FishProfiles.com Message Forums

Well, I went to Petsmart today, and they had some Laetacara curviceps in stock. I have been looking for these guys ever since i started the fishkeeping hobby, so i couldn't help but take home 4, which unfortunately aren't doing so well.

One is already dying, having been stuck on the filter intake cover, and is now lying on the gravel on its side. It was being picked on by my loaches (another obvious sign of death), so i put my net over the dying Curviceps so it could die in peace. The other three, although not doing as poorly, are still not looking great. They are just sitting on the gravel, rarely ever moving. Also, when i first released the Curviceps, one of them was gasping at the surface, although this behavior has ceased.

I acclimated the fish by turning off the lights, and floating the bags for 30 minutes, adding water from the tank every 10 minutes. I then released them, and using my net, I made sure none of the Petsmart water got into the tank. 1 hour later, i turned the light back on. Do you see any flaw in my technique? I see no real need for the drip method, its not like their ultra-sensitive corals or whatnot.

So do you think these guys have a chance of living, or am i just worrying too much? And if your wondering, i got these guys about 4 hours ago.

Here are the Params-
ph= 7.3
temp= 79F
ammonia= 0
nitrite= 0
nitrate= 20
i do not know the gh or the kh, but i would guess that the water is moderately hard.

Thanks in advance

So far, it looks as if you've done the right things - you spent time acclimatising them, and the parameters don't set my alarm bells off immediately, even though normally as an Amazonian fish, Laetacara curviceps is nominally a soft, acid water fish. However, if they've been raised in water similar to yours, that should not be a problem.

Are you medicating the fishes with anything? If so, what reasons do you have for your decision?

It's entitrely possible that the aquarium in which they were housed at the dealer's could be at fault. Laetacara tends to be fairly intolerant of nitrates above 40ppm, so if the dealer aquarium has 80ppm or more, that's probably not helped their cause one bit.

One possibility to consider, though I emphasise at this point that what follows is pure speculation and will need to be backed up by some hard physical evidence (e.g., microscopic examinaiton of thefish's faeces) is that your Laetacara have been debilitated by Hexamita, the protozoan responsible for Hole In The Head Disease. While I haven't seen any mention in the literature that Laetacara species are among the susceptible ones, there are several Cichlid Genera that are noted as being likely to succumb. Apart from Symphysodon (Discus Fishes), other known fishes to evaulate carefully with respect to this include:

Ptrophyllum (Angel Fishes)
Uaru (close relatives of Discus)
Astronotus (Oscars & allies)
Aequidens (Green Terrors, Blue Acaras)
Satanoperca
Mesonauta (Festivums & allies)
Geophagus with the exception of G. brasiliensis
Gymnogeophagus

Geophagine earth eaters are likely to be more susceptible than many other Cichlids because of their substrate sifting habits - if they take into their mouths ubstrate containing Hexamita parasites that have been shed in another fish's faeces, they stand a fair chance of succumbing to the disease themselves.

Hexamita is a parasite that usually inhabits the gut in its early stages, and a fish can be debilitated by Hexamita before showing external lesions about the head, these lesions marking a more advanced stage of the disease. If a fish is already stressed because of exposure to stratospheric levels of nitrates (which are never good for a Laetacara) then any Hexamita that might have been lurking around, either in the dealer aquarium and ingested by the fishes, or present already in the gut, will strike hard and weaken the fish - possibly to a critical level even before symptoms such as head lesions appear.

The GOOD news, however, is that IF you do discover Hexamita is an issue, it is treatable. Flagyl, otherwise known as Metronidazole, usually deals with Hexamita in fairly short order, and has been used by Discus keepers for some time. However, to be effective, you have to persuade the fishes to eat medicated food. If the fishes have stopped feeding, then treatment is going to be a good deal more difficult than in the case of fishes that are still feeding.

It is possible to acquire special foods pre-medicated for the treatment of Hexamita - this Discus dealership website includes metronidazole medicated foods in its catalogue. Worth acquiring not just if you have Discus, but well worth acquiring if you have ANY Cichlids belonging to the Genera listed above, which can be struck seemingly from nowhere by a Hexamita infection if the parasite makes its way into the aquarium.

Having covered these details, I emphasise that at this stage, until you know for certain that Hexamita is an issue, my alighting upon this as a potential problem for your Laetacara species is speculation. However, it is worth eliminating Hexamita as a problem, and if you have a microscope you can examine the faeces for signs of the parasite. A diagram of the organism in question along with some useful hints and tips for managing the parasite can be found here.

I wish you luck in bringing your Laetacara back from the brink - they're lovely Cichlids, and one of those species for which I have a 'soft spot'. It would be a shame to lose them all, especially as they are among the Cichlids I keep pushing here as FAR more suitable for a community aquarium than the majority of 'popular' species that turn up in dealer aquaria.





Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Today the one that was being attacked by the loaches has died as expected , but oh well. Meanwhile, the other three actually seem much better, now exploring their new habitat and setting up a heirarchy, but they are still very jumpy, and not yet eating. Its only been a day though, so I will give them some more time.

And thanks Calilasseia for the for the help and the useful links. I will definitely be more wary of HITH, especially since my jurupari is at an increased risk.

And no, I am not medicating the fish, although I may eventually use some parasite meds as a precaution

EDIT:
I managed to get a couple pics of the guys, and these were the only 4 decent pics out of about 150 others. So enjoy-

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f187/zachf92/asdd.jpg

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f187/zachf92/aasd.jpg

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f187/zachf92/asdf.jpg

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f187/zachf92/untitled.jpg

It doesn't appear that any of those fish have visible signs of illness. I'm willing to bet it was the shock of being placed in three probably completely different types of water in a short period of time. Curviceps, like all dwarf cichlids, tend to be rather sensitive to changes in water chemistry.

You should ask the store when they got the Curviceps shipment in. If it was about three days or less before you bought them, they most likely just could not adjust to that degree of change. As long as your fish are not showing any signs of disease, really the only thing you can do is just wait it out and see how they do. Don't perform water changes or otherwise alter the water parameters until they get better.

---

I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.