Chemical Balance for 55g Cichlid Tank

[kospades]

On my last test, my Ammonia levels seem off the charts which has also resulted in a spiking pH. Looking for some advice.

Temp: 78F
pH: 8-8.2
Ammonia: 1.0-2.0 ppm
Nitrate: 10-20 ppm
Nitrite: 0.50-1.0 ppm

I am running 2 HOB filters, the TopFin75 that came with the tank and I had an Aqueon75 sitting around so I threw that on as well.

I am aware that I am probably overstocked once they reach full size, but I have also been told that my setup is fine. The Dempsey is the only mature one of the bunch. Also have some Anarachis floating free in the tank and seems to be doing well.

1x Jack Dempsey (4")
1x Parrot of some kind, prob firemouth hybrid (3")
1x Electric Blue (3")
1x Black Convict (2")
2x Pictus Catfish (2" ea)
1x Small Pleco (3")
2x Redfin Tiger Loach (3", 4")

 

[TMRC Exotics]

OK, so how long has the tank been setup? What was the method of cycling and when did it begin, did it ever stabilize and process ammonia through nitrite to nitrate while reading 0 ammonia or nitrites? If so when did it start spiking. Were all fish added at once or were they added in groups?

What specifically electric blue are you talking about? Electric blue is a name commonly applied to two groups of Africans or do you have some electric blue morph of a central or south american such as electric blue acaras?
What sex are the convicts?
What species is the pleco?

It is overstocked but answer as much as possible of those questions and we can go from there.

 

[LayzorBeams]

Pics of all fish help!

You might have some Africans in there, as well as being overstocked.

If you can tell us how you cycled the tank, in what order the fish were added, how much time in between each addition, and more accurate names of fish, then we can help a lot more.

Also, if you don't know about the nitrogen cycle, then its a really good thing to look into. Im not sure if you do or do not know about it, but either way its important to cycle correctly.


Sent from my bed, the only space available to me that isn't smothered in dirty laundry or aquariums.

 

[kospades]

So I am very new to the aquarium scene, so I'll do my best to answer all your questions. The tank has been setup for about a month now. When I first started out I waited a week before adding any fish. I thought I had cycled the tank properly, but it turns out I was doing my water testing improperly and didn't wait long enough for the ammonia test to change colors. So I thought I was reading 0, but who knows what the actual reading was. The day I created this thread was the first time I did a fully accurate test after consulting my LFS, so I don't know how long it's been spiking.

The Jack Dempsey was the only fish I owned previous to this new tank. He and all of the fish minus the Loaches were added together after one week. One week later both Loaches were added.

I don't know the exact species of Pleco, got him from PetSmart. They had small or medium options basically and he is of the medium variety. Said to get up to 10". As for the other fish, here are some pics so maybe you can help better identify... the Red Zebra(Orange fish) in one of the pics is no longer in the tank.

This is the parrot cichlid... was told it was a Blood Parrot, but obviously it's not.

Here is the Electric Blue:

Jack Dempsey:

Black Convict:

 

[TMRC Exotics]

So I am very new to the aquarium scene, so I'll do my best to answer all your questions. The tank has been setup for about a month now. When I first started out I waited a week before adding any fish. I thought I had cycled the tank properly, but it turns out I was doing my water testing improperly and didn't wait long enough for the ammonia test to change colors. So I thought I was reading 0, but who knows what the actual reading was. The day I created this thread was the first time I did a fully accurate test after consulting my LFS, so I don't know how long it's been spiking.

The Jack Dempsey was the only fish I owned previous to this new tank. He and all of the fish minus the Loaches were added together after one week. One week later both Loaches were added.

I don't know the exact species of Pleco, got him from PetSmart. They had small or medium options basically and he is of the medium variety. Said to get up to 10". As for the other fish, here are some pics so maybe you can help better identify... the Red Zebra(Orange fish) in one of the pics is no longer in the tank.

This is the parrot cichlid... was told it was a Blood Parrot, but obviously it's not.

Here is the Electric Blue:

Jack Dempsey:

Black Convict:

Oh OK, I actually helped on your ID this fish thread, I hadn't connected the two. The "electric blue" is an electric blue acara, always include the acara portion as that tells us what it is.
I thought I read two convicts, I see its only one convict and its a male.

The first thing I would do is remove the pleco, its an unnecessary bio load on the tank.

The tank was never properly cycled which is why you are seeing ammonia and nitrites. First step is lots of water changes, I would begin doing 10-20 gallon changes until ammonia and nitrite are near zero. An emergency step which will help is dosing with Seachem Prime which will make the ammonia and nitrites less toxic while they are bonded by the prime. My next step is to acquire a bag of purigen and run it in one of the filters. Its very effective as a means of chemical filtration.

You're going to have to stay on top of water changes until the tank can handle the load of the fish, then you can drop down to once weekly changes. Let me know what you think of all this and we will continue coming up with a plan for your specific situation.

 

[LayzorBeams]

Yep, i helped (i hope i did at least) you before.

I second what TMRC has told you, especially about taking out the Pleco as it is a biological nightmare. Sorting out the problems in your tank's stocking list should be done soon.


Sent from my bed, the only space available to me that isn't smothered in dirty laundry or aquariums.