Cichlid Fish Forum banner
Cancel

New leleupi and pulcher from LFS, am I treating right?

1384 Views 9 Replies 2 Participants Last post by  DJRansome, 
E
Good evening! Yesterday I bought a male 3.75" daffodil pulcher and a 3" female (I think) Leleupi on a whim, and planned to out them in a dry 20 long to quarantine. I set up the 20 long with a used penguin 150 HOB and threw in a mature sponge from my FX6 canister.

Before taking them out of the bags to drip acclimate them, I noticed the leleupi had thin white stringy poo hanging from it. After dripping them a few hours and adding to the tank, I noticed the daffodil had some too. Today the daffodil still has some, and haven't seen on the other. Both are fairly active and get along with no peculiar behavior.

To treat, I've set the temp to 82 and added epsom at 18 degrees hardness and marine salt at 1 tablespoon per 5 gallons. PH is 8.3 and KH 14. Water is brand new. I tried feeding a couple NLS pellets and they won't touch them. Daffodil are 2 mysis lazily, leleupi seemed uninterested - didn't even go up to the food.

Aside from needing to call the shop tomorrow to let them know, I'd like to not lose the fish. Dony'all Think I should wait for now or treat with clout or metronidazole or something?
Reply
Save
Like
1 - 10 of 10 Posts
DJRansome
I would not treat them. Fish are fasted for several days before shipping.

After they have been in the tank a day or two, feed what they were getting at the LFS. And wait a week or so before you decide they are not eating...it can take several weeks for fish to become comfortable in a new tank and stop hiding, start eating and have normal feces.
Reply
Save
Like
E
Thank you for the feedback. I don't want to jump the gun and medicate if I don't have to. I've just lost so many Malawi back in the day (15 years ago) to remember how horrible it is to watch bloated fish die. I know what you mean about fish being weird about eating- I have a new pair of adult calvus inkfin "Lupota" that have been in my 150 for a week and they're still weird about it, but did take a few mysis.

Again, this fish is active and does not seem stressed at all, neither does the leleupi in the tank. The daffodil still has the clear mucous feces though since Monday. I hate seeing it.

Attachments

See less See more
Reply
Save
Like
DJRansome
What were they feeding at the LFS?
Reply
Save
Like
E
NLS -same size pellets as mine.
Reply
Save
Like
DJRansome
Stick to the NLS. Have they taken any yesterday or today?
Reply
Save
Like
E
I fed some mysis this morning and the daffodil was happy, ate as many as he could. Still has the mucous clear poo though.

Leleupi finally went for the food but kept spitting out. No visible clear feces anymore and both are still active and seem happy. Both come to the front of the tank when they see me. Definitely still concerned.
Reply
Save
Like
DJRansome
The food has to have a chance to process through the fish. Mysis is clear, right? Clear food, clear feces. See how things are today. I would feed only the NLS.

The salt and heat thing is only for ich. I would start lowering the temp and getting rid of the salt via PWC.
Reply
Save
Like
E
Yes, what worries me was the color of their feces being from the store- to my knowledge they were just fed pellets. Jeez maybe this was all about nothing...

I tried feeding NLS this morning and the leleupi FINALLY ate without spitting. I had to crush the pellets a bit but she grabbed them all up. Daffodil tried and spit.

I added mysis and leleupi spit, but daffodil happily kept them down. It looks like they might just be really finicky eaters who both had clear feces. I will watch them over the weekend for more positive results - Monday will be 1 week. If they are keeping food down and still active by mid next week I'll introduce to my main tank. And I lowered the temp to 80.5 last night- just wanted to be precautious with storebought fish on a single Tanganyikan system.

I really appreciate the help. I will update with photos once once I add to the tank.
See less See more
Reply
Save
Like
DJRansome
I would keep them in the quarantine tank for 3 weeks at least.
Reply
Save
Like
1 - 10 of 10 Posts
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Cichlid Fish Forum
A forum community dedicated to Cichlid Fish owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about breeding, health, behavior, housing, adopting, care, classifieds, and more!
Full Forum Listing
Explore Our Forums
Lake Malawi Species Aquarium Setup Lake Tanganyika Species Equipment & Supplies South American Cichlids
Top