# Please Help!!!!



## Retaks (Apr 6, 2008)

I got a Rhom and it refuses to eat anything. I thought it was eating live food i put in but it turns out teh crayfish i have in the tank was eating everything. Ive had the fish for 3 weeks now and it will not eat anything. It kills any fish i put in the tank and leaves it. It is so skinny now im starting to be able to see ribs. What should i do? Please Help!!!


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## notaverage (Sep 10, 2005)

Are you sure it hasnt eaten?
Maybe its being picky right now and stressed
did you cycle the tank beofre he was added?
What are you trying to feed it?
Are you trying a varied diet?


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## Retaks (Apr 6, 2008)

notaverage said:


> Are you sure it hasnt eaten?
> Maybe its being picky right now and stressed
> did you cycle the tank beofre he was added?
> What are you trying to feed it?
> Are you trying a varied diet?


Yea im sure. It was the only thing in the tank until about 3 days ago. the tank was cycled. I had my Reds in it before the Rhom and all the params are good. Ive been checking them daily. Ive tryed feeding it shrimp, catfish, pellets, crayfish, convicts, bettas, goldfish(from a friends tank not feeders), flounder. I try a different fish meat every night by hanging it where it is moving in the powerhead all night and he dosnt even take a bite from it.


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## notaverage (Sep 10, 2005)

DOes it seem stressed?
Maybe you should try dimming your lights and not feeding it for a week.
Hell they can go quit a damn while without food!
DONT leave the food in there. My spilo eats off a small pair of tongs I have and I dont let anything sit in the tank anymore.
I think it gives them a choice.
Take out all the live fish too for the week.
then try some shrimp with the lights out...you have to starve and experiment with these bastards sometimes.
Good luck!

Any pics of him?


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## Retaks (Apr 6, 2008)

No it only seems stressed for the first couple mins the lights come on when it was dark in the room. Then it calms down. It dosnt come out much during the day though. I only leave the food in there over night when im sleeping (about 4 hours) so its dark and he is out and about to find the food. Starving him is what im worried about. He is extremely skinny now. Im getting where im going to start seeing his ribs soon. All the live food is dead. He kills it as soon as it comes near him. I put 20 2"-3" convicts in there and within 3 hours they were all ripped in half.


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## Retaks (Apr 6, 2008)

This fish has had me so stressed for the last week its not funny. Im really considering going back to having Reds. Here is 1 pic of him that Alex from Aquatic Sanctuary sent me so i know what i was getting. This pic was a few days before i went to pick him up. I have more but cant locate them right now. Im going to search for the other pics.


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## notaverage (Sep 10, 2005)

Hmm..well. 
I hope someone has an answer or has had a similiar situation that they dealt with.
Can you post pics or vids?


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## Retaks (Apr 6, 2008)

notaverage said:


> Hmm..well.
> I hope someone has an answer or has had a similiar situation that they dealt with.
> Can you post pics or vids?


Ill try to get pics in the morning. My batteries for my camera are on the charger right now and my phone dosnt take good low light pics.


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## Piranha Guru (Nov 24, 2005)

Are you 100% sure it is killing things and not eating any of it...not eating is a sign of severe stress or disease. First, remove all other creatures from the tank. Second, list your actual water parameters (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH along with gH and kH if you can), tank equipment, decor, etc... Third, take some pictures of the tank and the fish. Finally...relax and keep offering bite sized bits of catfish or shrimp. The problem is either in your setup or illness from stress...the more info you give, the better we can help.


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## notaverage (Sep 10, 2005)

Retaks said:


> Hmm..well.
> I hope someone has an answer or has had a similiar situation that they dealt with.
> Can you post pics or vids?


Ill try to get pics in the morning. My batteries for my camera are on the charger right now and my phone dosnt take good low light pics.
[/quote]

I posted this as you posted the other pic.
Yeah try to post current pics though.

I would think he is eating a bit of the kills....but as bio says...more info the better.
Hope it works out.
The pic you posted...man thats a GOOD lookin P!!


