What's With The Chilumbas?

[Sonny Disposition]

OK. I'm going to go pick out the dead male Aulonocara stuartgranti "chilumba" male out of the tank. He was the biggest, nicest fish in the tank, about half grown, and getting some nice blue color around the edges. This morning he was floating belly up in the tank. It's the second time that's happened. Best male, just coloring up, and then he up and dies.

Anyone else seen anything like this?

 

[maddog10]

I never had that problem with them.
Any signs of a fight?
Other fish in the tank?

 

[SubMariner]

Bob, it could of been a parasite in his stomach. It can sometimes be a silent killer because it's hard to really see the little stringy poop that comes out of them. Just a thought. And to answer your question, yes it has happened to me before.

You have my condolences on your A.Stuartgranti Chilumba.


RM


SubMariner

 

[Sonny Disposition]

No signs of a fight. Other fish in the tank are other Chilumbas, an ancistrus, and two clown loaches. In addition to the alpha male, I also lost a female. I had fallen behind on water changes, so that may have contributed to whatever was bothering them.

You never know with fish--sometimes things just happen.


<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (maddog10 @ Sep 6 2008, 01:52 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

I never had that problem with them.
Any signs of a fight?
Other fish in the tank?[/b]

 

[animicrazy]

I keep that fish, please consider:

1) hiding places

2) in lieu of water issues: these fish can be very efficient killers - one blow to the abdominal area will produce a belly up fish. In contrast, my experience with parasites/bacterial problems usually leave the fish at the bottom of the tank - in a day or two it will float to the surface.

Suggestion: Fix any water issues; provide barriers for territories and hiding places for females; observe at length the behaviors present in that tank - often, after a few hours of watching, you will see the behavior that will lead you to resolution.

Best wishes,

Paul.

P.S. These are a high O2 required fish (IMO)

 

[Sonny Disposition]

OK. In both instances, the fish was floating belly up, this last time, the dominant male, and one of the females. The time before, it was the dominant male. Now that the dominant male is gone, one of the lesser males is coloring up.

Water quality could have been a factor. I had been working a lot and getting home late and tired and fell behind. That tank is a 29 high. The top of the tank is covered with Watersprite and duckweed, and has a biiig Pothos plant growing out of the top of it. All the submerged roots keep the tank cleaner than all my other tanks, but, I still probably went too long between water changes.

Do subdominant males ever ram the dominant males? What I think was really strange was that both times it was the dominant male that went first.

I feed a commercial gel and I noticed that it has a trace of copper in it (like a lot of foods do). I was wondering if the fish who ate the most might accumulate a toxic level of copper. Don't know how plausible that is though. (Lots of foods have copper.)


<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (animicrazy @ Sep 12 2008, 01:22 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

I keep that fish, please consider:

1) hiding places

2) in lieu of water issues: these fish can be very efficient killers - one blow to the abdominal area will produce a belly up fish. In contrast, my experience with parasites/bacterial problems usually leave the fish at the bottom of the tank - in a day or two it will float to the surface.

Suggestion: Fix any water issues; provide barriers for territories and hiding places for females; observe at length the behaviors present in that tank - often, after a few hours of watching, you will see the behavior that will lead you to resolution.

Best wishes,

Paul.

P.S. These are a high O2 required fish (IMO)[/b]

 

[cyradis4]

It could be the copper. Some fish are more sensitive to it. I'd change food and see what happens.

Later!
Amanda.


<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Sonny Disposition @ Sep 12 2008, 11:22 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

OK. In both instances, the fish was floating belly up, this last time, the dominant male, and one of the females. The time before, it was the dominant male. Now that the dominant male is gone, one of the lesser males is coloring up.

Water quality could have been a factor. I had been working a lot and getting home late and tired and fell behind. That tank is a 29 high. The top of the tank is covered with Watersprite and duckweed, and has a biiig Pothos plant growing out of the top of it. All the submerged roots keep the tank cleaner than all my other tanks, but, I still probably went too long between water changes.

Do subdominant males ever ram the dominant males? What I think was really strange was that both times it was the dominant male that went first.

I feed a commercial gel and I noticed that it has a trace of copper in it (like a lot of foods do). I was wondering if the fish who ate the most might accumulate a toxic level of copper. Don't know how plausible that is though. (Lots of foods have copper.)[/b]