT's being prone to gut problems, but I've never heard of it before and mine was healthy as anything. A balanced diet and clean water is the key, as you know.

 

[minxfishy]

The GT looks a little thin bless him, I too have never heard of them having stomach problems and none Ive owned have ever been ill or had problems with feeding, in fact, they normally eat pretty much anything they can and always the 1st to the food. Im sure after a few weeks of good food and water, he will fill out better.

The texas I agree, doesnt look right at all, any chance you can seperate him from the others, in a qt tank whilst he builds himself back up, might give him more of a chance?

 

[Athena]

Have never owned any of these fish but they are lovely - esp. Bull (is he fairly young as he hasn't developed a hump yet?).

The other two look as though they are suffering from internal parasites - but maybe I'm wrong and they are just malnourished as you said. Would be a shame to lose either of them, though, so watch for any other signs like long stringy poo, clamped fins (well I can see already Mr Blue has clamped fins), listlessness etc, you know all the usual signs I'm sure. Might be a good idea to start medicating with something appropriate. What do you think?

Regards, Athena

 

[hamfist]

Have never owned any of these fish but they are lovely - esp. Bull (is he fairly young as he hasn't developed a hump yet?).

The other two look as though they are suffering from internal parasites - but maybe I'm wrong and they are just malnourished as you said. Would be a shame to lose either of them, though, so watch for any other signs like long stringy poo, clamped fins (well I can see already Mr Blue has clamped fins), listlessness etc, you know all the usual signs I'm sure. Might be a good idea to start medicating with something appropriate. What do you think?

Regards, Athena

Yes, will be starting treatment with flubendozole today, for worms and parasites.

Bull and the GT are eating well (enjoying prawns this morning), but the Carpintis is just not interested. I'm expecting him to die, to be honest. Probably will get to a point where I euthanise him. I hope not, but I'm not expecting any miracles.

Bull is 8" so very much an adult. Midas (A.citrinellum), espec the barred Midas do not seem to get as large a nuchal hump as the orangey cooured midas, or the true red devils (A.labiatus). He still may develop one as he grows further. max size is around 12".

As an aside, its interesting how my little flowerhorn (only 3"), Mac, has coloured up since the introduction of the other fish. They all seem to be getting on fine, and Mac is holding his own with all the "big boys", but he has developed a lovely red on his abdomen and chest that he did not have at all before. It's lovely to see.

 

[hamfist]

Update ....

Bull is doing very well and continues to eat well and is still clearly the boss.

George (now originally re-named "GT") is doing OK. His appetite is small, although he does eat some bloodworm and small pieces of prawn. I would like to see a large increase in his appetite really. I am continuing with the Flubendazole treatment.

Mr. Blue (now re-named "Carp" ) is still alive. To my knowledge he has eaten about 2 or 3 bloodworm in his time with me. He is starting to get a couple of fungal spots on the tips of some dorsal fin rays. The big change here is that I bought him a big 120 litre plastic tub from B&Q this afternoon. He is now set up in it, in the shed, away from the constant harassment from Bull and GT, which can only be a positive for him.
I am treating him with Flubendazole and a touch of anti-fungal. It's still touch and go though. I'll try him with a few bloodworm tonight, as they seem to be the most tempting food for him. He doesn't even look at any other food items.

 

[rdp50734]

fingers crossed for him!