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The Abandoned Cichlid

4K views 17 replies 7 participants last post by  Frosty Fisher 
#1 · (Edited)
On our way home from picking up my cousin from school yesterday, we had stopped at Petco to get some new beds for my ferrets. Ended up walking by the fish, because I always have to look, and their aquatics employee asked me if I was getting any fish today. I replied "Nope! Maybe if I find some nice Mara Points, but I don't think so." He ended up asking me about my tanks. I told him I had about a dozen, including a 55 gallon with some peacocks in there....I swear I saw that lightbulb appear above his head. lol

Apparently, some jerk had just dumped off some random cichlid and left it there, no note or anything, no reason. He thought it was a peacock or a hybrid...Of course I couldn't leave him there. Had some interested persons, two of which were on their way to get him for their new ten gallon tank. I heard them say that on my way out, so it wasn't a ruse to get him a better home. So, this lucky little fella...who is about eight inches long at the moment, is currently relaxing in my 30 gallon as a QT. Biggest tank I have to quarantine, and it's a little small. He's happier though.

Turns out, by the way, he's a vc10 Hap(super?). Or so I was told on a cichlid forum I like to frequent on facebook...he sure looks it.
He'll have a home with me for as long as he lives. He was very dull and depressed, but he's getting in some lovely red and blue colorings. He wont eat though, and they said he hadn't since he's been there(four days). I offered some plankton and he's just ignoring everything as if he can't see it. I hope he'll perk up and take food. =( I feel really bad for him. Fish are just as loved here as any other pet...seeing one just dumped is like a dog lover seeing someone toss a dog out and abandon it at a random pet shop.

The photos are screencaps from a video I took of him, he's not a fan of the camera, and my camera is broken, so by the time it clicks he's usually gone or moving. He's not quite as bright as he looks in the first one(well he wasn't yesterday, he is today, actually), bit of a light issue with my camera, the second one is about right. He does get brighter when he flares.
 

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#3 ·
He doesn't seem to be interested in food at all. Not used to that even with stressed cichlids, but then what do I know? Only been keeping them about a year and a half. But even the peacocks shipped here from across the states were happy to eat immediately. lol
I assume it's just stress, and he's a good weight so he can probably go a while without eating. I've offered veggie and spirulina flakes(good ones) in case he was fed flakes, and frozen plankton in case he's used to that(the guy at the shop said he offered small live fish, but he wouldn't touch them). Sucked it out in the end. He did bite at my anubias a bit...

Any food suggestions for me? I'll probably not offer him anything again until later today, I don't want to foul up his water since even sucking it out, I do leave it sit for a few minutes and skitter off so he isn't bothered by my presence. If push comes to shove, I suppose I can offer some marbled crayfish babies...I'd rather not do any live feeding though. Makes me sad, so I hope he's not used to such things. x.x
 
#4 ·
Not sure because I don't keep cichlids but have you tried shrimp? Old Fish Lady shared a great fish recipe that I used to make occasionally that consisted of raw shrimp, blanched spinach, fresh garlic all mashed into a paste and frozen.

Maybe you could try something like that? Or cichlid pellets soaked for a few minutes in a bit of tank water and garlic?

You're right that he looks like he's been eating pretty well prior to being dumped off so maybe he just needs some time to de-stress?
 
#5 ·
Those sound interesting. Minus the spinach, but I can get Kale. I like making some homemade goodies with fresh stuff. Little touchy on spinach because the calcium usually doesn't absorb right, but the garlic is a nice attractant, and over time helps fight some parasites too. They're omnivores that lean more towards carnivore, from what I've been reading, so if he perks up and doesn't have any nasties, he'll like the peacock diet I have my kiddies on.
 
#6 · (Edited)
He's already looking better today. He did take a bite of some food I put in, but spat it out and otherwise shows zero interest in anything but me. =/ Well, tomorrow is another day! I have a feeling he may have been fed on shrimp and stuff, as he seems to actively hunt the bottom in search mode.

Accidental flash on one shot so I darkened it a bit. x.x He didn't care, thankfully.
 

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#7 ·
That was a great find for you and great help for the fish to get a good home. He is a great looking fish congrats.

On the eating it could be he isn't used to your food or just stress. Most of the cichilds I have keep alone took longer to get to eat well then those keep in groups.

I always keep my eyes open for finds like that but they don't happen often. I did find a nice convict at the LFS a few weeks ago but he died after a week, that was hard on us be would do it again.
 
#8 ·
Nice save! He's a beautiful fish. Just give him some time to settle in. He'll eat eventually. When I first got my Polleni she didn't eat for I swear almost a month. She's a real piggie now. Good luck with your fish. What tank will he be going in?
 
#9 ·
In a couple months he'll be going in a 55 gallon with my 11 peacocks(got some OB peacock fry, but they wont be in there for a long time yet). I don't have any other haps(in fact he's the only one I've ever seen before), but I hear they get along. It'll really depend a lot on him. I'd give him a buddy, but 1: He's in quarantine, and 2: It's too small in there for him in a thirty gallon already, and 3: My peacocks are much smaller right now, but they're growing fast. He doesn't seem aggressive(there were some fry I missed in the QT he paid attention to, but didn't go for...which means nothing since I just got him).