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## Retaks (Apr 6, 2008)

BioTeAcH said:


> Are you 100% sure it is killing things and not eating any of it...not eating is a sign of severe stress or disease. First, remove all other creatures from the tank. Second, list your actual water parameters (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH along with gH and kH if you can), tank equipment, decor, etc... Third, take some pictures of the tank and the fish. Finally...relax and keep offering bite sized bits of catfish or shrimp. The problem is either in your setup or illness from stress...the more info you give, the better we can help.


Ok here is everything you asked for:

Amonia: 0
NitrItes: 0
NitrAtes: 15 (Between 10 and 20 on the API master kit)
PH: 7.6

I took GH and KH with strips so im not sure how accurate they are.
GH: 120
KH: 80

Here is a pic i took just a minute ago of the tank. There were more plants in there but they got eaten up by the crayfish. There is jsut one small 1.5" crayfish in there with him now. He did fianlly take a bit out of the shrimp. You can see it in the pic. Also the rock he is right at the overhang of is hollow inside and he gets in there to hide. He ran into there when i put the lights on and was in the process of coming back out to see what was going on when i took the pics. You can see his eye glowing from the flash on the camera.


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## SERRAPYGO (Feb 4, 2003)

> I put 20 2"-3" convicts in there and within 3 hours they were all ripped in half.


I can almost garauntee this is the problem...if there really is a problem, that rhom looks pretty healthy to me. Piranhas and cichlids are natural enemies, they both can severley stress each other out! The rhom is killing the convicts out of defense...not for food. Get the convicts out of there!
Get back to basics and offer him frozen, chopped fish, and feed at low light.


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## Retaks (Apr 6, 2008)

SERRAPYGO said:


> > I put 20 2"-3" convicts in there and within 3 hours they were all ripped in half.
> 
> 
> I can almost garauntee this is the problem...if there really is a problem, that rhom looks pretty healthy to me. Piranhas and cichlids are natural enemies, they both can severley stress each other out! The rhom is killing the convicts out of defense...not for food. Get the convicts out of there!
> Get back to basics and offer him frozen, chopped fish, and feed at low light.


the Convicts were like 2 weeks ago.


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## Piranha Guru (Nov 24, 2005)

Water parameters are fine, but get the crayfish out. What kind of rocks are those? The green in them makes me wary of their chemical composition. Just keep offering food every day or every other day. If you can get a picture of him out of the cave post that up, but don't freak him out more trying to get the picture.


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## Retaks (Apr 6, 2008)

The green on the rocks is from when they were in my 29 gal tank and i first got my Oscar. He had Ich on him and the meds i put in there dyed everything green. They have been green for about 8 months now. The Crayfish will be out tommorow morning. I dont have anywhere else to put it until tommorow and i dont see a reason in killing it for nothing.


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## Piranha Guru (Nov 24, 2005)

Retaks said:


> The green on the rocks is from when they were in my 29 gal tank and i first got my Oscar. He had Ich on him and the meds i put in there dyed everything green. They have been green for about 8 months now. The Crayfish will be out tommorow morning. I dont have anywhere else to put it until tommorow and i dont see a reason in killing it for nothing.


That medicine didn't happen to have malachite green as an ingredient did it?


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## Retaks (Apr 6, 2008)

I actually dont know. It was API Super Ich Cure powder. I looked it up and didnt say anything about it being in there.


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## Retaks (Apr 6, 2008)

OK i got the Crayfish out of the tank. I had to move everything out to catch it so i decied to remodel a little and put some more fake plants in there.I made it where the most of the bakc wall is pretty well coverd so he feels safe back there but i can still see him. IM going to let him settle down from everything and ill try to get pics later tonight.


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## Piranha Guru (Nov 24, 2005)

Retaks said:


> OK i got the Crayfish out of the tank. I had to move everything out to catch it so i decied to remodel a little and put some more fake plants in there.I made it where the most of the bakc wall is pretty well coverd so he feels safe back there but i can still see him. IM going to let him settle down from everything and ill try to get pics later tonight.


