Pelvicachromis sp. aff. pulcher ('Sacrimontis')

[Ghazanfar Ghori]

I'm having a little trouble with these guys. The females seem to
be just fine. Eating well and everything. One male died a week
after I got him. He had lost swimming control and was laying
upside down in the tank for about half a day and then died. There
was a circular bruise type looking thing on his abdomen with a pale
interior, with red and blue rings around it. First thought was this may
be just coloration but the other side didn't have it so it must have
been some kind of injury. Maybe the other male inflicted some injury
leading to internal damage - though I didn't notice any real agression
amongst them. The other male I have is moderatly active,
and chases the females away from his territory but isn't eating at all.
He's getting hollow bellied and I don't know what to do.
I'm doing 20% water changes on that tank daily.
Tried live blackworms with no luck - females love them, but the male
just won't bite. This is my last male and I don't want to lose him. HELP!!!!

 

[Ghazanfar Ghori]

BTW..I noticed that some of the faeces is long, stringy but brownish.
Thinner than a blackworm. Internal parasite?

 

[Randall]

Ailing Pelvicachromis sacrimontis

Dear Ghazanfar,

This is a tuffy.

From your description, your first male could have sustained a physical injury that became infected bacterially. On the other hand, a circular pattern with a light interior could also be parasitic. Were his fins clamped and his breathing labored? If so, that sounds parasitic; if not, the bacterial infection option sounds more feasible.

As for your second male, the lack of appetite and long, stringy feces are consistent with intestinal protazoa. How is his coloration? If it's lost its intensity or turned blah brownish or grayish that, too, is consistent with intestinal protazoa. Please know that this condition is contagious, and the females may fall ill in time. The recommended treatment is Metronidazole.

Sorry, I can't be of more help.

Good luck!

Randall Kohn

 

[Ghazanfar Ghori]

Thanks for the reply. Breathing seems slightly labored. Fin clamped and
showing dark stressed coloration. I'll treat them all tonight. Is Metronidazole an ingredient in CLOUT?

 

[Randall]

Metronidazole

Hi Ghazanfar,

No, Clout contains an insecticide! Metronidazole is the active ingredient in the proprietary brand, Hex-A-Mit. The manufacturer recommends three doses, one-dose every other day, preceded by a water change. Carbon should be removed from the filter, and a second water change should be performed after treatment.

Good luck!

Randall Kohn

 

[Ghazanfar Ghori]

I treated the fish last night. The male was starting to look a LITTLE better
before I treated. He ate one worm. Hopfully the treatment get rid of
the parasites. Thanks for the help!

 

[Ghazanfar Ghori]

Looking much better! Eating - not as well as the others but its a start!

 

[Randall]

Pelvicachromis sacrimontis feeling better

Dear Ghazanfar,

Glad to hear that your fish is doing better. Hopefully, he will make a full recovery.

Good luck!

Randall Kohn

 

[Ghazanfar Ghori]

They spawned! Finally! Awww yeaaaaaaaaaaah!

 

[tjudy]

Cool... what do you think about the colors of those parents!!!?

 

[Ghazanfar Ghori]

Very VERY nice! Even in the dimly lit tank I have them in.
After I raise a few - I'm going to keep a pair in my planted tank.
It's gonna be NICE!

 

[Ghazanfar Ghori]

Mom 'n babies...

 

[tjudy]

The bright lateral stripes and cheek of the fish in your picture look white! Is that an effect of the camera? Are they actually more yellow?

 

[Ghazanfar Ghori]

Actually, the lateral strips are white. The face doesnt have that
much yellow on there, but quite a bit of blue. Are there color morphs
with these guys? I got these from zangfish - wild caught.

I have a pair of regular kribs that get a lot of yellow on the
body and especially the face.

 

[tjudy]

I am familiar with two color morphs of this fish. One has a yellow cheek and the other a green cheek. Neither have white stripes. Your fish is striking.

Randall... Your thoughts on this please!

 

[coenga]

Superb pic, nice fish,

bravo Ghazanfar,

Colin

 

[tjudy]

Here is a picture of mine... See the strong yellow?

 

[tjudy]

Here is my female with yellow...

 

[Ghazanfar Ghori]

Yeah mines not like that. I've got a shoplight on the tank - maybe
thats screwing the colors. I'll white balance the camera and
take another picture and see if it looks any different.

 

[Randall]

Pelvicachromis sp. aff. pulcher, aka sacrimontis

Hi Ted,

Ghazanfar, you take the most incredible photos!

As far as I understand, there are two sacrimontis color morphs. One has a red belly surrounded by yellow, and the other is more uniformly red, extending anteriorly into the throat and opercle. Kevin Thurston at Zang is or was offering the more red of the two morphs.

I don't know that the cheek/opercle coloration is so significant, other than the yellow morph tends to a more yellow coloration.

In both color morphs, I have observed a white or off white to beige stripe, situated just above the black stripe that follows the mid lateral line, extending from the eye to the upper part of the caudal peduncle. This stripping is generally more pronounced than in P. pulcher.

The most distinctive characteristic of P. sacrimontis is the blue coloration just under the eye and on the gill plate. This is not present in P. pulcher and can be used to differentiate between the two species.

What a beautiful fish.

Thanks!

Randall Kohn