Severum Not Eating

[Faythee]

Second day my Rotkiel is not eating. His color is good, fins are fine, not hiding, still greets me at the tank. Just not eating.

Tested the water and all is good. I haven't added anything new to the tank. Did a 30% water change last week.

I'm not sure how to treat him with no other symptoms. Any ideas ?

Do they ever swallow gravel ?

 

[nmonks]

What are you offering? They're herbivores of course, so you should have some fresh greens on offer all the time. Some blanched lettuce or a bunch of cheap pondweed will do. If it's hungry, it'll nibble on that.

Otherwise, do be aware that if the fish hasn't been fed any fresh greens in a while, constipation will be a likely problem. Epsom salt (1-3 teaspoon per 5 gallons of water) and cooked peas are the standard cure for this. Don't feed the fish anything other than greens while attempting this cure, and it may take some days for the fish to even want to eat the peas, though most severums like them very much. Once happily feeding again, do remember to minimise the use of protein-rich (i.e., meaty) foods like standard cichlid pellets or bloodworms, and instead use these very sparingly. Herbivore flake, herbivore pellets, algae wafers, peas, spirulina-enriched brine shrimp and so on make much better foods.

Cheers, Neale

 

[Faythee]

I noticed he is sticking his mouth out, like yawning so I am treating for parasites along with an antibiotic. I have no idea where the parasites are coming from as nothing has been added to the tank. Happened about 6 months ago too, but that time he was scratching himself. Costs me alot to treat a 125 tank. He is definitely worth it.

Seem to be missing babies from my Tanga tank too.....nor a good fishy week.

Thank you nmonks. I do feed a variety of food....... I definitely should give more lettuce and peas.

 

[nmonks]

A combination that's been recommended by vets and medics is the Metronidazole ("Flagyl") and Nitrofurazone combination. It's very effective with medium to large cichlids, and is about the only combination that treats Hexamita and other similar protozoan infections. As you probably know already, Hexamita is very common among farmed cichlids, some would say ubiquitous, but only becomes deadly when the host cichlid is stressed (typically through a combination of high nitrates and a lack of green foods).

In any case, according to cichlid expert Mary Bailey, yawning excessively can suggest (1) water quality problems; (2) incorrect pH or rapid pH changes; (3) poisons such as chlorine; (4) gill parasites; and (5) irritation of the gills by diseases such as slime disease. Review, and act accordingly.

Cheers, Neale

I noticed he is sticking his mouth out, like yawning so I am treating for parasites along with an antibiotic.