Hi everyone,
I would be so thankful for your help, as I'm at the end of my wits. I have been reading up a lot already what it could be, currently my bet would be internal parasites (flagellates), but no other fish show these symptoms. I also wonder if it could have been a trauma by swimming against something, but no signs to be seen. So I have not yet quarantined the fish, he shows zero signs of anything contagious or stress from tank mates, and I don't want to stress him out by chasing and separating him.
Attached pictures/videos:
- the one on the sand is the day before the symptoms started
- the ones up on the tree stump are from 24.09. with symptoms
Which animal is affected? Species, sex, age? (If age unknown: How long have you had the fish?)
Apistogramma agassizii, male, age unknown (bought him 3 weeks ago)
What are the symptoms? Any changes in look, behaviour, bearing, buoyancy, fecies?
It started with him suddenly being pretty inactive, just swimming on the bottom in one spot (but not hiding!). I also saw him scratching his side against a stone the day it started, but this was the only time I saw this behaviour. But at the same time one of my boraras also showd this scratching behaviour, just once. Haven't seen any fish doing it since then.
Later that day he was suddenly nowhere to be seen (he usually swims curiously in the front of the tank and explores). Only on the next day he showed up with his normal posture and coloring, and disappeared again. Over the next 4 days he's been disappearing, then showing up again.
When he shows up, he also stays outside for hours, just swimming in one spot or sometimes resting a little on what's beneath him, with normal posture and normal coloring. He not only stays like this on the bottom of the tank, but also on higher spots. Only in one occasion i saw him swimming a little back and forth, like something was bothering him, but then he just continued to swim in one spot.
I did not see him eating since this behavior started. Yesterday I could see some transparent very thin string of poop hanging out.
One of the females is still trying to mate with him, she swims belly-first to him, but he ignores her and she leaves him alone afterwards, so no chasing. He also ignores the dither fish if they come up closer to him.
How long has the problem been going on? (Timeline?)
04.09. bought the male, normal active behaviour
21.09. Start of inactive behaviour, up until today
22.09. water tests & water change (approx. 30%)
25.09. started to very slowly raise the aquarium temperature and drench some food in fresh garlic, in case it's some internal parasite (flagellates?)
What's the full stocking list?
1x A. agassizii male
2x A. agassizii female
7x Boraras merah
20x Hyphessobrycon amandae
10x Nannostomus eques
...and some snails
Any changes in the behaviour of the other fish?
Only on the day his symptoms started, just a small thing: Around the same time the agassizii male rubbed his side against a stone, one of my boraras also did this. Haven't seen any fish doing it since then.
Besides that, all other fish have been showing no symptoms. They are eating well, normal posture and colors, curious behaviour.
What size is the tank? (Preferrably dimensions, not volume!)
90 x 60 x 40 cm (= 35 x 23 x 16 in )
How long is the tank running?
Approx. 2 years
Have there been any changes in the past 2 months? New animals, plants, decoration?
04.09.26 - got the group of A. agassizii (1 "female" turned out to be a male)
15.06.26 - water change, approx. 50%
16.09.26 - rehomed the "fake female" agassizii
16.09.26 - new fish: 1x A. agassizii female, 20x Hyphessobrycon amandae, 10x Nannostomus eques
20.09.26 - added 3 small black alder tree cones (I collected them in a forest nearby, they were completely dry and collected from the tree, not the floor)
(21.09. Start of inactive behaviour, up until today)
22.09.26 - water change, approx. 30%
What food are the fish fed? How much, how often?
Dr. Bassleer Cavar - (every 2 days alternating, just a very very tiny amount)
Streambiz Artemia Paste - (every 2 days alternating, 1/3 of a pea size)
Dupla Gel-o-juice Special Mix (Artemia, Krill, Mysis) - (1-2x daily, 2-3 drops)
Oase Organix Daily Flakes - (1-2 days per week, alternating with the other foods)
What is the temperature?