The extra fake plants should help.









That medicine contains C.I. Basic Green 4 (hydrochloride) = Malachite Green. Malachite green is toxic to piranhas and tetras. Remove those rocks as they have obviously absorbed at least some of it and are probably leaching it back into the water in small amounts (another potential stressor and health concern). I would also make sure your filters have fresh carbon in them (change it every couple of weeks) to make sure any residual meds have been removed. Anything else in that tank from your oscar tank?

If you want some safe other decor, stick with clean driftwood, resin ornaments, or even clay pots. Rocks are tricky as you never know what trace amounts of minerals they may contain that will react with your water.


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## Retaks (Apr 6, 2008)

OK thanks. Im going to the mall to get my son out since its raining hard here and a 1.5 year old dosnt like to sit still. There is a Petsmart right up the street that ill stop at and try to get some new decorations. Most of he stuff in this tank is from the Oscars tank. Including some of the substrait. I just added 1 more bag of moon sand when i got this tank. I do keep carbon in my filter (AC110) at all times even though i didnt think i actually need it. It gets changed every 3-4 weeks.


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## AE Aquatics (Bong) (Jan 7, 2008)

BioTeAcH said:


> OK i got the Crayfish out of the tank. I had to move everything out to catch it so i decied to remodel a little and put some more fake plants in there.I made it where the most of the bakc wall is pretty well coverd so he feels safe back there but i can still see him. IM going to let him settle down from everything and ill try to get pics later tonight.


The extra fake plants should help.









That medicine contains C.I. Basic Green 4 (hydrochloride) = Malachite Green. Malachite green is toxic to piranhas and tetras. Remove those rocks as they have obviously absorbed at least some of it and are probably leaching it back into the water in small amounts (another potential stressor and health concern). I would also make sure your filters have fresh carbon in them (change it every couple of weeks) to make sure any residual meds have been removed. Anything else in that tank from your oscar tank?

If you want some safe other decor, stick with clean driftwood, resin ornaments, or even clay pots. Rocks are tricky as you never know what trace amounts of minerals they may contain that will react with your water.
[/quote]
Hey Retaks, as Bio said get those rocks out. I would also take out the power head for now. I had a similar problem with my reds and after weeks of I decided to remove mine and they went back to normal. My power head went bad and was letting out a small electrical current that I couldn't feel but it was stressing my fish. There is something obviously wrong if that other little rhom took a nose dive suddenly. If you have any questions feel free to call me.


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## Retaks (Apr 6, 2008)

Aquatic Sanctuary said:


> OK i got the Crayfish out of the tank. I had to move everything out to catch it so i decied to remodel a little and put some more fake plants in there.I made it where the most of the bakc wall is pretty well coverd so he feels safe back there but i can still see him. IM going to let him settle down from everything and ill try to get pics later tonight.


The extra fake plants should help.









That medicine contains C.I. Basic Green 4 (hydrochloride) = Malachite Green. Malachite green is toxic to piranhas and tetras. Remove those rocks as they have obviously absorbed at least some of it and are probably leaching it back into the water in small amounts (another potential stressor and health concern). I would also make sure your filters have fresh carbon in them (change it every couple of weeks) to make sure any residual meds have been removed. Anything else in that tank from your oscar tank?

If you want some safe other decor, stick with clean driftwood, resin ornaments, or even clay pots. Rocks are tricky as you never know what trace amounts of minerals they may contain that will react with your water.
[/quote]
Hey Retaks, as Bio said get those rocks out. I would also take out the power head for now. I had a similar problem with my reds and after weeks of I decided to remove mine and they went back to normal. My power head went bad and was letting out a small electrical current that I couldn't feel but it was stressing my fish. There is something obviously wrong if that other little rhom took a nose dive suddenly. If you have any questions feel free to call me.
[/quote]

The power head is in the tank but not plugged in. He is acting fine and swims around alot. He just dosnt eat. The other thing i dont understand is i had Reds in here and havnt changed anything at all and and they were fine. Ate every day and never had a problem.


