# What's Up With My Tropheus?



## dynamite07 (Oct 16, 2010)

First time in this position since owning these species. Have some Tropheus Brichardi. I don't know what's up with one. It just swims around with its gills open much bigger than the rest. I don't think she's holding but I've only experienced fish holding once (Lake Malawi). I read that most fish from Lake Malawi are more easy to tell if they're holding compared to these guys. I hope it's not bloat but I think Tropheus this size are too small to hold? I'm not sure. Hopefully it didn't choke on anything or something like that! Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. 


Thank you,


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## gucci17 (Oct 11, 2007)

Hey buddy, to me it doesn't look like it's holding. Plus the fact that it looks really young. It looks more like some sort of gill infection? Gill flukes maybe? I'm not really sure to be honest. Hopefully someone with more experience with fish diseases can chime in.

Have you tried scooping her out and checking if there's anything lodged in it's mouth?

sorry I couldn't be of much help.


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## dynamite07 (Oct 16, 2010)

No worries. I grabbed her out last night and took a look. Didn't find anything unusual. Also today she was fine until I fed the group. She was breathing heavily and I noticed a male is chasing her as well. Right now she's swimming normally. Initially I figured she's way too young to be holding as well. I'll keep an eye on her and see what happens. I'll do a 50% water change as well. Not sure what else to do. 

Thanks for the feedback!


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## Darkside (Sep 14, 2009)

Definitely looks like some sort of gill irritation. How long have you had these fish?


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## SAMhap (Jun 20, 2010)

i think bloat.


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## TBemba (Jan 11, 2010)

SAMhap said:


> i think bloat.


Nope bloat is when they have extended bellies and will take them out pretty quick. It is something to do with gill fluke or some other gill irritation. I would quarantine that one and watch the other ones closely.


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## dynamite07 (Oct 16, 2010)

Thanks for the replies. I've only had them for about 3 weeks now. What should I use to fix this? I got metro on hand...Wonder how this came about?


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## gjj25 (Jan 25, 2011)

hey man,
it does look like a gill infection on her. its could just be an internal disease. and all u would need is some pemaflix or melafix... i use melafix.. and some serious water changes.. almost everyday. but i would first take her out and keep her isolated.. stuff like this usually spreads.. if u think others are bullying her.. its cause in the whole tropheus line.. when a fish is sick.. the other tank mates tend to beat up the sick ones so as to shun them out or chase them away.. 

one thing to note when treating tropheus is treat for 3 days and then dont treat for 3 days.. it really does help... you can even go with treatment for 5 days and off for 3... just as to not stress the fish out.. 

I hope this helps.. and good luck with it. 

Gary


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## joey 1967 (Feb 14, 2010)

Heres a great site with lots of info.....Trophs.com


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## dynamite07 (Oct 16, 2010)

Hey Gary thanks for the tips. On day 7 I just realized I think this was the fish that got sucked up during a water change. I ran to the sink and reversed the flow and it spit her back out. These damn fish are curious. They don't care! Maybe that damged her? I'm not sure because she was eating fine until about last Sunday. That's when I noticed the gills. 
Last night I did a 40% water change anyway and I added prazi pro. I forgot I had this. I'm hoping this med is ok. I'll give it 3 days and if I see no improvement I'll grab some melafix. I also added 4 teaspoons of epsom salt. I read online this works as well. We'll see...I have a 10 gallon I can seperate her in. I was worried that once seperated and reintroduced she'll get chased even more than right now. I remember a male chasing her since day 2 so it's difficult for me to say. 

Thanks for the site Joey I'll check it out. Much appreciated guys!


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