Until 24.09.: 24° Celsius (=43,2 Fahrenheit)
Starting at 25.09.: Very slowly raising the temperature, currently 26,5°C (47,7F)
(end goal is 28°C, I read it helps in case of internal parasites)
What are the water parameters? (Please note all known tank and source water parameters in numbers! Not "good", "optimal" or "perfect"!)
pH: 7,2
GH: 12
KH: 5,5
EC/TDS: ?
NO3: ?
NO2: 0,025-0,05
NH3/4: 0
What test kit did you use? (liquid, strips, store service?)
JBL liquid test kit
Are you using water conditioners or any other additives? (e.g. dechlorinators, humic/blackwater extracts, fertilizers)
Fertilizers, already using them since months:
Masterline I & II, approx. 6ml every other day
Cattapa leaves (2 medium sized ones, added more today, probably 4x medium size)
6x black alder tree cones
What filter are you using? (Canister, sponge, internal, mattenfilter?)
Oase Biomaster 350, external canister filter
What's the maintenance regimen? (Waterchange volume and frequency, thorough cleaning of filters/substrate?)
water changes: 1x weekly, 30-50%
cleaning of filters: every few months when the flow is getting weaker
substrate cleaning: just lightly every 3-4 weeks with a water change
Have there been any chemicals used around the tank? (Cleaning agents, room sprays, wall paint, adhesives...)
no
Have there been any pesticides, fungicides or herbicides used around the tank?
no
Are there any unknown animals in the tank?
no
What has been done already? (Timeline!)
22.09.26 - water tests & water change (approx. 30%)
25.09.26 - added 6x black alder tree cones
25.09.26 - drenched some fish food in fresh garlic (male still didn't eat), I read it could get him to eat again and also help against internal parasites
25.09.26 - started to slowly raise the tank temperature, I heard that harms parasites but not the fish (from 24° Celsius (=43,2F), end goal 28°C = 82,4F)
26.09.26 - added 4x medium sized cattapa leaves
If so, what meds have been used? (Timeline!)
-
I'll be very glad if anyone can help me out, I'm very fond of these fish and really hope the male will make it.
Thank you!
- Pia
I would be so thankful for your help, as I'm at the end of my wits. I have been reading up a lot already what it could be, currently my bet would be internal parasites (flagellates), but no other fish show these symptoms. I also wonder if it could have been a trauma by swimming against something, but no signs to be seen. So I have not yet quarantined the fish, he shows zero signs of anything contagious or stress from tank mates, and I don't want to stress him out by chasing and separating him.
Attached pictures/videos:
- the one on the sand is the day before the symptoms started
- the ones up on the tree stump are from 24.09. with symptoms
Which animal is affected? Species, sex, age? (If age unknown: How long have you had the fish?)
Apistogramma agassizii, male, age unknown (bought him 3 weeks ago)
What are the symptoms? Any changes in look, behaviour, bearing, buoyancy, fecies?
It started with him suddenly being pretty inactive, just swimming on the bottom in one spot (but not hiding!). I also saw him scratching his side against a stone the day it started, but this was the only time I saw this behaviour. But at the same time one of my boraras also showd this scratching behaviour, just once. Haven't seen any fish doing it since then.
Later that day he was suddenly nowhere to be seen (he usually swims curiously in the front of the tank and explores). Only on the next day he showed up with his normal posture and coloring, and disappeared again. Over the next 4 days he's been disappearing, then showing up again.
When he shows up, he also stays outside for hours, just swimming in one spot or sometimes resting a little on what's beneath him, with normal posture and normal coloring. He not only stays like this on the bottom of the tank, but also on higher spots. Only in one occasion i saw him swimming a little back and forth, like something was bothering him, but then he just continued to swim in one spot.
I did not see him eating since this behavior started. Yesterday I could see some transparent very thin string of poop hanging out.
One of the females is still trying to mate with him, she swims belly-first to him, but he ignores her and she leaves him alone afterwards, so no chasing. He also ignores the dither fish if they come up closer to him.
How long has the problem been going on? (Timeline?)
