Sudden Change In Fish Colour From Nesting Convict...

[electric yellow]

This isnt really an emergency so ive posted it in here...

In my cichlid tank today i noticed the male convict who has been guarding the eggs nest and the girl convict looks a bit....weird....he is pale in colour and it looks like he has swollowed a tissue and got some stuck to the corner of his mouth..

Im wondering if there are any real physical changes he would go through while guarding his and his mrs eggs? He may of just scratched his mouth or something but im not sure what the on set of cotton mouth/columnaris looks like. The water is pretty clear and the quality is good. They got a magor water change last weekend. It is a tank with a variety of cichlids in it so there is aggression but he has been loitering outside their eggs now for a few days so has been away from all the others.

There has been no change in eating and he looks ok apart from being pale and the bit on his mouth.

Also he flared his whole face and gills at me when i tried to look at him so i didnt look to long. He doesnt look as though he has inflammed gills...but im concerned if it does turn into a fungus how will i treat it with fry running round the tank? Im trying not to stress them so they dont eat their eggs. Could it just be a stress thing from guarding the eggs all day and night?


I really hope its not a bacterial infection...all other fish are fine and dandy! Could it just be stress or being tierd from guarding his nest? I dont want to medicate the whole tank as their are eggs waiting to hatch...

My tank is 3ft and all water levels are fine.

Ph 7.8
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate just above 0

I can try to take a photo but hes hanging round the nest and i dont want to run the risk of stressing them.

 

[Athena]

Aww, poor thing! Yes, they can become run down during this whole spawning/guarding process, especially if there are other fish in the tank with them, they are on a hype the whole time! And as you know, stress = infections.

My advice would be to treat his illness, possibly half-dose if you're worried about harming the fry - but the main thing is to save the adult. They will always have more eggs but if you lose him through lack of medication, it would be a real shame and more of a loss to you.

Sorry, just been given work to do so will check back later...

Athena

 

[Athena]

Ok - I'm back - just have a few more points to add...

If it is columnaris then you can treat with Myxazin (if you're in the UK) - also increase aeration to the tank and don't overfeed (but do feed them on good quality foods at this time - e.g. irradiated live/frozen foods).

Quite often they are so busy guarding the eggs/fry that they neglect themselves and won't move from their spot in order to feed, especially if food is floating at water surface. I normally get a plastic cup and put some tank water in it, add the food into the water, sloosh it around and then pour it in the tank directly above where the parent convicts are nesting/guarding. If the food is dropped right in front of them they are more likely to eat.

The male is probably worn out because he is on constant guard duty right now, with no time off LOL. If there were no other aggressive fish in the tank with them he would have no need to be constantly guarding and therefore would not be so stressed. (I know this because originally I had various other fish in the tank with my two pink convicts and I saw them "going downhill" every couple of weeks at spawning and it was sometimes a real task trying to get them to eat anything and the male was constantly in defend mode with lots of aggression.

Now that they have the tank to themselves (apart from 1 rainbow shark who never strays from his side of the tank) they are much happier, less aggressive and more laid back about the whole process. The male still fulfils his role as guard but is a lot calmer about it now and always looks happy and healthy.

Anyway, if you start treatment for your male asap he will have a better chance of recovery.

All the best - Athena