[killakam]

i have a Nimbochromis Livingstonni and have had him for about 2 1/2 weeks now and everything was fine wen i first got him.

recently i did a 50% water change and re-arranged all the rocks... for about 3 or 4 days straight now he hides in 1 corner and under a certain rock and he is breathing very heavily... he comes up to eat and what not but he just hides all day long and breathes heavy...
please help anyone, i love this little guy best looking fish i have, i don't want him to die or any of my fish for that matter.

thanks in advance

 

[Robin]

What other fish are in the tank with him and what size tank is this?

When you re-arrange things in the tank established territories get un-established. That's often what you want to happen but you can have a fish that get's left out in some way. It can also be a time when aggression gets ramped up--fish trying to re-establish their territory.

Try this: find a place where you can watch the tank but where the fish can't see you and try to observe the interactions between your fish. Where the NB is still eating and his hiding behavior started after the re-arrangement my guess is that he's being harassed by an other fish.

Check the water quality parameters, too.

Robin

 

[killakam]

He is the second biggest fish in my tank... I have 4 other Aulonocara 3 yellow labs (small juvies) 2 cobalt zebras 3 demasoni looking fish without black fins... and 1 johanni
all in a 55 gal tank

yes he started acting weird after i re-arranged the rocks *** watch them from afar when i feed but he grabs like 4 or 5 blood worms and goes back to his hiding spot and he doesn't get chased or anything like that. Nor have i seen the dominant fish pick on him.

 

[killakam]

Him breathing heavily with his mouth wide open

And the dominant male of the tank

(not the juvie red zebra)
Do you know what he is?
ammonia 0ppm
nitrite 0ppm
nitrate 20ppm
ph 8.0
GH 150ppm
KH 120-180 ppm
temp 78

 

[killakam]

Ok i braught him to the top of the tank with the net and he looked real weak i whipped the next and he just sank to the bottom like a rock, i think he has that swimming problem.
what is it called and how do i treat it?

 

[zazz]

i know its probably daft to even think this but that fish is the one that likes to lay on the bottom and play dead....

 

[killakam]

VERY daft.. he died last night, now all my fish are acting weird and some are changing colors.... yesterday i also started to feed them hikari gold cichlid food but i dought with one feeding everyone changed...
everyone is acting weird and i think another fish has dropsy, but he is still swimming around.

 

[zazz]

dont feed your fish for now...they can go weeks without a feed and the food will just add to your complications... from the sound of it i would take what fish you have and put them in other seperate containers and give them a holiday from your tank. Just see how they do away from the tank.