Flowerhorn acting strange

Hi all! For the past three days my flowerhorn bubbles has been acting odd. I have had bubbles for around a year and a half and he is a short body flowerhorn. He has gone on hunger strikes before but not like this. Bubbles seems to be acting very scared right now, he is sitting in one corner, won’t go near the top of the tank, will mouth food but will spit it out (he did eat like 1 pellet but that is nothing compared to normal and that pellet was in the tank for like 10 mins and was very soft), and any sudden movement spooks him. He is still acting interactive with me but if I love to fast he gets scared. Here are some details:
Tank size: 55 gallon (I want him in bigger, just don’t have the room)
Tank inhabitants: 1 flowerhorn, 1 common pleco (a rescue, he is stunted at 10” due to being in a 20 gallon for 15 years in his previous home), 2 pictus catfish
Tank temp: 78
Water changes: 50% weekly

The only changes to his tank recently was a new heater. This new heater I have noticed wavers a bit going from 78-80 but that is the only new thing in his tank. Nothing else has changed. Bubbles has had those tankmates for a long time so I don’t think they are stressing him out.

My concern is that he seems to have a extended gut and if you have ever seen what happened to the King of DIY’s flowerhorn that is my concern with bubbles. Bubbles was a 30$ flowerhorn that I got from petco so probably doesn’t have great genetics. My current plan is to continue to closely monitor and up water-changes a bit. Any recommendations on why to do next?

 

Sounds like you are doing a great job keeping the FH. As you probably already know, they are a genetic mess, prone to various diseases.
If the FH is getting finicky, hold off feeding for a few days, then feed frozen brine or blood worms. Hope things get better soon.

 

Sounds like you are doing a great job keeping the FH. As you probably already know, they are a genetic mess, prone to various diseases.
If the FH is getting finicky, hold off feeding for a few days, then feed frozen brine or blood worms. Hope things get better soon.

I hope things get better to, he is a family favorite.

 

Usually hybrids are pretty unstable making them more susceptible to disease as mentioned above. I would agree with using a high protein food most fish can’t resist like bloodworms

 

Usually hybrids are pretty unstable making them more susceptible to disease as mentioned above. I would agree with using a high protein food most fish can’t resist like bloodworms

His normal diet consists of freeze dried jumbo krill and Hikari cichlid gold pellets but I will try blood worms (to be more exact he gets 1 price of krill which I hand feed him then he gets a handful of cichlid gold).

 

I don’t see an issue with that. I personally always feed my fish 2 different foods so I’m not missing anything in the diet. The way I see it it’s kinda like only eating Mac n cheese everyday for the rest of your life

 

Why not throw in a live grasshopper. The bug swimming on the surface might be a temptation to big for the FH to resist.

 

Why not throw in a live grasshopper. The bug swimming on the surface might be a temptation to big for the FH to resist.

Bubbles eats the spiders I find around my home regularly, I do have geckos so I could give him a cricket.

 

Bubbles seems to be acting very scared right now, he is sitting in one corner, won’t go near the top of the tank, will mouth food but will spit it out (he did eat like 1 pellet but that is nothing compared to normal and that pellet was in the tank for like 10 mins and was very soft), and any sudden movement spooks him. He is still acting interactive with me but if I love to fast he gets scared.

if there's nothing new in tank, is there anything new in the room he is in? Some fish are imo as smart as dogs and can have good eye sight.

Any new decor or wall hanging? other pets? new people?

 

I threw in about a dozen grasshoppers into my African Cichlid tank this morning. They don't have a chance to swim very long.

 

if there's nothing new in tank, is there anything new in the room he is in? Some fish are imo as smart as dogs and can have good eye sight.

Any new decor or wall hanging? other pets? new people?

Nothing new in the room, however my neighbors got a new rooster that has been crowing his head off. I wouldn't think that would bother him though.

 

Quick update: I’m getting more and more worried. This morning he is acting more lethargic (watching me but not really following my finger like normal), he looks a bit bloated and I can see his anal tube (looks like it dropped like cichlids sometimes do when breeding, but I don’t have any other flowerhorns with him). I still plan to continue fasting, he still looks (color wise and bump in his head wide) perfectly fine. He just looks bloated, acting lethargic, and generally seems off.

 

Quick update: I’m getting more and more worried. This morning he is acting more lethargic (watching me but not really following my finger like normal), he looks a bit bloated and I can see his anal tube (looks like it dropped like cichlids sometimes do when breeding, but I don’t have any other flowerhorns with him). I still plan to continue fasting, he still looks (color wise and bump in his head wide) perfectly fine. He just looks bloated, acting lethargic, and generally seems off.

Do you see any pineconing? (Scales poking outwards)

 

Do you see any pineconing? (Scales poking outwards)

No and actually after waking up a bit he seems better, he actually ate some pellets this morning!

 

Here is a photo, he still looks fine and is acting normal today (right now), still worried though.

 

Here is a photo, he still looks fine and is acting normal today (right now), still worried though.View attachment 684066

Yeah he’s defiantly looks a little bloated, happy to hear he’s taking to food again

 

Yeah he’s defiantly looks a little bloated, happy to hear he’s taking to food again

My concern is him getting worse. He has always been a little chubby (my guess is an extended gut/stomach) but he seems a lot worse today and am worried this is the start of a quick decline. I’m trying not to get to hyped up and am trying to remain calm he is just one of my favorite fish. Of course this also could just be a cichlid being moody, Flowerhorns are just so unpredictable.

EDIT: BTW I am very careful not to over feed.