Ive had to put my yellow lab to sleep...

[DaharkazAngel]

:'(I couldn't bring myself to take pics,

My yellow lab has been 'hiding' quite a bit as of late. Probably about 2 weeks, i see him but for two seconds then hes back in his cave. This arvo i decided to 'look' for him, and i found him. He had to deep wounds in his side/belly and had a massive chunk taken from his head. I caught him to get a closer look, and was nearly sick (he smelt somewhat rotten). I decided then and there that his battle was over, his head wound was exposing his brain slightly. It really was grotesque. What i cant understand is how one of my fish get like this?? I stare at the tank daily for quite some time, i really shouldve noticed... And how on earth did this happen?? The only culprits could be the Angels, a red tail shark who is bigger then the yellow was or a clown loach roughly the same size as the yellow. Im stumped and quite upset, any insight would be appreciated.....

[Carl]

First let me say that I am sorry you found your Yellow Lab Cichlid in this terrible condition and I definitely think you did the right thing

I have a couple of opinions:
*I have seen RedTail Sharks attack other fish quite aggressively, especially when the other fish is weak.
Although not as common I have seen this behavior with Clown loaches as well (in fact recently I have observed my own Clown loach harassing a Bolivian Ram Cichlid that is very old and weak)

*I have observed Malawi Cichlids (such as your Yellow Lab) moving gravel/rocks, only to have a much heavier rock collapse on them, often with serious consequences.

Carl

[babygeige]

Sorry about your lab!

[bikeguy33]

i agree....could very possibly have been an injury from rocks or other things in the tank. i have seen fish get spooked and injure themselves flying into rocks.

[goldenpuon]

I'm really sorry to hear this. That mustv have been a horrible sight and really hard for the fish to handle that injury as well. I think you did the right thing IMHO. With injuries that severe/grotesque, the chances of recovery were probably not too good. (No offense, I'm sure the fish was plenty healthy before this happened.)

R.I.P. yellow lab. Hope the rest of your fish are doing well Angel.

[Suzie Q (Lori)]

Sounds a lot like my SAE. Huge gaping holes in his side. I have no insight to who or how but I do want to say I am sorry about your loss

Lori

[DaharkazAngel]

Thanks again guys, still beats me how this happened. Ive checked every fish in the tank and everyone else is fine. My red tail shark is growing at a crazy rate and the clown loach not far behind. Guess ill never know what truely happened. I also shouldve known that the lab wouldnt last, he didnt 'quite fit' if you know what i mean. It was a crazy idea that ended bad, ive learnt my lesson...and ill NEVER forgot the smell. =/

[sammiesam]

Sorry for your loss,
I had the same problem with a yoyo loach, the pictures on actually on here somewhere.
I think I came to the conclusion that he injured himself on something then once there was the wound, my other loaches picked on it until it was as big as it was.
Lucky for me I managed to get a full recovery out of the loach............and then he ate styrofoam and killed himself.......

Sorry for you lose, just know that it isn't your fault...stuff happens and we can see it all or protect our fishies from everything, it just comes down to how we deal with it in the end and you did fine