My first tropheus experience started out as a nightmare. I am not new to fishkeeping, I've kept fish for longer than a lot of you have been alive!
I've been into African cichlids for about seven years now, but I have never gone through anything like this before. The sick feeling of watching fish die and not being able to stop it. I lost
six out of a colony of 20 over a two day period.
I picked the fish up on Saturday. One was dead in the bag before I got them home and the other four, I think it was, were in distress. A couple of others in other bags were a little lethargic, but the rest seemed to be okay. The first two died overnight and I had that Oh $hit feeling -- now I'm in for it. I was hoping that those losses were just the fish that were sharing the bag with the dead fish and had been in that polluted water, but to be safe I started with the Metro+ treatment and asked a friend who has been keeping tropheus for many, many years what he recommended. After describing my situation, he wasn't sure it was bloat and recommended a salt and temperature treatment which I started that day (Tuesday) and now after four days of the salt treatment, things have settled.
The fish are eating, which they weren't doing before and I haven't found any more dead bodies. I'm knocking on wood and keeping my fingers crossed that the rest are okay! I'm guessing the problem was the stress of being moved and a weak one that died in the bag and fouled the water for the rest.
The salt treatment that I'm using:
"...In these cases I used sea salt (approx 3 full teaspoons per 10g) and the temperature up to 83-84 degrees F for 3-4 days. Then I did a large water change, reduced the temp. to 82 and the salt to 2 teaspoons for another week. Then repeat this again until you are back to no salt and 78-80 F. I had more success with that method then any medication or other chemicals..."
I didn't use quite that much salt because I already have some salt in the Rift Lake buffer that I'm using. And I don't want to say not to use Metro or other medications -- I think it depends on your situation. In mine, I never saw any stringy poop or signs of bloating/swelling. There were just some that were lethargic, hiding, and had clamped fins. Others seemed perfectly fine, active and chasing each other around, but none of them had an appetite for a few days.
Addicted, I hope the worst is over for your trophs as well! Good luck.