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Hello all.

I had a Scarlet Krib in a mixed cichlid tank with oscar, then added a catfish. Since adding the cat, the Krib took to hiding in his caves. I got a good look at him 2 days ago and discovered his tummy sunken in a bit. I will assume he was too afraid of the other fish to come out and eat.

I moved him into my 29 gal and he appears to enjoy his new home with a nice cave which he took over, and the plants. He is no longer afraid and pretty active.

Soon as he sees the food now, he goes for it, but a few seconds later he spits out the food.. Does this a few times, then goes back into his new cave..

Is there any chance he is getting food in him so he can recover ? Has anyone had experience with this ? Is the damage irrepairable or can it be reversed ? If I judged on his energy level now I'd say he must be getting a bit in him (I hope) but don't know for sure.



The Amazon Nut...

Sounds very possibly like this fish has internal parasites. Does he like "vomit" the good out several minutes after eating it?

Just from the emaciation alone and not eating, I would assume internal parasites and treat for that.

A very good medication is Parasite Clear Tank Buddies. But, look at the back and make sure it has Praziquantel in it. It is considered safe at full strength, even for scaleless fish. One dose of a bath in Prazi should have worms coming out if he has them.

Give that a try and see how he does. I hope it works out for you. Someone once had an angel in the same predicament and this med worked well. Within a day the fish was eating and started gaining weight soon after that.

Keep us updated

Diane

Thanks Diane, nice to hear from you

I think the parasites here are a one foot oscar and a 5 inch catfish keeping the fish in the caves for 2 months. If i add the med you suggest, will I be adding it unneccessarily ? Is Parasite Clear Tank Buddies safe for plants and the biological filter ? I haven't used that med before.

It didn't puke up the food minutes later, but about 10 seconds later.. That was the cichlid flakes.. I went out and got some freeze dried bloodworms which i hear kribs love.. It went for some of that and I didn't see him spit it out, much to my relief.. Should I get the meds yet or monitor him at feedings for the next couple days to see what happens and continue the bloodworm feedings and try to see what it's poop (if it can) looks like ?

I'm hoping not seeing him spit the bloodworm out is a good sign although I don't know if he spit it later when I wasn't looking.

The Amazon Nut...

Sounds like a good approach. If he's eating something then that is good. Feces would be white, thin and slimey, if he had worms. Give your process a try for a while.

The Parasite Clear has acriflavine, which is not good for plants. The biofilter isn't adversely affected by a one time dose.

Thanks very much for your help. I will try to see what the feces looks like and if it can for the next couple days, and continue with bloodworm feedings.. Will report back..

If I have to get the med I will, and can move my shrimps and java ferns from the 10 gal and use that for a hospital tank if need be.

To top this all off, I'm moving in a few weeks. It'll take longer to move the tanks and fish then it will the rest of my things.. At least it's not far, half hour drive away.

The Amazon Nut...

:%) - Always seems to happen then.

Feeding red bloodworms, you should see relatively red poop. If it is white, treat him with the Parasite Clear.

Haven't caught him going to the bathroom yet but he appears to be eating, and is pretty active as far as swimmming all around the tank for a few minutes, then going back into his cave.

The Amazon Nut...

He is showing a great appetite and really going for the bloodworms, but still haven't seen it poop. But it's not getting bloated or anything so I hope everything is working the way it should ?

The Amazon Nut...