Pelvicachromis taeniatus

Hi - bit of homework for you below I'm afraid If you can give answers to these we might be able to do a bit more for you :

When you say 'just breathing' do you mean he is 'just barely breathing' or that all he is doing is breathing, i.e. not moving at all ?

How long have you had him & how long has the tank been set up ? Does he usually like to hang out there ? Is he buoyant in the water, as in not settled down on the substrate ?

Can you test your water for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate with a good liquid drop test kit and post the results ?

Any chance of a picture ?

Sorry I know nothing about breeding 'em.

edit : oh yeah what size tank ?

Sorry to hear that - it does not sound good for him; are there any marks/strange spots on him etc & can you post a pic ?

What kind of worms did he eat and how much have you been feeding him ? For constipation if you could get him to eat some mushed up peas this can help, equally adding a small amount of epsom salts to the tank can also help (just like with humans). Here is a thread discussing dose http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=150266&highlight=epsom (approx 1 tablespoon to every 40 litres - which is about 10 US Gallons)

You really need the test kit so you know it is not his water. I would probably do a large water change using a good dechlorinator (Seachem Prime is great) just in case. Without further symptoms it is hard to say what this might be. I'd also turn off the lights in the tank so as to give him as little stress as possible.

Sorry again that he's dead. Stable Ph is not the only important parameter. You don't know your water is acceptable without a test kit. One of the first things to do when you have a death is test using a good liquid drop test kit for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate.

Just because other fish have not demonstrated problems does not mean your water is ok.

Get the test kit. Or you're only ever guessing as to what's going on in there.

Pelvicachromis species are not not prone to bloat. I wouldn't expect blood worms to cause any problems - small worms like that are a huge part of their natural diet. I've kept and bred P. pulcher several times, and I feed bloodworms weekly and they'll eat a ton of them but I've never lost a krib because of them.

Maybe your water is fine, but you can't tell nitrates simply by looking at it (or ammonia or nitrites). Are those 12 other fish in the same tank with your taeniatus? If so, the tank is likely overstocked which can cause water parameter problems...if not, I apoligize for thinking they're in the same tank.

Eric