midas cichlid

Question
hi,
i have a large midas cichlid who is growing quite large since i first purchased him; i would say he is about 4 inches. i know that isnt that large, but compared to my other fish, he is getting up there.  i also have a firemouth that is about the same size and two jack dempseys. my firemouth was having a heck of a time with this midas, and lost a little part of his lip due to the bullying.  so i went to the pet store to see what they thought and they recommended to buy another midas to possibly take the attention off of mthe other fish in my tank.  well, the new midas was by far much smaller than my original one and has been beaten up pretty bad.  i have moved the smaller midas into a new tank so that he can recover. he swims in one spot with his head towards the bottom of the tank and with his tail fins pointed towards the top.  also, he fins are very ripped up and i can see strings of his scales "hanging" off.  i really hope i got him out in time as he is a beautiful fish and i feel like i did this to him.  what is the best way to keep him now? should i let him get bigger in his own tank and then introduce him to my tank with other fish or should i keep him isolated from my larger midas permanently? also, do you think he will survive his injuries besides the use of some over the counter medication? or is that even a good idea? ahhh! please help my little guy!

thanks a lot!
nicolle

Answer
Hi Nicolle,
 First, that advice wasn't good advice. If you put another midas in with your first fish and he doesn't mate with it, he will kill it (which is what he tried to do to your little guy).

 The good news is that if the little guy is still swimming a couple of days after the incident, he will recover.  They are remarkably strong and can recover from incredible damage. Life in the wild for midas cichlids is very tough and that is why they are the way that they are.

  If he gets signs of fungus growing on the wounds, then you need a product called Paragon. It is a yellow powder. I have used it for many years with midas cichlids with excellent results. It will turn the water yellow temporarily but that goes away.

  As you suggested, your midas has a ways to go yet. An adult male midas is well over a foot in length.  

-- Ron
  rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
  Cichlid Research Home Page <http://cichlidresearch.com>