Sick Bolivian?

[Kyee]

I've had my Bolivian Ram in my established community tank for the past 4 months, and (s)he's been totally healthy until now. He disappeared for a couple of days and has now shown up but is just kind of sitting or crawling along the bottom of the tank. He's dark whereas before he was bright and shimmery. All his tankmates seem completely fine and all the levels are good.. What could this be? He isn't eating and won't come out from hiding, even when I put bloodworms in.

I recently got a new bulb, could that be why? He has plenty of plant cover so I wouldn't think that that was an issue.

[Sandz]

Do me a favor and fill this out:

1) What is the tank size?
2) What are the tank mates?
3) What is their diet? Brands help..
4) What are the readings for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate?
5) Is there a picture available?
6) Is the stomach distended? Caved in?
7) Does the fish have issues swimming upright?
8) Are there any scales flaring up?
9) Have you done anything lately like clean a filter or add something new?

[imma24]

+1 to all of the above and may I also ask - how often do you change your tank water and how much at a time?

[Kyee]

1) What is the tank size? 33g
2) What are the tank mates? 8 neons, 8 red phantom tetras, 1 platy and 1 pearl gourami.
3) What is their diet? Hikari Micro Pellets, Hikari Micro Wafers, Hikari frozen bloodworms and sometimes a nutrafin plus flake, but only the platy and tetras eat that.
4) What are the readings for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate? Ammonia 0, Nitrites 0, let me check the nitrates, I forgot to.
5) Is there a picture available? No picture, he's behind a bunch of plants.
6) Is the stomach distended? Caved in? Belly is very pale white/yellowish.
7) Does the fish have issues swimming upright? Yes, he is now lying on his side on the bottom of the tank. I have no quarentine though, my 10g got cracked and so I'm stuck.
8) Are there any scales flaring up? No
9) Have you done anything lately like clean a filter or add something new? I cleaned the filter a month ago in tank water.

I change my water once a week about 30%. I did an emergency 50% yesterday but it didn't help. None of the other fish seem in bad shape. He looks like he's going to dye... He's lying on his side on the gravel and his gills are moving a lot. He sometimes swims a bit in circles... I really hope he doesn't die! He'll be my first to die...

[Kyee]

Nitrates are at 0 as well. All seems well with the water...

[imma24]

How long has the fish been acting like this? Did it start suddenly or did the fish start hiding a while ago? Did it swim funny at all?

Have you noticed any aggression from other fish - could the fish have been stressed from being chased or not permitted to eat?

[Kyee]

I've only noticed this for the past 2-3 days. He always used to greet me at the top of the tank and always swam just fine before this. Bright shimmery colours too. The other fish have never bothered him *as far as I've noticed*, and he was always find to come right up to the surface to eat with the others.

[imma24]

He was fine until 2-3 days ago and then you suddenly found him at the bottom of the tank? How is he doing now - no changes? Have you changed your water since you posted?

[Sandz]

Sounds like an internal parasite. garlic with the food should help. You also can treat with an antiparasitic med... check this site out http://animal-world.com/encyclo/fres...s.htm#Nematoda

Potential disease to look for:
Nematoda
Symptoms: Worms hanging from the anus.

Nematodes (threadworms) infect just about anywhere in the body but only shows itself when they hang out of the anus. A heavy infestation causes hollow bellies. Lighter infestations usually cause no problems with the fish.
Short of destroying the fish, which is easier, two treatments have been suggested. First treatment; soak the food in parachlorometaxylenol and give the fish a bath or treat the aquarium with 10 ml per liter. The bath should last for several days. Second treatment; find special food containing thiabendazole as a nematode (threadworm) cure and hope the fish will eat it.

[Sandz]

What I really need you to do is wait patiently and get a good picture. We really cant help much without good visual evidence. Its only guessing at this point.