Partial paralysis in female Lion's Cove cichlid

Hi all, I finally decided that our fish actually has a problem. I purchased these fish at the "Big Auction" last month and recently noticed that the female of the pair swims sorta funny. Didn't think much about it but after talking the previous owner, now I do believe there is a problem. She swims "strange" like her caudal fin is sorta stuck. I looked up an affliction called "Partial Cichlid Paralysis" and believe this is what is wrong with our fish now. Does anyone have any insight to this condition? The tank is a 75 gallon, lightly stocked, perfect Malawai cichlid water parameters, so environmental concerns is not a problem. We sure hate to loose this great looking fish.

Dennis

Ive never dealt with that one but have seen some thought on it. One is that the fish is eggbound and that a treatment of Epsom salt at One Tablespoon per Five gallons should help with the situation. Just one possibility, Info here: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

I've never heard of this either. The readings I see point to possible injury...the eggbound syndrome...and water parameter issues. Did the previous owner have any input ... possibly there was a potential injury at auction time. The auction is a long day and I'm sure pretty stressful for the fish as they sit on those tables for a lengthy amount of time. I always feel sorry for them.

I am sorry to hear you might lose her. These are great fish. If things go that way Dennis I have seven adult females so I would be willing to share one with you to complete your pair again if you need another female.

Did a little more research on egg bound as that is new to me also.  Here's what I found:

EGG BINDING
Symptom: The fish is severly bloated in the belly only (not the whole body). The fish may also be lethargic, exhibit rapid breathing and have a loss of appetite.
Egg binding can occur in freshwater fish during their spawning cycle. If a fish can not find a suitable mate, has been fed a poor diet, or if the tank or water conditions of the aquarium are not ideal for spawning, a fish may not be able to release its eggs.
Treatment: There is no medical treatment for egg binding. The only treatment for this is to let the eggs be naturally absorbed into the fish's body.This process can be aided with Epsom Salt soaks. Siphon a bucket of tank water and mix in one slightly rounded tablespoon of Epsom Salt for every gallon of water. Add an airstone, place the fish in the water, cover the bucket and allow the fish a 15 - minute soak. Repeat this treatment daily until the fish begins to recover.

and another article that points to too much protein in the diet contributing to eggbound fish
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Unless you are seeing swelling around the vent the eggbound thing might not be the cause of the paralysis.  And if that is the case, injury of the fish (via some event...readings even mentioned fish jumping out on capture and hitting the floor as a possible cause or running into something in the tank) or water problems (being toxins or some strange spike that affects them) could also be the cause.  

Nothing I read spoke of how to treat other than doing water changes and epsom salts (if its a blockage thing).

Update on the fish. True to form, she was getting picked on all the time by the male so we decided to move her to a different tank. The only one available was the Tanganikan, so last night we moved her. She acclimated well and the other fish left her alone. As of this morning, she was swimming around and eating like she was before this happened. Well, not the swimming part, but she seems to be doing better in that tank. If her caudal fin grows back to it's former condition, I'll be happy.

D.

Glad to here she is doing better. Will hope for a full recovery

Another update: She seems to be doing well, still sorta swims funny, but is never shy when the food hits the water. She seems to have a pitch control problem, not as much as before, but still swims with approx. 10 degree up-bubble(submariner term). Otherwise doing good.

D.