Impatient about my Apistos

[My Pritz]

Hi everyone!

I'm really glad I found this forum. I have to tell you that I'm getting really impatient with my A. Cacatuoides. About 3 months ago, I got a male and 3 females for my planted 20 gallon tank. They were pretty small to beginwith and they haven't grown very much at all. They're hovering around 2.75-3 inches. Also, the male always looks a little on the skinny side. He acts completely normal, swimming around and flirting with the ladies, but he seems to be a picky eater. I've tried flakes, frozen brine and plankton, but nothing seems to do it for him. Has anyone else run into this situation?

I had really high hopes with raising Cacatuoides, but I'm getting a little discouraged. Anyone have any tips or suggestions?

 

[cootwarm]

The best thing for picky eaters and conditioning breeders is live foods. They can't seem to resist things that move around or wiggle.

If you can't find live cultures available locally, you could try AquaBid.com
Here is a short cut link to their live foods webpage:
http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.cgi?foodl

Michael

 

[Cichlids1]

Pritz,

If you want to try Grindal Worms, I'll set up a starter culture for you. Let me get it going for a week or two and we can meet up at Byerly's or Aquarium Adventure. Grindals might be a bit small for adult apistos, but it might be enough to get him to eat a little more eagerly.

3" is about all the bigger the males are going to get. Females tend to run a little smaller.

3 Central Ohio Members now!!!

 

[My Pritz]

Cichlids1--

That would be awesome! I've never tried Grindal worms before, I'm sure they would help. What is involved in raising them?


BTW, I don't think they'd be too small for them. I overestimated their sizes--they're more like 1.5-1.75 inches.

 

[cootwarm]

The Bug Farm website has instructions for a variety of live foods. Here is a shortcut link:
http://www.livefoodcultures.com/grindalworms.html

Here is a link to petfish.net, they also have instructions:
http://petfish.net/
Scroll down the screen to find the section on live foods. As you will see, they also have other helpful tips and information.

Michael

 

[Neil]

My Pritz,

WELCOME TO THE FORUM

There may be more to it than food. What parameters do you have in the tank and what is your maint. schedule?
Neil

 

[My Pritz]

I'm at work right now, so I can test my parms later today. But I wanted to post a picture of the guy so you can get a better idea of what I'm talking about. He's the guy all the way at the bottom.
http://wetwebfotos.com/Home?actionRequest=userview&userID=2810
His eyes aren't normally that buggy looking, I think it was the flash.

 

[aspen]

i have had fish that looked like that and they didn't last long. it is not that healthy. you can try to treat him with metronodiazonal (hex-a-mit) in a hospital tank as per instructions and try and fatten him up.

rick

 

[My Pritz]

Well, I just tested my water. My Ammonia and trite are 0, pH is 7.4, GH 13, and KH 5. I should probably soften it and lower the pH, right? I have a water softening pillow that has done the trick in the past, do you suggest anything else that will safely lower the pH? I also have a CO2 activator that needs re-activated, which should help.

As for my maint schedule, I do a 1/3 water change once a week with dechlorinated tap water.

I'm afraid that it's an internal parasite, but I'm not sure that's the case. You see, I've had him for three months and he's pretty much always been skinny. The females were also skinny, but now they have a normal shape to them. In addition, no other fish seem to be affected. If it is a parasite, would Discomed be a suitable remedy? In case you're not familiar, Discomed is a mix os Levamisol, NaCl, Piprazine, Magnesium Sulfate and Neomycin Sulfate. According to the package, it's "specific for discus, oscars, angels, and all wild fish with symptoms/causes: concaved abdomen, skinny body, darkened body, internal worms, capillaria, hexamita"

Thanks in advance,
Becki

 

[Neil]

Becki,

I don't think that the water parameters are your problem, but if you want softer water, I would go with store-bought RO water or a small RO unit. I don't know much about water softening pillows, but I can almost guarantee that they will be more trouble than the above suggestion. In reality, for cacatuoides, I don't think that you really have to do much fiddling.
I can't give you much feedback on medicating for internal parasites, because I am not nearly as versed on meds as many of the other members here. However, I would suggest reposting your pic and request for advice in the Health Forum.
Good luck,
Neil

 

[2la]

I second rick's recommendation of a treatment with Hex-a-mit or Discomed. Judging by that picture it looks to be infested, especially if the eye is chronically blackened as it appears in the picture.

 

[aspen]

becki, i am not a fan of using 'shotgun meds' ie med mixtures designed to cure all problems, although, i have never tried disco-med. i do know that for intestinal flagellates, which seem to be what COULD be affecting your fish, hexamit is a tried and true med.

if this doesn't seem to have the effect after a proper course of treatment, i would then try to de-worm, using piperazine, praziquantal or panacur.

imo, meds used on their own seem to have much lighter effect on the overall health of the fish. always use lots of aeration when using most (why not all) meds, and follow directions religiously. i would treat all of the fish in contact with these fish at the same time, and use a separate bucket and syphon for a while. intestinal flagellates move from fish to fish through feces, and apistos and most fish pick at the feces on the botom of the tank.

i would not bother playing with water parms till you are getting the fish into spawning shape. lowering parms when ready can help them to feel like spawning, and keep them from spawning when not ready.

good luck and keep us posted, rick