African Cichlid Dolphin Fish Refuses to Eat (Advice Wanted)

OKay, so I got this guy/gal back in August and barely ever see him/her. He/she hides out in this ancient greek looking aquarium vase & I was starting to wonder if he/she was even still in the tank at one point!
My lfs said to feed him/her the same they were...frozen bloodworms & flake food...but to be sure to put some in at night AFTER the lights go out since they are supposed to be night feeders and are pretty slow movers.
I've been feeding him/her frozen bloodworms in addition to a pinch of store bought bottled brine shrimp...and on occassion a pinch of flake food. I see him/her cruise around the tank at night and he/she seems to be digging at the substrate (Eco-Complete Planted)..but I never really see him/her eating anything?
Well all of a sudden today he/she decides to come out while the light is on, definately not the norm for his/her behavior and he/she is looking VERY skinny...not that he/she was big when purchase back in the end of August...but now I'm starting to worry and wonder if this is normal for them?
Nothing in the tank has changed...water conditions the same as day 1....other than adding a few bags of purigen to my Rena Filstar xP4?
Everyone else looks great!
Am I just stressing over nothing here?
Pictures attached so you can see for yourself.
Any advice greatly appreciated! I've had Africans before..just never dolphin fish in particular.

 

Re: Question on Dolphin Fish (African Cichlid)

I thought of that too, but I don't have any spare tanks left and I definately can't spend another penny this month with the new pup..lol!

 

Re: Question on Dolphin Fish (African Cichlid)

NOTE:On the 28th of september the filters were cleaned & a very very small water change was done; purigen was added to the rena filstar xp4
1st Readings
temp 76.0F
ph 6.0
nitrite 0
nitrate 80
gh 60
kh 40
*now swimming on side and struggling to stay alive*
>>>immediately did about a 20% water change<<<<<
temp 75.2
ph 6.0
nitrite 0
nitrate 80
gh 120
kh 0
This was using a api 5 in 1 aquarium test strip since I can't seem to find where my husband stuck my standard test kit.
Api says:
**ph 6.5-6.8 for many amazonian fish, like angelfish & neon tetras prefer; whereas 6.8 - 7.2 is ideal for community <<I'm no where near either>>
**nitrite is perfect at zero
**the nitrate is recommended to be 40 or less
**the dgh of 60 is good for most tropical fish, including angelfish, tetras, botia, community aquariums, live plants; whereas the dgh of 120 is Most tropical fish, including swordtails, guppies, mollies, cichlids, goldfish
**the dkh of 40 is Discus, arowanas, elephant nose, neons, cardinals, live plants; whereas the dkh of 0 isn't even on the chart!

THE LAST READINGS PRIOR TO THIS WERE done with a fresh lab deluxe test kit by Red Sea and read as follows (August 9th 10:41am lights on)
temp 76.4F
ammonia 2.5 or 5.0 (can't differntiate between the colors..looks identical)
nitrite 0.2
chlorine o
ph 7.4
kh 2 degrees
gh 3 degrees
carbon dioxide 16ppm

Everything/Everyone has been fine prior to the Dolphin fish who is taking his last few breaths as I type.
HELP!

 

Re: Question on Dolphin Fish (African Cichlid)

any idea why it is reading 80? My last water change was the 28th of september...I cleaned/rinsed the filters out too and changed only the microfiltration pad on the rena and the spare cartridge on the emperor 400s with some new carbon. I'm wondering if its the tetra aqua safe & something to do with the purigen (asked earlier about it since it says toxic with slime coating and posted about the tetra mentioning something about it..i think i was told it should be okay).
The reading didn't even budge after the partial I just did (readings were posted as 80 prior..and 80 afterwards).
I just don't get it...the water looks impeccable...the other fish, corys, and shrimp are doing great. As a matter of fact my mystery snails had babies & are growing fast (almost dime size) and I just spotted cherry shrimp babies today! I'm even thinking my Black Skirt tetras are knocked up?
Wondering why he is the only one to seemingly suffer? Or if its a possibility he had problems from the get go ((always hiding and never leaving his vase))??
Should I change even more water than what I already have?? I did about 22-25%
Normally I do water changed when I see the water quality take a hit...Roughly once a month at about 25-50% at a time...sometimes sooner..just depends on how spunky i feel. I ran a 55 for years with 2 emperor 400's and barely ever changed the water...it was always crystal clear..never uv sterilizer...never any chemicals besides aquasafe & of course carbon in the 400's...I basically kept similar fish (community of livebearers and corys with 1 pleco) and I never lost anyone (other than 2 or 3 over pregnant females)?
This is really starting to bug me. Please advise on best course of action...roger. Lol!

 

Re: Question on Dolphin Fish (African Cichlid)

Okay, I just did a 25% change...so I'll do another 25% tomorrow and then try and maintain it at 25% every week to every other week.

As far as not telling fish enthus. about not doing regular water changes...I know its naughty, but I've never ran into problems before...I'm wondering if adding plants is the demise? Or maybe I just had a really good streak of luck?
Regardless, I do the best that I can when I can when it comes to routine fish mainten. & if I ever had a issue I always have taken care of it immediately. I'm just truly amazed that with my readings everyone else is fine. Prior to that I was weekly testing before the passing of my pooch and my son with his dep...anyways, it was reading excellent then..all within realms with the ph always being a tad low.

 

Re: Question on Dolphin Fish (African Cichlid)

I think mine had issues from day 1, all he/she did was hide in this vase thingey.
I tried frozen bloodworms, cubed brine shrimp, jarred brine shrimp, flake food, etc and I would never see it eat. Heck, for awhile I thought it was gone because I never would see it! Now I understand why (it was sick or something).
Thanks for the info...but I think I'ma stay away from the dolphin fish for now.

 

Re: Question on Dolphin Fish (African Cichlid)

UPDATE!! After I spoke to my lfs where the dolphin was purchased...they told me one of the other 4 that they had remaining...did the same thing according to the person who purchased it. Even the lfs wan't sure? Their first guess was that they may have been older than the rest? The second guess was something internal being wrong? Of course, they didn't offer any partial refund or anything knowing that I wasn't the only one who experienced this with the elephant nose dolphin...cuz that would admit bad stock. I got the information from one of their workers who I talk to all the time when I'm their of course.