AboutRon Coleman Expertise I am an expert on cichlid fishes, particularly New World cichlids. My broader expertise includes the behavior, ecology and reproduction of fishes in general. (I am NOT an expert on Goldfish). Please do not use abbreviations, such as "my GT has a swollen eye" because I don't know what a "GT" is. The more clearly you can explain your question, the better chance I have of understanding what it is that you seek. I keep fishes both as a scientist and as a hobbyist and I currently maintain about 140 aquariums.
Experience I am an Assistant Professor at the California State University, Sacramento in the Department of Biological Sciences, and I run a website, called the Cichlid Research Home Page . I also write for many popular aquarist magazines, and I am editor of Cichlid News magazine. I am a scientist and I spend my time teaching fish biology, ecology, behavior and evolution and doing research on the reproductive biology of fishes, particularly cichlids. I do research in the laboratory and in Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Mexico. My main interest is understanding the evolution of parental care in fishes. I am interested in encouraging greater public awareness, understanding and participation in science.
Publications Cichlid News, Tropical Fish Hobbyist, Freshwater and Marine Aquarium, Science, Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology, Copeia, Canadian Journal of Zoology, Trends in Ecology and Evolution, AUK, Environmental Biology of Fishes
Question I have a pair of Dempseys. I have had them about 2 years now and this is their 2nd batch of babies. About a week ago, I noticed one of the Dempseys, I think the male, attacked the female and she had quit a bit of missing skin and cuts and missing fin patches. I seperated them and the injured one is the only one in the tank with the fry. I thought she would heal by herself and be ok since the damage didn't look to be too extreme so I didnt take any action also concering any meds would hurt the fry. now, she is doing very bad and the wound almost covers her whole left side. It is open and all the skin keeps falling off more and more. It is dwon to the meat and muscles. It is really red in some sopts and has like little bubbles maybe puss or something all over it. she is barely swimming around and only floats on her side with the wound facing up. I think it is definatly infected badly but i dont what i should do with her. What kind of medicine can i buy? Would it hurt the remaining fry? Do I have enough time to save her? From start to finish, she has been injured about 7 to 8 days and within the last few days, she has rapidly started getting worse. I also noticed the other side of her is starting to get small areas of skin falling off. i dont know if this was just prior injuries or if it is resulting because of the deep wound on the other side. The wound kind of looks like red hamburger or torn muscles. It is really bad so please help me save my poor fish. thank you
Answer Hi Brittney,
I am sorry for the delay in responding -- I am actually in the middle of the rainforest in Costa Rica right now and email is a little sporadic.
You need to separate her from the kids. Believe it or not the kids can cause additional damage by pecking at the wounds. As far as medicines, the most important thing is to watch for fungus growing on the wounds and treat that with an antifungal medication. Keep in mind that cichlids are tough fish and can sometimes recover from some truly horrific wounds.
-- Ron
rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
Cichlid Research Home Page <http://cichlidresearch.com>
