Nymphomaniac Nijsseni

[The reginator]

My male Honsloi is looking sad, has lost most of his colour, fins and tail clamped and is eating very little. He also rubs his belly on stones sometimes. I've had a good long look at his gills and belly with a magnifying glass and a hand microscope and can see nothing out of the ordinary. Until recently this fish was undisputed king of my community tank, until my over-sexed female nijsseni harassed her (second) partner to death, and started tring to "entice" the honsloi. I am reasonably certain that she's the cause of the honsloi's problems, but is there any way to control her other than to start yet another tank to stick her in? She's harassed 2 males to death with her demands, and now is larger than any males of her species I can find to buy here (basque country, northern spain) and I'm fairly sure a smaller male would go the same way as the previous two....

 

[fishgeek]

if he is rubbing near the vent i would be concerned with nematodes/cestodes or protozoa
have you seen him pass feaces
place him in a floating chamber/jug if yu cant watch and at least anything he pass's will be collected for inspection

andrew

 

[The reginator]

he's not rubbing near the vent, more mid-way between vent & gills, and not very often. I recently treated the tank with faunamor to deal with a fungal infection that was affecting about a third of the fish, and for about a month all was well. Then the nijsseni killed her partner and the honsloi started going downhill....

 

[Mike Wise]

Macmasteri-group species, like A. hongsloi, have a reputation for not handling medications well. Extensive fungal problems in a community tank is most common when water conditions are not up to par. Small water changes, several days in a row, probably will be helpful.