Handfeeding a fish?

[Valo's Moirana]

that's a great idea - i'll try to run over to the store to get one. however, that would be more for separation, since i know he's not eating. i watched him carefully the last few days, and could tell he didn't eat. i tried to place an algea wafer close to his hiding spot, since that stuff stays down and doesn't float. don't think i touched it. i guess right now, i can just wait and see and make sure he doesn't get bullied by the others (he's in a good spot though - close to chief the oscar, and he chases the other fish away - can't see that blue guy though under the wood)

thanks so much for all your help, guys. i also posted this on a fish forum - 1 reply and that wasn't of much help. this really is the best place to be

On the photo: the big albino oscar is Chief, next to him is Blue (the blue Chiclid that swallowed the marble and who's currently hiding right underneath that wooden thing and wont' eat)

[svolk]

Wowzers, that's an awesome Oscar! I love Oscars, would like to have one some day.

Do your cichlids move the gravel around in your tank? I bet that's how he got the marble stuck. My cichlids are CONSTANTLY moving their gravel around, they build big mounds. They gather a huge mouthful of gravel and spit it all out on top of their mound. They have rearranged their tank so that all of the plastic plants are in the middle and serve as a divider because they've got the tank split in two for their territories.

[FeatherLover]

I'm thinking the gravel or marble is something else...

Are you sure the fish is a male? Because it's an African cichlid (and I'm making the assumption you have more than one) and you saw a "shimmer" in its mouth, I'm thinking 'she' might be raising fry.

Many African cichlids are mouth brooders, meaning after the male fertilizes the female's eggs, she picks them up in her mouth and totes them around until they hatch. When they do hatch, she will continue to carry them around, releasing them occassionally, and scooping them back up.

As for sexing cichlids, fin spots are not always an accurate way to determine male/female, as both sexes can have fin spots (I've also heard them erroneously called "egg spots").

A tank divider is a great idea, because if the fish is brooding, the other fish won't hesitate in eating the babies.

Keep us posted.

[svolk]

Hmmm, mouth brooding might be a possibility and the females don't eat much, if at all, when carrying eggs in their mouths.

But whatever was stuck in the mouth was removed, was it indeed a marble, Valo?

[FeatherLover]

Sarah, I read right over the part about pulling the "whatever" thing out. Hmmm...

[Valo's Moirana]

the blue chiclids move the gravel around in the tank all freakin' night.... sometimes i have a hard time falling asleep with all the noise they make (and i can tell ever since Blue got sick, it's quiet ).
yes, the shiny thing got removed and it was indeed a marble stone (one of the brownish ones that are visible in the photo). i took it out with the help of a friend - please don't ask details, it still gives me the shivers
it was suggested to me to remove the marbles from the tank and replace it with smaller gravel which i might end up doing, but i want to wait a bit to make sure Blue recovers fully beforehand.

i haven't been home all day, but will check on him now and let you know how he's doing. thanks for all the great help and advice - i really apreciate it, didn't know where else to ask. please let me know if you can think of anything else.

ps: yes, the oscar is "pretty" if so to say - i honestly don't think he's that pretty (he has a long wart on his chin from moving gravel around ) but he sure is a character which makes him lovable. his name is chief which reflects his position in the tank.
pps: feather lover, i haven't attempted to sex them, and i'm not really into breeding them - with the fact that the tank is highly overpopulated (which was the previous' owners fault - don't think he ever picked up a book before populating the tank ) i'm busy keeping them alive. i'm also trying to find a good home for some of them, but it's not easy and i don't want to just give them back to the store .

[svolk]

Yes, Oscars are pretty in their own ugly way

The best advice I can give for an overpopulated tank is frequent partial water changes. Overpopulation usually causes the nitrates to be very high, but high nitrates are much more tolerable than high nitrites or ammonia. But frequent water changes can help keep the nitrate levels down a bit.

It's very easy to overpopulate a tank, I know this well

[homebird]

I have a little experience with fish but not with these types. However if one of my fish hid for long the added worry of some other skin infection would arrise. This probably because they're were already compromised & 2nd because they were closest to the ground where they are closer to the waste. I think some cleaning of the tank is a good idea [+ have you used aquarium salt? I always used it & it was very helpful for keeping the skin in good health.]

[Valo's Moirana]

i'm very picky about water changes and make sure they get done regularly and thoroughly. so, the water is fine... checked it yesterday. and i always keep it that way.

i just checked on the little guy, and he's still hanging out on the bottom underneath the wood piece. he seems to be fine, appears normal and not particularly stressed - except for the hiding. i'll let him be till tomorrow, and if doesn't pick up eating, seperate him from the rest. i guess that's all i can do for now.

thanks again for all your help!

[FeatherLover]

African cichlids are said to like sand instead of gravel, too. That may be a quieter option.

I still keep gravel in my tank, but that's another idea.

Good luck.