my son's sick peacock

[janetdc1]

My son has a 6 week old 75 gallon tank, which has cycled pretty nicely and finally cleared up really well on its own over the last week or so- he has 7 peacocks and 4 mbunos(sp?) One of his peacocks looks like he had a nip taken out of his Right flipper fin(so he looks a little like nemo) It has been that way for about a week- treated the tank with marycyn 2 and coppersafe since a few others were showing some signs of stress- (probably from the cycling process) Anyway, they have all recovered nicely, water params are all great- but today when I looked in there I noticed the same peacock is now not using that flipper- At first I thought it was entirely gone! But he does use it occasionally and then holds it up against himself as though he is favoring it. Would this be because it is "sprained?" Is there something I can do to ease his pain if he hurts? He acts totally healthy, eats, isn't struggling, even gets around like there's nothing wrong- just favors that fin and swims most the time holding it up against him- I checked the other fins and they all look great-
Any suggestions would be appreciated!
he is a beautiful fish- deep blue and irridescent
thanks!
J

[buzzbombtom]

if he is acting fine let him be. that tank needs A LOT more fish in it. i believe that ciclids are very agressive and will fight over territory so it could be that there is a dominate fish in the tank that is picking on him. a few things to do
1; move the tanks stuff around like rock and what ever else you have in the tank.
2. look at the rest of the fish do they have bites taken out of fins too?, it is common in a ciclid tank to have bites taken out of fins
3. let it be and ride it out
4. buy some more ciclids, but be ready to do water changes.

[janetdc1]

okay- thanks- I wondered if we needed more fish- there are a few that have some battle scars- how many would you put in there?
and we will move the rocks again.
thanks!
janet

[tarheels910]

The mbuna are too much for the peacocks. It is suggested not to mix them because the mbuna are way too aggressive.

The number of fish can be determined by your filtration. You have a good sized tank, but need superior filtration.

[buzzbombtom]

The mbuna are too much for the peacocks. It is suggested not to mix them because the mbuna are way too aggressive.

The number of fish can be determined by your filtration. You have a good sized tank, but need superior filtration.

really i know my lfs has all sorts mixed together and never seem to have a problem. they have the numbers heigh enough that i suppose that noone ever really gets picked on. in my 10 gallon tank i have 9 total fish and have only lost one from this batch. when i started i had 3 total and lost 2 because one picked on the other two till they stressed out and died

[wataugachicken]

with african cichlids, overstocking is a necessary evil. unlike american cichlids, who will fight to the death to defend territory in a crowded tank (or even an uncrowded one), african cichlids will usually just accept that there is no way to claim personal space with so many other fish around, and give up. if there are not enough fish in the tank to short-circuit their aggressiveness, they will stake out claims to territory and fight. the exception is some species that require sex-based ratios like one male to 3-4 females. too many males will still beat on each other no matter how crowded, but that is in response to breeding behavior, not territory issues.

[gibsoncichlid1]

Originally Posted by tarheels910 http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/images/buttons/viewpost.gif (http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1160423#post1160423)
"The mbuna are too much for the peacocks. It is suggested not to mix them because the mbuna are way too aggressive."

Tarheels, from the tanks you have listed it looks like you have haps, peacocks, and mbuna mixed together.

Add some more cichlids and they will do fine.

[tarheels910]

Originally Posted by tarheels910 http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/images/buttons/viewpost.gif (http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1160423#post1160423)
"The mbuna are too much for the peacocks. It is suggested not to mix them because the mbuna are way too aggressive."

Tarheels, from the tanks you have listed it looks like you have haps, peacocks, and mbuna mixed together.

Add some more cichlids and they will do fine.
My peacocks are 4-5 inches and are quite aggressive. I have had these mixes for years and have had no problems.

[tarheels910]

really i know my lfs has all sorts mixed together and never seem to have a problem. they have the numbers heigh enough that i suppose that noone ever really gets picked on. in my 10 gallon tank i have 9 total fish and have only lost one from this batch. when i started i had 3 total and lost 2 because one picked on the other two till they stressed out and died
9 African cichlids in a 10 gallon. :eek: Way overstocked, no matter the filtration. These fish get WAY too big for that tank.

[gibsoncichlid1]

As for Janetdc1's peacocks, I hope they are doing better.

[buzzbombtom]

9 African cichlids in a 10 gallon. :eek: Way overstocked, no matter the filtration. These fish get WAY too big for that tank.

i plan on keeping them only at small sizes and getting newer ones when they get larger. i would concider myself a little smatter than to keep 9 fish at 6 inches each in that size of tank. thanks for looking out for them though. and i am running two bio wheels on this tank with the fish doing just fine.

