PleaseHelp! Thick skin not swimming very well.

[l_gtrz]

I have a pair of thick skins (male and female). Both of them approx. 3-4" long. I just bought them a few weeks ago. Since then, the male has been very aggressive towards the female, forcing he female to hang in the top corners of the tank and not very active, not eating much either. From what I know, the male is mormally very aggressive, and probably claimed the whole tank (29 gal) as his.

Just a few days ago, I introduced a pair of african cichlids (unknown type and sex at this time), approx. 2" long, and since then, the female thick skin has been swimming around, eating more, very active.

Now, the male Thick Skin isn't very active, not eating, not swimming. Its just hanging out at the upper portion of the tank, mostly at the surface, sometimes vertically (not gasping for air). I noticed that when he does try to swim, he is just using his left fin. All other fins are tucked and closed. Right now, he is just drifting around in the tank, to where ever the current takes him. I dont see any infection on his body. He is just very pale, and not swimming.

I dont know what to do. Any suggestions?

[Pam Chin]

l_grtz,

I am sorry to hear about your fish, I am not sure exactly what has happened either. One of the red flags that does come up is the size of your tank, it is much to small for the African Cichlids from Malawi or Victoria. Compounded with the problem that these fish don't actually pair off, they are harem spawners where you would want many females to one male, and this way one female doesn't get singled out. Either this fish has injured itself chasing the female, or had a confrontation with the new additions. There are many possibilities; your new fish may have infected your fish. Many times fish can carry disease and not show any of the symptoms, they become immune to it, but if you add them in with fish that are not immune they can come down with it. It is always best to quartine new additions.

Ciclid Power!
Pam