# Red Belly is going down hill



## p8ntbal4me (Feb 19, 2007)

Im at a loss here.

I have 3 RBPs in a 55 gallon tank. Ive had these 3 for well over 3 years.

Recently (last 2 weeks) this single RBP has been struggling to catch live feeder fish. It has a gaping mouth all the time, and is VERY thin (so thin I can see the ribs and the head is the largest part rather than the body). No matter how much I seperate this one with a tank divider to get it to catch feeders,.. it cant seem to react quick enough and with a 20 fish drop it might get 2. When it does eat,.. it has to swim constantly with its head pointed toward the surface to stay afloat.

It also looks as if it has "cloud eye" but I have checked this a bunch of times and fish symptoms do not suggest it to be so. It just would be discribed as "cloud eye" if someone asked.

The other 2 RBPs are in great health. I cant see anything wrong with them when they feed, swim, the color is awesome. They swim very strong and feed as I would expect them to.

This one is struggling and I dont know what to do with it.

My tank has a H.OT. Bio-Wheel that goes up to 80 gallons per minute. I change the fillters EVERY 2 weeks. I have 2 seperate sets of bio wheels that I use in pairs (one is installed in the tank during a water change, the old one is cleaned and stored. I throw the wheels away after 4 changes) I am a regular water changer per week of 10-20% depending on the conditions of the Ph and other levels. Like I said before,... the 2 other P's are in really great shape,.. this one seems to just seperate itself from them and stay in the corner all the time.

Can anyone offer some advice as to what I can do to save this fish?

Picture of the tank









One of the 2 healthy RBPs









Picture of the Sick RBP


----------



## ju5tin95 (Nov 25, 2008)

hmm i would stop feeding them live feeders...because of parasites and other things that you cant see in the feeders


----------



## Blue Flame (Jan 16, 2006)

It looks pretty sick. My guess is parasites. I've haven't had much luck once they've gotten to that point.

I'd add salt and see what happens.

Good luck


----------



## lo4life (Aug 12, 2008)

I see 2 things that you are doing wrong. One is the feeders. They are packed with parasites and diseases. If you want healthy fish feed tilapia, cod, silversides, pellets, etc. Change their diet up and you will see them shoot up in size. You have had those fish for 3 years?? They are VERY small. Again feed them a good diet and they will shoot up in size look healthier and the colors will really stand out. The second is dont clean you Bio wheels off!! Thats a big no no. Thats where a majority of your beneficial bacteria is stored. Leave them be. If they get all nasty and im talkin really nasty rinse them off in the water from your water change and throw them back on. If I was you I would end that fishs life. He is not gonna make it.


----------



## FEEFA (Nov 19, 2007)

lo4life said:


> I see 2 things that you are doing wrong. One is the feeders. They are packed with parasites and diseases. If you want healthy fish feed tilapia, cod, silversides, pellets, etc. Change their diet up and you will see them shoot up in size. You have had those fish for 3 years?? They are VERY small. Again feed them a good diet and they will shoot up in size look healthier and the colors will really stand out. The second is dont clean you Bio wheels off!! Thats a big no no. Thats where a majority of your beneficial bacteria is stored. Leave them be. If they get all nasty and im talkin really nasty rinse them off in the water from your water change and throw them back on. If I was you I would end that fishs life. He is not gonna make it.


I was tinking the exact same thing, and if you can try to get another HOB filter on there.
Your fish is probably infected from the feeder fish as was said. What's he got??? Who knows.

Good Luck and I hope it works out for ya.


----------



## Dr. Giggles (Oct 18, 2003)

Even though P's are hardy fish this one in particular may be more sensitive to any ammonia/nitrite presence. As stated you dont want to remove the bio wheels ever, since that is what is neutralizing any ammonia and nitrites and converting them to nitrates on contact. Obviously, if no bacteria is present than this could be the root cause of your problem. That and/or a bad feeder and is infected with a tapeworm or something. I would isolate this one fish to a hospital tank and try treating first with prazi to see if you get any progress.


----------



## Big-Kev (Mar 29, 2008)

As lo4life and Dr.Giggles said "Don't clean the Bio Wheels". The only time you need to touch the bio wheels is if they stop spinning, otherwise they need no maintenance.
You want the bio wheel to be brown and nasty looking, thats when it helps your tank the most. As long as the bio wheels are spinning there good for life.

And as the others said, it would be better for your p's if you got some frozen shrimp and fish fillets from the grocery store and feed them pieces of that.


----------



## Rough996 (Oct 3, 2006)

great replies guys!!!

Do you know your water parameters???

If you can, first-things-first is to get that fish out of the tank with the other two - into a hospital tank if you have one. If not, find someone that has one established and borrow it - usually 10 - 20 gallons. Whatever he's got, you don't want the other two to get. If your fish isn't already a gonner, you're going to need some parasite meds and add some aquarium salt at 1 tsp per 5 gallons to reduce his stress. A common treatment is using API's Melafix and Pimafix. They work great when used in combination. The Pimafix will treat anything fungus related and the melafix will treat bacterial infections.

Another med to consider is Mardel's Maracyn - most LFS carry it and you can also pick it up at Petsmart. It's like a generic antibiotic, such as penicillin is for us. It's a bit more costly, but speaking from experience, it's VERY effective.

GOOD LUCK!!


----------



## SeedlessOne (Nov 21, 2006)

^^^Somebody get this guy a MOTM!!! You have my nom next month sir.

Overall great responces guys.....


----------



## Rough996 (Oct 3, 2006)

SeedlessOne said:


> ^^^Somebody get this guy a MOTM!!! You have my nom next month sir.
> 
> Overall great responces guys.....


Don't make me blush! Thanks tho! Everything I say is basically being a parrot of everything I've read through the pages of these forums. I love this site!!! Hopefully, I can get off of it long enough to get some work done.







Too much good information - DAILY.


----------



## wizardslovak (Feb 17, 2007)

thats from feeders, i had same think !!!!!
dont do feeders, get them on pellets
i got mine on pellets and shrimp , healthy, and colorful 
get melafix and pimafix and salt
that fish wont make it tho but i would use meds in main tank for a week and then filter it with carbon cartridge
although i always put little salt in my tanks
btw if you will put them on shrimps , you will see nice red bellies in couple days 
your Ps dont have nice bellies, get them shrimp. all my Ps love shrimp

good luck


----------



## lo4life (Aug 12, 2008)

Any updates?? Good bad??


----------



## Nick G (Jul 15, 2007)

prazipro-follow the directions strictly.... u will see results.


----------

