Cichlid care

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Hunter Brown

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Hi I am very new to the site and just had two questions.
I have one Yellow and black striped Cichlid (3in) that I have had for a month and when I got him he had a stomach that kind of bends in. Not sure if itā€™s sunken belly but Iā€™ll post a pic.
7DF9D243-D7A3-4F04-B860-0FD401C64E08.jpeg


My second question was about my new blue striped Kenyi. Heā€™s smaller probably an inch and he seems to not being doing so hot. At first he was very healthy, and now his stomach is slightly bigger and he doesnā€™t seem to be eating. He also has been disoriented while swimming//staying at the bottom of the tank. Maybe even breathing faster too. Hereā€™s his picture.
78574CA0-1A69-4A42-B94B-B05AAAD3DC24.jpeg
 
The top picture (yellow fish with stripes) is probably a Pseudotropheus crabro and is starving to death. It is sunken in on the back behind the head and also the belly. Most likely cause is intestinal worms.

The bottom picture (blue fish with stripes) is a Maylandia lombardoi (formerly Pseudotropheus lombardoi) aka kennyi cichlid. The fish is extremely stressed out and the water looks cloudy. It could be getting bullies by the bigger fish.

Check the water quality for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH and GH.
Both of these fish need hard alkaline water with a GH above 300ppm and a pH above 7.6.

If there is any ammonia in the water with a high pH, it will stress or kill the fish.


If there is an ammonia or nitrite reading above 0, or a nitrate reading above 20ppm, do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day until the levels are 0.

---------------------
Intestinal Worms like tapeworm and threadworms cause the fish to lose weight, continue eating and swimming normally, do a stringy white poop. Fish can do this for months and not be too badly affected. In some cases, fish with bad worm infestation will actually gain weight and get fat and look like a pregnant guppy. This is due to the huge number of worms inside the fish.

If the fish are still eating well, then worms is the most likely cause.

You can use Praziquantel to treat tapeworm and gill flukes. And Levamisole to treat thread/ round worms. If you can't find these medications, look for Flubendazole.

Remove carbon from filters before treatment and increase aeration/ surface turbulence to maximise oxygen levels in the water.

You treat the fish once a week for 4 weeks. The first treatment will kill any worms in the fish. The second, third and forth treatments kill any baby worms that hatch from eggs inside the fish's digestive tract.

Treat every fish tank in the house at the same time.

You do a 75% water change and complete gravel clean 24-48 hours after treatment.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.

Clean the filter 24 hours after treatment too. Wash filter media in a bucket of tank water and re-use it.

Do not use the 2 medications together. If you want to treat both medications in a short space of time, use Praziquantel on day one. Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate on day 2 & 3. Treat the tank with Levamisole on day 4 and do a 75% water change and gravel clean on day 5, 6 & 7 and then start with Praziquantel again on day 8.

The water changes will remove most of the medication so you don't overdose the fish the next time you treat them. The gravel cleaning will suck out any worms and eggs that have been expelled by the fish. Repeating the treatment for 3-4 doses at weekly intervals will kill any worms that hatch from eggs. At the end of the treatment you will have healthier fish.
 
The top picture (yellow fish with stripes) is probably a Pseudotropheus crabro and is starving to death. It is sunken in on the back behind the head and also the belly. Most likely cause is intestinal worms.

The bottom picture (blue fish with stripes) is a Maylandia lombardoi (formerly Pseudotropheus lombardoi) aka kennyi cichlid. The fish is extremely stressed out and the water looks cloudy. It could be getting bullies by the bigger fish.

Check the water quality for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH and GH.
Both of these fish need hard alkaline water with a GH above 300ppm and a pH above 7.6.

If there is any ammonia in the water with a high pH, it will stress or kill the fish.


If there is an ammonia or nitrite reading above 0, or a nitrate reading above 20ppm, do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day until the levels are 0.

---------------------
Intestinal Worms like tapeworm and threadworms cause the fish to lose weight, continue eating and swimming normally, do a stringy white poop. Fish can do this for months and not be too badly affected. In some cases, fish with bad worm infestation will actually gain weight and get fat and look like a pregnant guppy. This is due to the huge number of worms inside the fish.

If the fish are still eating well, then worms is the most likely cause.

You can use Praziquantel to treat tapeworm and gill flukes. And Levamisole to treat thread/ round worms. If you can't find these medications, look for Flubendazole.

