Gill Passman wrote:
"Elaine T" wrote in message
...
Gill Passman wrote:
One of my Electric Blues has lost part of her tail. There is no sign of
infection but she is keeping pretty much hidden. She also had an
assignation
with one of the males in a cave this afternoon, quite fascinating to
watch.
Should I just leave her be and monitor her progress or should I be more
proactive and possibly move her although I'm not sure where to (my QT
tank
is currently housing a Betta).
Water tests out at 0 ammonia and nitrites, around 10 nitrates and pH of
7.5
Any thoughts would be appreciated?
Thanks
Gill
Cichlids are sturdy, and usually heal well in good water like you
describe. I used to dab cichlid injuries with mercurichrome to be sure
they didn't get infected, *if* I could catch the fish without ripping
the tank apart. You can supposedly also use Neosporin cream, although I
haven't tried it. The ones that got badly beat up and needed treatment
the most were usually pretty easy to catch since they'd be up at the top
of the tank trying hard to look like an innocent bit of debris. ;-)
If the tail loss was from suddenly severe aggression that is ongoing,
you'll probably have to get her safe and away from the stress to heal.
You can use breeding nets for small Africans, or for the betta. Then
the problem becomes reintroducing her to the tank without her getting
beat up again, so hopefully that's not an issue.
--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html '__
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com
Thanks Elaine,
She seems to be keeping herself pretty well hidden - only coming out at food
time - haven't noticed her actually eat though. The agressor is a male
Electric Blue - the same one who had the assignation with her in the cave
yesterday - so I wonder if it has something to do with this. All of the
others seem to be leaving her alone.
It's not going to be easy to catch her without dismantling the rock work
which would be a major operation so I guess I'll just leave her be unless
the situation gets worse.
Gill
I wonder if she's refusing food and hiding because she's holding eggs.
Cichlids.com also says the males are very aggressive during courtship so
that could explain the tail damage. If she's holding eggs, her mouth
and throat will look a bit enlarged.
http://www.cichlids.com/wiki/index.p...romis_johannii
Do you have only one female in the tank? I've not kept this particular
fish but Cichlids.com and Mongabay say to keep several females for each
male. The male's aggression gets spread out that way.
--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html '__
rec.aquaria.* FAQ
http://faq.thekrib.com