[canlax]

I took possession of an already established tank the other day. Ammonia, nitrates, nitrites, general hardness are all in check the only thing I am working towards over the next few days is buffering the pH to a more desirable level(sitting close to neutral at the moment). I have also conditioned the water for chlorine. The move was effectively a 100% water change for the fish. Temperature is currently sitting at 78F. After the first 24 hours fish activity appeared healthy except for this one Yellow Lab which has put itself into detention facing the corner of the tank near the surface and showing no interest in eating. It has chosen to be by the filter (anything to do with flow?). I have another Yellow Lab which is more active.

In my research it looks like there is potential that she is holding, I am a little skeptical that this is the case but was hoping that some more experienced individuals could take a look at this picture and give their 2 cents?

This yellow lab is close to being the biggest fish in the tank so no one bothers it.

Thanks for the help!

 

[xxbenjamminxx]

Doesnt look to be holding.

Kinda sounds like Bloat to me.
Maybe from the stress of being caught and moved and all that?

Have you seen him poop at all? If it was white and stringy then he would have all the symptoms of it and would consider starting to treat him soon if it is.

Also if you sit and watch him head on for a while see if it opens its mouth and look to see if there is anything in the mouth. On my females holding I can usually see either eggs or the fry in there.

Hope someone else chimes in for ya as I am not 100% either way, just would be surprised if it is holding. Usually they dont "hide" in the open while holding, the buccal cavity is somewhat bulged, and are still somewhat active (at least mine are).

Good Luck and hoping for the best for ya. :-?

 

[kyboy]

Not holding, I'd say stressed from the move & changes in water chemistry.

 

[monisaab]

Not holding, I'd say stressed from the move & changes in water chemistry.

+1.

Treat him/her for bloat...

 

[AZcichlidfreak]

Not holding, I'd say stressed from the move & changes in water chemistry.

+1
I wouldn't start treating him for anything yet, give him a few days to settle in to the new conditions. Another thing is you might want to take more than just a few days to buffer your existing water conditions up to where you plan on keeping them. Making to large of adjustments with the conditions to quickly can have very bad results.

 

[canlax]

Thank you for the great responses I had a feeling it wasn't holding but wanted to cover all bases before I considered something like treatment.

AZcichlidfreak. What would be considered good practice for increasing ph from 7 to 8. I am using seachem alkaline buffer half recommended doses once daily until ph is satisfactory – opinion? I am not sure how long the ph adjustment will take on this dose. Tank is 55 gallon.

 

[prov356]

AZcichlidfreak. What would be considered good practice for increasing ph from 7 to 8.

Don't focus on pH, but KH. You can use up the Seachem stuff, since you have it, but get a test kit that measures KH. Go for about 8 or so, and let the pH fall where it will. KH stabilizes pH. And for future, just get some sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and boost KH with that, if needed. Saves you $$.

If the KH right now is very low, I'd add enough to get it to at least 4-5. If KH drops too low, pH could crash. That's what you want to avoid. Better to effectively raise pH by raising KH, than risk a pH crash, as that could do more harm.

 

[canlax]

Thanks prov I will continue to work on increasing this to acceptable levels.

It is definitely bloat (no appetite, stringy white feces, sort of mucus like) so I am treating as per all the info found in the illness section of the forum. Thank you all for pointing me in the right direction

 

[GTZ]

Moved to illness. Let us know how your treatment is progressing and if you have any questions.

 

[xxbenjamminxx]

Thanks prov I will continue to work on increasing this to acceptable levels.

It is definitely bloat (no appetite, stringy white feces, sort of mucus like) so I am treating as per all the info found in the illness section of the forum. Thank you all for pointing me in the right direction

Sorry to hear that and good luck getting it whipped back into shape.

Keep up posted on how it is going and what method your using for treating it.

 

[canlax]

Without even having started treatment today the fish was active, aggressive in the tank and was EATING. Now I am confused I thought for sure it was signs of bloat but I have read that a fish that is eating definitely does not have bloat. Any opinions?

pH and kH are now in the acceptable range as of today, think that could have been it? I am just surprised that it only affected 1 fish out of 9 if that is the case.

 

[GTZ]

Could easily be a change in water parameters. Keep an eye on the eating/pooping over the next few days.
What are you feeding?

 

[canlax]

NLS

 

[phamf]

nope, not holding.

 

[PortiaD]

I feed NLS and had problems with both of my labs showing most of the bloat like symptoms...except for not eating and white stringy poo. One also hung out by himself at the top of the tank, near the hob filter, staring at the wall. One developed the redness by his vent, the other developed a large bulge there. Apparently for my guys it was just intestinal blockages as the NLS wasn't enough to keep things moving. Try adding more veggies and see if that doesn't fix things. Good Luck!