Unfortunately, most commercially purchased butterfly cichlids die a few weeks after purchase or after spawning a few times. If there are any symptoms at all, they usually point to bacterial infections. Symptoms are for example:
- pop eyes
- darkening
- indifference
- reluctance to eat
- White mass, possibly cartilage, swells out of holes
- The animals stand motionless under the water surface or above the ground
photos
Photos: Jenni Daus
Photo: Nico Holder
Typical symptoms of disease in butterfly cichlids.
Photo: Neele Goetsch
Butterfly cichlid female with typical symptoms. It started with loss of appetite and the stool became colorless and slimy. The animal has not grown for weeks.
After treatment against intestinal flagellates, the female ate for 3 to 4 weeks, but still did not gain weight. Then it started again with loss of appetite. The female eventually had to be killed.
Description
It is often assumed that butterfly cichlids are already infected with tuberculosis during breeding and trade. However, tuberculosis is almost always blamed for bacterial infections that are not exactly known. Tuberculosis bacteria are often found in examinations on healthy or diseased fish, even when completely different diseases are acute.
Another assumption is that high levels of antibiotics are constantly being added during breeding. The animals are then, with practically no immune system in their home aquarium, susceptible to the first infection that comes along. If you look at how many butterfly cichlids are on the market today, it wouldn’t be surprising if mass breeding was only possible with antibiotics.
However, it should also not be forgotten that butterfly cichlids used to be considered difficult fish that are very sensitive to stress, water changes, inappropriate water parameters and medication.
Butterfly cichlids should therefore only be bought from private breeders who will disclose their breeding and keeping conditions. At least in the beginning they should be kept as a single pair in the largest possible aquarium without any companion fish. Appropriate water values etc. are absolute prerequisites.
In the case of animals that are already ill, experience has shown that the death can at most be delayed a little by giving relatively strong anti-infectious drugs. On the open market, the strongest agent is nifurpirinol. Almost all manufacturers have remedies with this active ingredient on offer. Otherwise, antibiotics prescribed by the veterinarian will help at most. However, these remedies usually do not help at all, or only for a short time.