[tarheels910]

i plan on keeping them only at small sizes and getting newer ones when they get larger. i would concider myself a little smatter than to keep 9 fish at 6 inches each in that size of tank. thanks for looking out for them though. and i am running two bio wheels on this tank with the fish doing just fine.

Filtration doesnt matter in that tank. Neither does fish size. It is not right to keep africans in a 10 gallon. Especially 9. I have a good reason why they are dying: AGGRESSION. < Because they are in a ten gallon!!!

[buzzbombtom]

you do not seem to understand, my fish NOW are doing much better. when there were 3 fish in the tank they were dieing. there doesnt seem to be a fish that is more aggressive than the rest. i have always been told to over stock africans in my tanks.

[janetdc1]

ummmm, my son's peacock is doing so much better now-
we added more fish- some mbunos, and yes, another peacock- (a red one! hard to find around here!)and we are amazed at how happy all the tank inhabitants are now. Plus it is so beautiful!
As for mbunos and peacocks, I know several people who mix them - they are fine together.
(just sayin')
Janet]

[GirlieGirl8521]

Good luck keeping the peacocks with the mbuna. I had adequate numbers of mbuna groups in a 55g, which was overstocked, and my peacocks were killed off one by one.

I am another one who does not suggest keeping peacocks with mbuna, even when you think you are doing it right. ;) And that is based on my own experience, not what i've heard.

Hopefully, none of the other peacocks will be attacked/injured.



As for the africans/mbuna in a 10g......listen to tarheels. ;) You are killing your fish.........they WILL NOT grow to 6 inches in a cramped, overstocked 10g.

[buzzbombtom]

umm i have already had a set swapped out in this tank seems that they are doing just fine to me.

[GirlieGirl8521]

Doing fine doesn't matter! They get far too large and far too aggressive for a 10g tank. Most Mbuna need a 55g tank minimum. Unless you are raising fry in that tank, you are not keeping your fish in an adequate tank.

Did they tell you they are fine? Poor fish......

/rant

Sorry to keep hacking the thread, but things need to be said.

[tarheels910]

Doing fine doesn't matter! They get far too large and far too aggressive for a 10g tank. Most Mbuna need a 55g tank minimum. Unless you are raising fry in that tank, you are not keeping your fish in an adequate tank.

Did they tell you they are fine? Poor fish......

/rant

Sorry to keep hacking the thread, but things need to be said.
Finally someone agrees with me.

As for the peacocks, you gotta be careful sometimes. I one had about 8 peacocks, and 8 mbuna in my first 55. After a week trip to florida (had someone feeding the fish) I had a massive death. I thought I had an ammonia spike or something. After further examination I realized the dead ones were all peacocks and the mbuna were still alive. Ever since I have never had problems with the two. Its not suggested to mix them, but if you watch them for aggression issues, you could determine whether they are okay or not. All fish have different temperments.

[buzzbombtom]

Finally someone agrees with me.
All fish have different temperments.
you say this and then you say that my fish will not be fine? you dont really even know what is in my tank. now i could care less what you think about me and what not, but i usually dont like to put any animal in harms way, so with that being said my fish show no signs of being stressed, no out of control water params, i have fish that swim up to the glass to see me every day, they do not seem to show any signs of distress, the one i had that was stressed out in a corner i returned so that he would not die. i think that my fish are doing just fine, i have not had a massive die off like you, i have not had a massive amonia spike. my fish seem to respond very well to a high amount of change to the tank through moving rocks and such. you said it yourself, different fish have different temperments so how can you say that MY fish are stressed out?

[tarheels910]

you say this and then you say that my fish will not be fine? you dont really even know what is in my tank. now i could care less what you think about me and what not, but i usually dont like to put any animal in harms way, so with that being said my fish show no signs of being stressed, no out of control water params, i have fish that swim up to the glass to see me every day, they do not seem to show any signs of distress, the one i had that was stressed out in a corner i returned so that he would not die. i think that my fish are doing just fine, i have not had a massive die off like you, i have not had a massive amonia spike. my fish seem to respond very well to a high amount of change to the tank through moving rocks and such. you said it yourself, different fish have different temperments so how can you say that MY fish are stressed out?

Ask anybody. Keeping those fish in a 10 gallon is wrong. I had no ammonia spike, it was aggression. Maybe we can give you some websites to do a little research.

[janetdc1]

I would like to thank wataugachicken and buzzbombtom for appropriately responding to my original post - which was about my son's sick peacock.
And thank you gibsoncichlid and buzzbombtom, for attempting to calm the inappropriate rants by a few others on this thread-sadly to know avail.

anyway, thanks for the suggestions watau and buzz.:-)
J