paralazed cichlid?

[jeff]

just got a new tank, im not that knowagable about cichlids. but it appears that this fish is paralazed. it wont move its bottom half of its body. its seems to be dragging its back fin. any help would be appreciated
thanks jeff

[aharris]

Did you buy the tank and add the fish or did you get an established tank? What kind of fish is it besides just a cichlid?

[jeff]

i let the tank cycle but didnt put any starter fish in the tank. i started with 4 african cichlids. the 1 that is dragging its tail is a orange african cichlid, about an inch to an inch and a half long, slim body type. the other 3 are doing fine. the tank is about a month and a half, maybe 2 months old

[aharris]

Have you tested your water parameters? If you let the tank run without any fish or any source of ammonia, you may still be cycling the tank, and have a build up of bad things in the water that may be causing the problem. Also, when you say slim body type, is the fish emaciated or just naturally that way? It would help if you knew what species your fish is.

[merlyn2221]

A fish that is "paralyzed" in any way, is certainly in distress.

Do what aharris suggested and get readings on the pH, nitrites, nitrates, ammonia, hardness, etc. Tell us more about the setup too: what size tank, what kind of filters, substrate, food, etc. All these are helpful in diagnosis. If you can take pictures of the fish, or look in the gallery here, to see what fish yours looks like, it would also be helpful.
Here is a link to the gallery:
http://www.cichlidgallery.com/index.php

Look through the different albums to see if you can find a fish similar to the one you have, then get back to us.