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## AE Aquatics (Bong) (Jan 7, 2008)

Retaks said:


> OK i got the Crayfish out of the tank. I had to move everything out to catch it so i decied to remodel a little and put some more fake plants in there.I made it where the most of the bakc wall is pretty well coverd so he feels safe back there but i can still see him. IM going to let him settle down from everything and ill try to get pics later tonight.


The extra fake plants should help.









That medicine contains C.I. Basic Green 4 (hydrochloride) = Malachite Green. Malachite green is toxic to piranhas and tetras. Remove those rocks as they have obviously absorbed at least some of it and are probably leaching it back into the water in small amounts (another potential stressor and health concern). I would also make sure your filters have fresh carbon in them (change it every couple of weeks) to make sure any residual meds have been removed. Anything else in that tank from your oscar tank?

If you want some safe other decor, stick with clean driftwood, resin ornaments, or even clay pots. Rocks are tricky as you never know what trace amounts of minerals they may contain that will react with your water.
[/quote]
Hey Retaks, as Bio said get those rocks out. I would also take out the power head for now. I had a similar problem with my reds and after weeks of I decided to remove mine and they went back to normal. My power head went bad and was letting out a small electrical current that I couldn't feel but it was stressing my fish. There is something obviously wrong if that other little rhom took a nose dive suddenly. If you have any questions feel free to call me.
[/quote]

The power head is in the tank but not plugged in. He is acting fine and swims around alot. He just dosnt eat. The other thing i dont understand is i had Reds in here and havnt changed anything at all and and they were fine. Ate every day and never had a problem.
[/quote]
Most reds are captive bred and rhoms are wild caught therefore in my opinion more sensitive to certain things.


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## Retaks (Apr 6, 2008)

Aquatic Sanctuary said:


> OK i got the Crayfish out of the tank. I had to move everything out to catch it so i decied to remodel a little and put some more fake plants in there.I made it where the most of the bakc wall is pretty well coverd so he feels safe back there but i can still see him. IM going to let him settle down from everything and ill try to get pics later tonight.


The extra fake plants should help.









That medicine contains C.I. Basic Green 4 (hydrochloride) = Malachite Green. Malachite green is toxic to piranhas and tetras. Remove those rocks as they have obviously absorbed at least some of it and are probably leaching it back into the water in small amounts (another potential stressor and health concern). I would also make sure your filters have fresh carbon in them (change it every couple of weeks) to make sure any residual meds have been removed. Anything else in that tank from your oscar tank?

If you want some safe other decor, stick with clean driftwood, resin ornaments, or even clay pots. Rocks are tricky as you never know what trace amounts of minerals they may contain that will react with your water.
[/quote]
Hey Retaks, as Bio said get those rocks out. I would also take out the power head for now. I had a similar problem with my reds and after weeks of I decided to remove mine and they went back to normal. My power head went bad and was letting out a small electrical current that I couldn't feel but it was stressing my fish. There is something obviously wrong if that other little rhom took a nose dive suddenly. If you have any questions feel free to call me.
[/quote]

The power head is in the tank but not plugged in. He is acting fine and swims around alot. He just dosnt eat. The other thing i dont understand is i had Reds in here and havnt changed anything at all and and they were fine. Ate every day and never had a problem.
[/quote]
Most reds are captive bred and rhoms are wild caught therefore in my opinion more sensitive to certain things.
[/quote]

He took another bite out of a shrimp last night. Ive been hanging a whole shrimp in the tank for a whyle and for the last 2 nights he has taken a bite out of it. Its a start. I tryed to get some Garlic Guard to try that but Petsmart is the only place around here that sells it and they recalled it about a week ago because it is harmful to humans. Im going to order some tommorow and try it.


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