Alrighty I need some help here. I recently introduced into an already established show tank a WC REd Zebra. I did the introduction with lights off at night in hopes of sliping him into the tank without the others knowing he was there. Unfortunately the best layed plans never seem to work out and he was badly beaten up by the morning fishs nipped, wounds on his body. I caught him moved him into his own well established hospital tank.

My question is is there any way to help the healing process. My main concern in the wounds on the side of his body. Any help would be amazing

I've had this happen a time or two and have found that as long as there were no internal injuries, good clean water, changed frequently, and Melafix worked wonders. I would keep a close eye for the start of any infection, which would require treatment with medication.

Are you going to try to reintroduce him into the tank when he heals up?

Derek suggested that I give it another shot once i get a large male OB out of the tanka nd two tropheus that are in tehre now.....Once that occurs liekly I will try and re-introduce him...

Most important like Aura said is clean water! You can add Melafix, it works wonders on nipped fins.

Here are some old pics of an albino greshaki that got the snot beat out of him by my male kenyi. If you look closely you can see the repair that the melafix and clean water did on all of his fins after only a week, he even had missing scales that came back. You can also see he wasn't too happy having a roommate either....

Thanks for the help . I'll be adding some tonight hopefully he'll fully recover.

Adam


Melafix works awesome for repairs!That is probably your best bet as other recommended
Hope he has a full recoveryI think that OB needs a timeout!

Ok,,,heres my question. This is an already established show tank right?

So your going to make a choice by taking fish OUT of a tank and putting them elsewhere? Where do they go and what happens when they (the ones your takihng out) have the same problems in another tank?

IME,,,When I had a show tank of Tangs, (Calvus and Comps) ,I had that same issue,but as you may know,,Calvus and Comps do a Good Job tending for themselves. I didnt have the injuries your fish had but had the "I am better than you are" fights went on for days.
What I did was make sure there were more hiding places than there were fish. That seemed to let them swim freely (and hide) when they had to.

Do you have any pics of the set-up?
Good luck on the healing process.

Interesting info, AP2.

I would use the Melafix as well and maybe be prepared to
use Maracyn 2 in case a secondary infection appears. Hopefully,
the Melafix will work!

We all know why Derek is pushing Melafix, don't we? Melafix fix!

Good luck and let us know how your fish does!

with few exceptions I never had a lot of luck adding a single fish to a tank.

Adam if you decide to add him again even with another fish I would change your tank around for a couple of weeks, then you can change it back if you liked your original setup. That has always worked for me.

Thanks everyone for the great advice...I forgot to mention that when i added this fish i also add 2 gold comps.......there doing fine of course...Ym show tank is going through a stage of rebuilding and change moving things around changin the setup and fish that are in it....I have a few guides helping me out Caugh (derek)........Looks like a trip to fish and bird for some melafix.....Ill post some pics of my setups once i finally get some decent pics.

Good luck, Adam. And add me to the list of those who had good results with Melafix.

Er, in the aquarium, I mean.

Adam, I can't really add anything to this other than to watch for cottony growths around the edges of the wounds, or red streaks. At the first sign of either, you may need to move onto antibiotics.

Adding the comps at the same time you added the mbuna wouldn't really make a difference. The other Malawi cichlids aren't going to see the comps as any threat, but they will see the estherae male as a big threat.

Sounds like you might have some potential stocking issues down the road, depending on what all you have in the tank. I can't really see comps competing against mbuna for any length of time without problems.

Good luck!

Kim

KIm,

Thanks for the advice. I have had comps in the main shwo tank for over a year with no issues of yet. However, I have heard of some people having problems.

There are a ton of hiding spaces only big enough for the comps which may help out with this potential problem........or i can set up another tank.....that would be a terrible thing...wink wink

My main concern would be stress related problems, the comps have such different personalities, and feeding would also be a concern long term. I think one of the biggest obstacles we face in having a healthy happy tank is by underestimating what stress can do to these guys. But, at least you are aware of the potential problems and can keep a close eye on things! Good Job

Kim

Thanks for all the great helpa nd advice i am sorry to report that after a water change for some strange unexplained reason the red zebra died...I am pissed this was/is one of my favorite fish......

I'm sorry you lost him.

Did you say he was wild?

Had he been with the importer long before you got him?

Kim

yes, he was one of derek's apparently derek had him a while

I would be more concerned over a newly arrived import than one that had been here for awhile!

It can be really hard to add mature fish to an established tank. I really don't think adding the comps at the same time would have taken any of the heat off the male zebra...They just aren't in the same "league".

I would keep a close eye on those comps, though, because depending on what else is in the tank, they may not be able to compete for food well.

Kim

kim,

There are a bunch of comps in the tanka lready that are doing amazing.........i have solved the major problems caugh OB's and they are gone to good homes the tropheus are now also on their way out....

Hold on here. Are you saying that the Comps were the ones doing the harm?

You did not say how big the Comps were or if they looked to be the aggressors at first. Then you say you have hiding places only big enough for the Comps???

Now I am confused. roll eyes

If your seeing the Comps as the problem,,,is it a possibility that they made be breeding or have already???

Adam,,,is this turning into an all Comp show tank? Or was it more of a Comp show tank to begin with???

Adam, Sorry about the loss. That sucks. Show tanks can be tricky when introducing new fish. Introducing new fish at night never worked for me. I believe the newcomer is already under stress from being introduced to the new tank and isnt as able to pick areas of safe refuge at night as they are completely unfamiliar with the aquascaping. When adding new fish to an established tank, I have had some success with this method. Remove all the fish from the tank, remove all the aquascaping. Add different rocks if possible, move filter syphon tubes to the other side of the tank, do a large water change. Reaquascape the tank completely different from the prior set up. Add the new fish first- let them acclimate a bit. Then add your old fish. try and make the change so that it almost appears that your old fish are being introduced to a new tank that already contains the new fish.

Doesnt always work, but I think it gives them the best chance.

PS- it can be done, but it sometimes complicates things- comps/calvus dont always mix well with malawians due to different activity levels. Altolamps do real well in lower activity tanks. Tropheus have altogether different requirements than Malawians- food, water changes, and agressive temperment provide unique challenges in keeping them in a community african tank.

Good luck with everything Good Job