# Sick cichlid (sicklid)



## Jing (Aug 30, 2011)

One of my cichlids has loooong stringy white poo. He's been acting a bit strange too, randomly twitching his fins. Sometimes he hangs around up top then he tilts his body then tries to "jump" up out of the water. 

I should also mention that him and the other fishes in my tank have only been with me for a couple days now as I recently acquired the whole setup (tank and fishes). I'm guessing they were, or are still stressed from the move and now they've fallen ill. 

I did some googling and people are saying that long stringy white poo usually points to an internal parasite of some sort. I plan on treating the tank with Tetra Parasite Guard and am wondering if there are any other better suggestions.


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## Elle (Oct 25, 2010)

Are all of them acting like this, or just the "sicklid"? What type of cichlids are they? Some of the larger ones are pretty temperamental...my oscars and the trimac can throw epic sulking fits when they are stressed. If it's just him and it's only been a couple of days, I'd check your water parameters and make sure that it's all clear and that you're not having a cycle bump. Are they still eating? 

I like Prazi for internal parasites as it doesn't tend to stress the fish too much. I think Aquariums West has it if you're in downtown Vancouver, so does King Ed's and J and L.

You can also try minimizing the activity around the tank and giving them more "quiet time" with the lights out to let them get used to the new space.


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## tony1928 (Apr 22, 2010)

Yeah, without knowing the type of cichlid, its hard to recommend treatment. When I had Tropheus, long stringy white poop usually meant bloat of some sort. I treated with Metronidazole and added some Epsom salts as well.


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## Jing (Aug 30, 2011)

I'm not sure what type of cichlid it is but here's a pic:










I did a 20% water change last night then put in some Parasite Guard and he seems to be pooing better now.

My other cichlid however now seems to be hanging around on the bottom not doing much. He used to swim around a bit more but I can't give too much detail on that as I've only had the tank and fishes for a few days now. Something doesn't seem right though.


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## Claudia (Apr 21, 2010)

1st pic looks like a White Dwarf Balloon Parrot Cichlid


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## charles (Apr 21, 2010)

first photo is a severum. Second one is a jewel.

Your tank might be in cycle. Do you have a water testing kit?


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## Jing (Aug 30, 2011)

Just picked up the API master kit this morning at J&L but didn't open it yet


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## Jing (Aug 30, 2011)

Also, I bought the tank pre-cycled already. Filter media was transported in the old tank water so all the bacteria should still be there, right?


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## charles (Apr 21, 2010)

well, it all depends on how long it has been in water sitting still. And you are also going to lose some. Why not do a simple water parameter test and find out.


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## Jing (Aug 30, 2011)

pH was just tested... At 7.6. Added some pH reducer and will test it again tomorrow. 

Ammonia, nitrite, and nitrates all at 0


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## Jing (Aug 30, 2011)

Just noticed that the blue jewel cichlid started flashing. Guess I'll do another water change and add the Parasite Guard again


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## charles (Apr 21, 2010)

Is it a planted tank? It is hard to believe after a few days of setup, you have 0 across your water parameter.


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## Ktowncichlids (Apr 23, 2010)

Do this:
Big water change, 80% add a CRAP ton of epson salt and dont feed for the next 3 days. You also can increase the heat a bit try 81-83F 

I can bet 100% its bloat cichlids can get it easily they will over feed themselves


Try cutting back your feeding 50% of what you already are feeding,



of course as always for precautions add some ref aguarium salt as well and some cycle / prime etc and should be good to go in a few days!

BTW nice sevruM!


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## Jing (Aug 30, 2011)

Maybe I misread the test results but I'll try it again later this evening. The blue jewel is swimming fine now apparently according to my gf who's home right now. I will confirm everything tonight.


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## sunshine_1965 (Aug 16, 2011)

I recently acquired 3 Gold Severums and they acted funny twitching about for the first couple days. They are all fine now. I assumed it was the change in water parameters. I did not notice any white poop though. I used a bit of tea tree oil just to be safe and try to protect the rest of the tank. I have no fish. I am not saying to use tea tree oil but it is what I use. 1 drop per 10 gallons of water. I drop mine into the impeller of my AC70. Good luck and hope all gets better soon. If it becomes worse you might consider a quarantine tank for it/them.


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## Jing (Aug 30, 2011)

The fish all seem to be swimming fine now but I need to work on the water parameters. 

pH: 7.6
Ammonia: 0.25ppm
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 30ppm

This was after I just did a 25% water change. Is there a good product I should use to reduce the pH? Right now I have some pH reducer powder from a brand named Wardley's and I put that in last night but it doesn't seem like it reduced it at all. As for nitrates, is there a good product to use or should I just do water changes?


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## mcrocker (May 29, 2010)

That level of nitrate should be fine, it's the ammonia that could be worrisome. It might indicate that your tank wasn't fully cycled or went into a cycle, and could explain your issues.

Some nitrate sponge type products claim to remove nitrates, but IMO you should really just do enough water changes to keep it at a good level. It's directly related to the amount of waste your tank is processing, so if you are building it up quickly you just need to do frequent water changes...


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