My Fish Has Been Attacked & Rotting - Pics Added!

[didz04]

Hi, one of my malawi cichlids has been attacked really bad yesterday by 3 cichlids and I don't have a spare tank for him so he is in the same tank but in a breeder tank safe from the other cichlids. He was swimming in circles and the cichlids were still attacking him so I quickly put him in a bucket and now back in tank but in a breeder tank.

Today it seems like he is getting worse and his fins seem to be rotting away and I can see red type stains on him like blood thats clogged up on his scales. He hardly got any side fins as they are rotting also. What can I do for now? Should I add aquarium salt? I haven't got any at the moment but I will buy some tomorrow. Would normal table salt work? The cichlid I have I know it can be kept in brackish conditions.


I will add some pics in a minute.

 

[didz04]

Here are the pictures. What can I do for now as its late and no lfs open right now I will go tomorrow and buy some medication for salt if needed.

Thanks for any advice as I will need it

 

[didz04]

Sorry but im going out so will probably reply back in about an hour, but please put down your suggestions, Thanks.

 

[razer121]

oh dear....what type of cichlids did this? only thing i can thing of is if you have an old tub or sumthing as a make shift thing, do you have spare heaters and such? maybe a seocnd tank might be an idea here?

 

[star4]

Poor guy he really did take a battering. Know nothing about malawi, but would suggest a seperate tank even if its just a cheep plastic one to allow him somewhere quiet and stress free to heal, lots and lots of clean water, not sure if you can use Melafix on malawi doesnt say on the bottle, but does say can do fresh and salt water, so presume would be ok. Hope he pulls through

 

[Assaye]

I'd try Melafix and some aquarium salts. Follow the instructions. Hope he pulls through!

 

[didz04]

Yeah I really hope so too, after a few hours of putting him in the breeder tank he stopped spinning around and started to balance him self in there, I thought he would be fine and just needed the rest but it looks like his wounds have caused him some more problems. I don't have another tank but I do have a bucket and I can keep him in my bedroom which room temperature is always around 22-25 degrees. The only problem is that I don't have a spare filter but i do have a bubble pump. Could I just keep doing small water changes every day and I will use the same tank water in the bucket. I never used any real medication for my fish as I have heard its not always the best option but if I do then I will get Melafix, but firstly I will try out aquarium salt. Is there a certain salt for diseases or will any aquarium salt be fine?

The malawi got attacked by 3 of my cichlid at one point since he was the most dominant in there but still a calm fish and not too overly aggressive. He used to have big fights with the Johanni but before this they were just swimming by each other but then the Johanni had another chance at him and I think he weekend him. Since the socolofi used to get chased by the malawi and so he realized that he had his chance to get him after the johanni attacked him and then the African congo tinanti cichlid joined in and also attacked him. The thing is though the congo cichlid is a bottom dweller personalities of a goby but he will butt into any fight lol and even tries to break up the fights Thats when it got really bad and he just had no balance, spinning around. To be honest I never expected anything like this since he was the most dominant in there and no-one really messed with him except the Johanni but then he always used to back off. The most aggressive cichlid in there is the Johanni so I am thinking of trading him in to the lfs. After I have wrote this message lol I am going to put him in a bucket with the air pump. He has just been swimming a bit crazy in there so here it goes & hope he gets to his original state. Thanks for the advice just what I needed and i will tell you how he gets on.

 

[didz04]

Sorry if people have been waiting for a response, I just want to say that he is doing fine and is back in the big tank. I have gave in the blue Johanni cichlid and the tank seems so more peaceful but ofcourse still a a little aggression with them being cichlids and I haven't over stocked it. When I took him to the lfs shop we told him the situation that he is overly aggressive and the biggest cichlid in there, well actually my congo tinanti is but he is a bottom dweller so doesn't count lol. He laughed and said everyone is swapping in big fish today because of the aggression and he had a massive red devil and severums and some other 10" fish in their 6ft. He is swapping my Johanni for 2 Julichromis probably the ornatus but he is getting 3 types of Julichromis so I can choose which type I want and swapping for a pair (male&female) with no cash on top . They are Stocking them this friday so pretty excited as I always wanted them. I can go back and see how my Johanni is doing because he will be in the 6ft with all the big fish, there were also smaller and his size fish in there to. There was the same malawi cichlid in there to, the one that he ragged in my tank but a lot bigger at lfs, probably thinking oh crap twin brother

 

[Bodie1999]

That is a beautiful fish ... I know it's four years late but did he survive???