04.09. bought the male, normal active behaviour
21.09. Start of inactive behaviour, up until today
22.09. water tests & water change (approx. 30%)
25.09. started to very slowly raise the aquarium temperature and drench some food in fresh garlic, in case it's some internal parasite (flagellates?)
What's the full stocking list?
1x A. agassizii male
2x A. agassizii female
7x Boraras merah
20x Hyphessobrycon amandae
10x Nannostomus eques
...and some snails
Any changes in the behaviour of the other fish?
Only on the day his symptoms started, just a small thing: Around the same time the agassizii male rubbed his side against a stone, one of my boraras also did this. Haven't seen any fish doing it since then.
Besides that, all other fish have been showing no symptoms. They are eating well, normal posture and colors, curious behaviour.
What size is the tank? (Preferrably dimensions, not volume!)
90 x 60 x 40 cm (= 35 x 23 x 16 in )
How long is the tank running?
Approx. 2 years
Have there been any changes in the past 2 months? New animals, plants, decoration?
04.09.26 - got the group of A. agassizii (1 "female" turned out to be a male)
15.06.26 - water change, approx. 50%
16.09.26 - rehomed the "fake female" agassizii
16.09.26 - new fish: 1x A. agassizii female, 20x Hyphessobrycon amandae, 10x Nannostomus eques
20.09.26 - added 3 small black alder tree cones (I collected them in a forest nearby, they were completely dry and collected from the tree, not the floor)
(21.09. Start of inactive behaviour, up until today)
22.09.26 - water change, approx. 30%
What food are the fish fed? How much, how often?
Dr. Bassleer Cavar - (every 2 days alternating, just a very very tiny amount)
Streambiz Artemia Paste - (every 2 days alternating, 1/3 of a pea size)
Dupla Gel-o-juice Special Mix (Artemia, Krill, Mysis) - (1-2x daily, 2-3 drops)
Oase Organix Daily Flakes - (1-2 days per week, alternating with the other foods)
What is the temperature?
Until 24.09.: 24° Celsius (=43,2 Fahrenheit)
Starting at 25.09.: Very slowly raising the temperature, currently 26,5°C (47,7F)
(end goal is 28°C, I read it helps in case of internal parasites)
What are the water parameters? (Please note all known tank and source water parameters in numbers! Not "good", "optimal" or "perfect"!)
pH: 7,2
GH: 12
KH: 5,5
EC/TDS: ?
NO3: ?
NO2: 0,025-0,05
NH3/4: 0
What test kit did you use? (liquid, strips, store service?)
JBL liquid test kit
Are you using water conditioners or any other additives? (e.g. dechlorinators, humic/blackwater extracts, fertilizers)
Fertilizers, already using them since months:
Masterline I & II, approx. 6ml every other day
Cattapa leaves (2 medium sized ones, added more today, probably 4x medium size)
6x black alder tree cones
What filter are you using? (Canister, sponge, internal, mattenfilter?)
Oase Biomaster 350, external canister filter
What's the maintenance regimen? (Waterchange volume and frequency, thorough cleaning of filters/substrate?)
water changes: 1x weekly, 30-50%
cleaning of filters: every few months when the flow is getting weaker
substrate cleaning: just lightly every 3-4 weeks with a water change
Have there been any chemicals used around the tank? (Cleaning agents, room sprays, wall paint, adhesives...)
no
Have there been any pesticides, fungicides or herbicides used around the tank?
no
Are there any unknown animals in the tank?
no
What has been done already? (Timeline!)
22.09.26 - water tests & water change (approx. 30%)
25.09.26 - added 6x black alder tree cones
25.09.26 - drenched some fish food in fresh garlic (male still didn't eat), I read it could get him to eat again and also help against internal parasites
25.09.26 - started to slowly raise the tank temperature, I heard that harms parasites but not the fish (from 24° Celsius (=43,2F), end goal 28°C = 82,4F)
26.09.26 - added 4x medium sized cattapa leaves
If so, what meds have been used? (Timeline!)
-
I'll be very glad if anyone can help me out, I'm very fond of these fish and really hope the male will make it.
Thank you!
- Pia
