"Originally posted by Thiberts"

Hi Klaus I was told you're the guy to talk to about Tanganyikans. I have 5 alto calvus about 1.5" in size. They were given to me by a friend who had a group of 12 until they started dieing off. So now it's my turn to try and help these little guys.

The fish are eating very little if any, their bellies are very sunk in and they are lethargic. Their mouths are also about 75% open at all times. I am currently using Aquari-Sol as a treatment, but I was hoping you might have seen (the open mouth disease) before and might have any ideas. (meds, foods, water chem...etc.)
:Help!:

Tank info
10 gallon hospital
lots of decor to hide in
AC mini from a cycled tank
pH=8
temp=80
No ammo or nitrite
water change done by aged water with matched temp and ph

thiberts, did you get my pm? I accidentally deleted your original post with my response in it, but just in case you didn't get it, I will respond here. (I'm so sorry!)

How long has this been going on with the calvus?

They can be finicky eaters, and Klaus was correct in advising you to feed them bloodworms, as well as mysis shrimp. (I had a wild pair once that wouldn't eat anything except mysis.) Brine shrimp and flake may not be providing them with the nutrients that they need.

As far as the open mouths go, are they gasping for air, or do you believe this could be a deformity?

Would it be possible to post a pic?

You could be dealing with internal parasites, but I would try offering some of the foods mentioned above before treating with meds. You could also try feeding them finely minced garlic - finicky eaters will sometimes eat garlic when they won't eat anything else, and even though they are carnivores, the garlic will boost their immune system and improve their overall health, which it sounds like they really need right now.

If you do elect to treat with meds, depending on whether they will eat different foods or not, I wouldn't go with anything too harsh, since they sound like they might be in bad shape. Try Jungle Parasite Clear for at least 3 treatments, spaced 48 hours apart, with a 25% water change prior to the 2nd and 3rd treatment. (You will need to remove carbon from the filtration if you go the medication route.)

Keep the tank darkened and as stress free as possible while treating, if you decide to use meds.

I would steer away from Clout if they've been without food for very long, it could push them right over the edge.

Good luck, and please post back with any questions...I promise not to delete your thread again!

Kim

Yes kim i did get the pm and theres no need to be sorry it happens,thanks for the reply.

Bouncy Im happy to report they are doing much better now. They have become much more active and eating like crazy but there is still two fish that show the symptoms. I no im not in the clear yet but hopefully they will make it

I am currently treating them with Aquari-sol (only because it was on my shelf) but it is a parasite treament and looks like it working

And as a reply to your questions

-As far as I no this has been going on for at least a month(they were at a friends originally)

-I no longer belive the open mouth is a deformity because a few stoped doing it and it doesnt look like they are gasping for air there mouths just stay 50%-75% open at all times

- Im going to try and post pics tonight if i can catch them from hiding. peek a boo

And now some questions for you

- what is mysis shrimp? and should I include this into there diet I currently have them eating freeze dried shrimp and flake along with my compressisceps

-When you mentioned minced garlic I asoom you mean fresh cloves no the stuff in the jar and is this a good thing to do with any cichlid that will not eat

-And if the calvus do servive how long does it take to grow them out to breeding condition they are 1.5 right now. And also same question but for my comprecciseps, I cant find any info on that topic ( I do water changes weekly)


thanks alot for the help

Hey Sean!

I will try to answer one question.

You can use the garlic in a jar for nearly all cichlids that are finicky
eaters.

Some people feed their fish garlic once in a while to boost their
immune systems as well.

HTH!

Preacherboy is right on the garlic, as long as it is just pure garlic rather than some of the ones with additives. I just mince up fresh cloves myself, but that should be fine. (I try to do it on lasagna or spaghetti night so the smell of garlic bread kind of covers up the smell of my fish tanks!)

It is believed to be beneficial to the immune system. When dealing with possibly sick fish, I've also soaked it in Zoe, a multivitamin made by Kent, and then fed it to my fish. For some reason, picky eaters seem to really take to it.

Whenever you can buy frozen foods (such as mysis or brine shrimp) your fish will get more nutrients from them than they will the freeze dried kind. Mysis is another really good food for finicky eaters, and my calvus loved it.

As far as growth goes, you're a long way from breeding size, and they grow relatively slow...Mine were wild adults, so I don't have any experience growing them out, but I do know that hobbyist claim their growth is very, very slow, so don't worry about that for now.

Frequent water changes and a good diet will help as much as anything can.

Calvus are also very very picky about their water quality, so stay on top of the tank maintenance!

HTH

Kim

Well Kim I got a couple photos, it took a while to catch them from hiding

I think they are doing good now

You may have to baby them for awhile, thiberts.

Feed them well, and keep that water pristine, and I'm sure you'll see a steady improvement and good growth rate!

Glad things are looking better for you!

Kim