Odd Belly

Tommy Gun · 11-09-2006, 07:44 PM

Hello again everyone!!!!!!!!

So I have this Yellow Lab in my tank that I have had for about 4 months or so now...when I bought it, this fish was about half the size it is now but looked much the same as it does now. However, of all my fish (and all other cichlids I have seen first hand or on the internet) this one seems to not be 'filling out' at all and it appears as though its belly is missing. Here is a picture:

I know it is sort of hard to tell, but if you look just to the left of the pectoral fin, you can see a curve in the opposite direction that a belly would create. Here is a pic of one of my 'normal' yellow labs to use as a comparison:

So, my question is...is this something symptomatic of a sick fish or more of a deformity? By the way, in every other way this fish is extremely healthy and eats fine. It is also high on my list of most active cichlid I have ever had so far.

Thanks for any help you can give me!

fishuz · 11-09-2006, 07:56 PM

This could be due to a parasite infection ? is the fish eating or spitting the food back out. i also noticed that the gills look a little red. sometimes if the cichlid was just added to the tank it might be at the bottom of the pecking order when it comes to food.but like you said if he is eating fine it most likely if not a deformity is internal parasites

Tommy Gun · 11-09-2006, 08:59 PM

Thanks for the reply fishuz,

I looked more closely at this fish and the gills are not red in real life so I dont know if this was the reflection of the little red light on my camera or some other light trick. This fish has looked like this for as long as I have had it, but like I said, I expected it to 'grow out' of it and it hasnt. Otherwise it is very active and very quick to eat. I added all of the fish at one time over four months ago so the pecking order is pretty well established and I know which fish to watch for as far as being able to eat (I feed in two locations on the water surface, one for the more dominant cichlids and another for the less dominant and the tiger barbs). I know that sounds weird, but it keeps me from having to over feed just to make sure all the fish can get some food.

fishuz · 11-09-2006, 09:08 PM

Sometimes depending on how the fish was bred it could develop deformity's...was the fish like this from day one ? ( do you know if it was bred or wild caught ? )... Also check to see what color the poop is, white is no good...but if the fish isn't showing any signs of scratching against objects and any other discomfort signals i would just keep a close eye on it, which i'm sure you are lol.

fishuz · 11-09-2006, 09:11 PM

the feeding thing isn't weird...makes perfect sense and is recomended for cichlids

gm333 · 11-09-2006, 11:22 PM

Tommy is it eating? If so it is probably a stomach parasite, or could some type of worm. If it is not eating it could have a brood of fry in its mouth. My haps look like this for at least three weeks before releasing the fry to eat.

Tommy Gun · 11-09-2006, 11:39 PM

Thanks for the replies! Yes, it does eat and I am about 95% sure this is a male. I have two other yellow labs at the moment which are holding and they are not the same looking as this one. This fish has been this way since day 1.

Are there any preventative measures I can take with minimal risk to the tank in case this is a worm or parasite in the fish's belly? Right now, the tank holds at about 76 degrees or so and I havent added salt for a while now. Would something like Melafix or Primafix help out as a 'just in case' type thing? I know that these are more natural 'meds' and could help with healing and curing from what I understand.

fishuz · 11-09-2006, 11:52 PM

you can buy medications in food form and since the fish does eat this would be a good way of administering the medication to all the fish. although the ones that are "holding" will probably spit it out and i don't know if it would harm the babies ? maybe it would be best to remove the fish from the tank so you can closely monitor it better just incase there is a parasite infection. Hopefully it's just a deformity

Tommy Gun · 11-10-2006, 12:04 AM

I have been thinking that this is a deformity but I asked just to err on the side of caution here. The main reason I think it is a deformity is because I bought his batch all from the same place and one of my 6 fish has very light yellowish or almost an 'off-white' tint to it. I figure (and also researched) that this is because of either inbreeding or over breeding, leading to the deformity in that it cannot make or hold pigment well even though he is not albino. Seeing as how I got these fish all at the same size and from the same place, this could be another symptom of over breeding or inbreeding as well.

I will think about moving this fish to another tank, especially if I decide to medicate or take other 'invasive' actions to either deal with this or see if it is just harmless. The only reason I am hessitant to move it right now is because like I said, I have two female yellow labs holding at the moment and for one I dont want to stress them so they spit the eggs and also because I have only two 10 gallon tanks that are unoccupied since the third one is housing a bunch of fry right now. I may have to change my plans on that though and just put them both into one 10 gallon tank when I think they are about to spit.

Thanks again!
TG

bigsloe · 11-11-2006, 10:02 AM

tommy check this out i was at the lfs and i saw a tank full of fish like this and they were called ?something? yellow bellies the thing is the guy said that was normal for that fish maybe he got mixed into a tank with the yellow labs im not sure as i dont have much experience with these at all but i never saw a fish like that until i saw your post and then bam im standing in front of a tank that was full of yellow cichlids with theyre bellies missing when i asked the guy hthere , who seemed to have his stuff together, he said thats how they were just thought id let you know it was pretty weird for all that to happen in the same day good luck whatever it is