Remove carbon from filters before treatment and increase aeration/ surface turbulence to maximise oxygen levels in the water.

You treat the fish once a week for 4 weeks. The first treatment will kill any worms in the fish. The second, third and forth treatments kill any baby worms that hatch from eggs inside the fish's digestive tract.

Treat every fish tank in the house at the same time.

You do a 75% water change and complete gravel clean 24-48 hours after treatment.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.

Clean the filter 24 hours after treatment too. Wash filter media in a bucket of tank water and re-use it.

Do not use the 2 medications together. If you want to treat both medications in a short space of time, use Praziquantel on day one. Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate on day 2 & 3. Treat the tank with Levamisole on day 4 and do a 75% water change and gravel clean on day 5, 6 & 7 and then start with Praziquantel again on day 8.

The water changes will remove most of the medication so you don't overdose the fish the next time you treat them. The gravel cleaning will suck out any worms and eggs that have been expelled by the fish. Repeating the treatment for 3-4 doses at weekly intervals will kill any worms that hatch from eggs. At the end of the treatment you will have healthier fish.
Alright, thank you for the information it is very helpful. I will try and get treatment for the yellow Cichlid ASAP. And as for the Kenyi I will begin helping him.
Also, should I put the yellow with stripes in a quarantine tank and then treat him, or treat the whole tank of fish that heā€™s currently in. I just donā€™t want the meds to hurt the other fish....
 
If one fish has intestinal worms, they all have intestinal worms. Treat the whole tank and any other tanks you have, at the same time.

Deworming medications are one of the few medications that are actually safe to use on all fish and should be used on all new fish while they are being quarantined.
 
If one fish has intestinal worms, they all have intestinal worms. Treat the whole tank and any other tanks you have, at the same time.

Deworming medications are one of the few medications that are actually safe to use on all fish and should be used on all new fish while they are being quarantined.
I tried finding the medication that you recommended in the earlier post. I went to my local Walmart because the nearest fish store is roughly 45min away. Anyways I found this stuff by the brand of API and it says it treats intestinal worms. Pimafix+Melafix. My question was what you thought on the products. I read good reviews online, but wanted your input. I did buy it and plan on using it after I hear your thoughts.
Thanks, you are very helpful!
 
Last edited:
Pimafix and Melafix don't do anything to treat intestinal worms in fish. They are made from tea tree oil, which comes form an Australian tree called the tea tree. Tea tree oil can help with minor cuts and scratches in people, animals, birds, etc, but it doesn't do anything to help with intestinal worms. It is also poisonous and overdosing can kill fish. Even using the normal dose can affect labyrinth fishes (Bettas & Gouramis) because the oil covers the water surface with an oily film that stops the fish being able to breath. When the fish go to the surface and take in air, they get a mouth full of tea tree oil and can die.

Check ebay or amazon for the deworming medications
 
For anyone else who reads this, API do not say that Melafix or Pimafix treat intestinal worms though a fish store worker may make this claim.

From API's website
"APIĀ® Melafix is an all-natural antibacterial treatment that works to treat infections in fish. "
"APIĀ® Pimafix is an all-natural, antifungal remedy for fish fungal infections, with a formula derived from the West Indian Bay Tree "

I always compare Melafix to an antiseptic we might use - fine to use as a preventative to clean a cut, but if an infection does get in we'd need something a lot stronger.
 
Pimafix and Melafix don't do anything to treat intestinal worms in fish. They are made from tea tree oil, which comes form an Australian tree called the tea tree. Tea tree oil can help with minor cuts and scratches in people, animals, birds, etc, but it doesn't do anything to help with intestinal worms. It is also poisonous and overdosing can kill fish. Even using the normal dose can affect labyrinth fishes (Bettas & Gouramis) because the oil covers the water surface with an oily film that stops the fish being able to breath. When the fish go to the surface and take in air, they get a mouth full of tea tree oil and can die.

Check ebay or amazon for the deworming medications
Alright, sounds good. I will check Amazon now. I will just search the medications you mentioned before and see what comes up.
 
EBC4BF8D-7A46-4A0A-A319-6682103F8CBC.jpeg

E4366784-4434-4D19-9DEA-70C20170B8CF.jpeg

About three weeks difference. Treated him of intestinal problems. Got him around Christmas time from a person who could not care for him any longer. Glad I could learn so much and successfully treat him.
 

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