[Cook.MN]

PH: 8.2
NH3/NH4: 0
NO2: 0
NO3: <5 ppm

Symptoms: I left this morning with everyone doing fine. Came home to find this little guy in the sand gasping. The only things reasons I know why fish gasp are an NH3/NH4 or NO2 spike, as you can see I have neither, the only other thing is lack of O2. I don't believe there is a lack of O2 as I have a 48" bubble wall and I have 2 power filters which agitate the surface of the water constantly.

I am unsure if he ate but he doesn't come to the top of the tank like he used to anymore, he hides within the rocks.

I have never had a problem with any fish in this tank because my water is basically perfect for my mbuna tank.

Here's the best picture I could get of him.

Every other fish is acting normal and showing no signs of this whatsoever.

I have thought that this might be bloat but I am dismissing it for the following reasons: He appeared alright around 7pm last night and ate (I do a head check when feeding). His belly is the normal shape and size...just discolored as you can see above. If it were bloat then this would have been one of the final stages, of which all my reading suggests that it takes longer then 24 hours to be seeing secondary/final stages.

I'm at a loss as I have made sure to keep the water extremely clean as you can see above. I did start out with over feeding but I noticed this early on and corrected my mistake. The last time I was over feeding has been 3+ weeks ago (I didn't know I was over feeding, came here looking for advice on one of my labs, he/she was just over fed). Nothing has changed in this tank for weeks. Everything has been on the routine schedule in regards to feeding and weekly water changes.

 

[Cook.MN]

7:46 pm - He is now moving to the top of the tank gasping

 

[Cook.MN]

8:24 pm - He moved back down into his little cave which is about 8 inches from the bottom and is no longer nearing the top of the tank

 

[Robin]

Hi,

Your water parameters all sound fine as does the care you take with your tank so I agree with you, it doesn't sound like a problem with the water.
Fish will gasp and hide when they are being harrassed by another fish. Could be that he got into a fight with one of your other fish. What size tank is this? How many and what species of cichlid are you keeping?
Its also possible that even though you're not overfeeding that this fish got more than it's share at mealtime.

You should probably remove this fish to a hospital tank so he can recover without further harrassment and also just in case we're seing the first symptoms of an illness that is contagious. At the very least I would provide some kind of cover for him in the main tank. A large fake plant hanging in from the top of the tank will give him a place to hide if he needs to and will create a visual barrier from the other fish.

Robin

 

[Cook.MN]

I haven't seen him be harassed at all.

Tank is a 55 Gallon with C. Afra, Yellow Labs, and Acei.

He has his own little cave that he's hiding in now. I didn't see him this morning but I was paying the majority of my attention to my other tank.

My hospital tank is in the process of cycling, so moving him over there would do no good I'm afraid.