I believe I got him to eat some carnivore mix, which is frozen mysis, bloodworms and brine shrimp. Could be wrong, he wont eat if you're around, he just comes to watch you after he's done fleeing. He's quite shy. I had put in a couple small marbled crayfish to clean up what he didn't eat...or to be food in case he was fed live(hate doing that, but far as I know he hasn't eaten in a week, more if his previous owners didn't feed him. He looks good, but he could have been obese for all know). I believe he ate them, but they could be hiding in the decorations.

I've ordered in some Metronidazole so I can safely deworm him, just to be safe. I ran out after my AC's and peacocks got dewormed.
 
#10 ·
Finally got him to eat a proper meal! Sorta...turns out he is used to pellets, but the only pellets I have are for my herbivores(spirulina pellets) and they're kind of an acquired taste...he spat them out, but he DID go for them with a passion...so I dropped in some earthworm flakes after a pellet got spat, he decided it tasted delicious and tracked down the rest and ate it. =) One problem down, two to go...waiting for my meds still, and also: Everyone is fighting over him, he's become a bit of a star in the house. Name-war has started. Got Hank, George, Kool-Aid(kids), Oscar is taken, Archer, Anders, Dallas, Tobias, Mochi and Dio....among other names. o-o He's popular.
 
#11 · (Edited)
After doing some reading on the Placidochromis Milomo(Super vc10 Hap), I'm finding he may be a little difficult. He's actually kinda aggressive with other fish(I put my largest, and most docile female in with him to see if he'd perk up. Was my four inch female Kenyi who I thought might be able to handle the 8 inch, seemingly shy boy...well he perked the heck up and tried to breed, she ignored him so he attacked her. Wasn't hurt, I removed her quickly, but she was angry for sure lol), not sure I'll put him with my peacocks...so I'm trying to find a nice affordable 50-55 gallon tank, and some females for him. Males prefer the life of a single fish...unless females are involved. I can't find any though. =( I found one on ebay selling vc10 fry, but they're slow growers from what I hear, and he's about 8 inches long, and they're not gendered yet. x.x

Anyways, he's eating better now, sorta...he's really picky and still very shy of people unless you're holding still. Trying to deworm him is a nightmare! I don't know if he has any or not, but I like to be safe over sorry like I was with my Mbuna. lol

If he ends up being aggressive, well...I guess that'll tell us why he got dumped when he's such a beauty, and obviously expensive and RARE from what I can tell.
 
#12 ·
Ah, Jake...I love this fish. Soon after posting he got his name, and he eats like a pig now. Likely due to adding in a girl temporarily for him, that seemed to perk him up even after her removal.
I put food in, he eats it. He's gained his weight and colors back, and has one heck of an attitude. He loves when you come talk to him. Ignores you unless you are talking, which makes me feel like a dork, but hey...I talk to my ferrets and cat, so why not? lol

Still working out the kinks in my new camera, I can't seem to get it angled right for a good shot of him, but here's one before my last camera did a full crash. ^^;
 

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#14 ·
He looks great, To confirm 100% it is a VC10, I had four. I would actually seriously look at a 75-90g tank if you want to keep more than one. They grow up to about 10" and are very messy eaters.
I had 4 in a 90g tank and that was pushing it once they got large, I ended up with them all fully grown in a 180g.

Great find though :)
 
#15 ·
No intentions for others right now..I was thinking about it, but they're VERY hard to find, and the ONE person I found selling some was expensive, and only had youngsters he'd kill.

I think he just needed a reason to defend his new area to get back into the swing of things. I was aiming for a companion for him, not a threat. lol Full 180 for him though, he's been happy and normal for a while. I thought he was just picky, but he's not at all. And we did keep his lights out for a while, I think he went a good two weeks without eating much though. Scary time, I thought for sure he'd die not knowing how long it'd been since his last meal before I got him.

And wow, I know they get about as large as some Oscars. My initial plan was to keep him with my peacocks in the 55 gallon, and then I read how big they actually get and how aggressive they can be(unlike most cichlids like them, they prefer to be alone and roam)...I'm either going to have to find someone who CAN keep him, which will break my heart, or wait until my brother and his girlfriend move out again and reclaim the basement room for a 125+ gallon tank to move my groups to(I'll be making a contract this time, it was given to me, but I was forced out by an obnoxious brother), and let him have the 55 to himself. Might be a bit tight for him even alone though, what do you think?

Thankfully they're slow growers, so for now he fits in his 30 gallon. I know that won't last long slow grower or not though, so by end of year, if things don't work out, I may be finding him a home in the Spring.
 
#16 · (Edited)
I regret to inform you all that Jake has passed away. Seems the heater malfunctioned. I can't see WHERE, just that it wouldn't shut off and was buzzing/blinking when I brought up some food for him and he was gone. All was well just a few hours prior to that, his temp had gone from 75 to over 110F(high as my singing thermometer goes). Poor Jake. I buried him under the lilac bushes.

I had intended to "try" and integrate him in with my peacocks later once they were his size, or at least all adults since I did finally get a proper measurement on him and he was just over eight inches. My hope was that him alone in a new place with several large fish would deter his aggression a bit and he'd be happy. If not, I was debating on getting him some girls and/or a huge tank all his own. So many huge plans for him, his life shouldn't have ended that way.

Poor Jake. SIP buddy, I'm sorry I screwed up!


Sylverclaws here, seems my email was deemed invalid...it's likely the one that got hacked several years ago and I can't get my password changed. Apologies for the confusion.
 
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