Cichlids acting strange

[edevingo]

Thank you.. I only have 2 males as far as I know right now I had more but pulled them out as soon as they started changing and I saw signs. I take very good care of my tanks and my fish and while I know they could be in a larger tank like you said they can always be in a bigger tank but I also know a few people that have very successfully kept cichlids in a 30. I did a lot of research before setting up my tank so I have a crushed coral bottom and lots of hiding stones a few plants and driftwood, and a coconut shell. And though the pictures have my blue light on and I’m at work right now this is the setup I have as of the moment

Is it a 30g breeder? Looks long. Which is a good thing and as @kingfisher said you have enough hiding spots. Only thing I would do is break up the sight line. Even with my 6ft tank, I can't have any straight shots from one end to the other. I know when I have to move something cause I hear someone hitting the tank and ususlly it's from being chased straight into the glass. If you break it up multiple times, they weave in and out and have more of an opportunity to drop out of sight. IME they don't like swimming through plants. Now I've had a few like @Kingfisher said that where just SoB's and glass tops didn't stop them from darting at me let alone through a plant. It really does never end and is never boring owning Africans.

 

[edevingo]

Temperament of any given fish usually plays a big role in chaos or calmness in a tank. Your tank has plenty of hiding spots. Might be you just have an SOB of a fish. Lol.

Almost every African I've had was the opposite of the "norm" My yellow Labs where a nightmare. A few of my Haps, I've never even seen chase let alone lip lock or swallow. Lol

 

[Jessl17]

Lol yes I think you might be right there.. I’ve moved the rocks around a few different times now that I’ve noticed him being that way and he tries to claim them all. He will dart and chase anyone out that goes in them even the little one his big butt can’t even get into... I’m going to watch him and if he keeps it up my friend can have him back. Originally I was supposed to get all females but I accidentally ended up with him and I thought it would be fine because at first it was but he’s a jerk ..

 

[Jessl17]

Mine don’t seem to mind the plants honestly a few of them stay in the bigger one most of the day right under the filter.. it’s weird.. and the bug guy doesn’t care where he darts to. I just rearranged it last night to see if this set up would help but he doesn’t seemed phased by anything I do... he wants to claim it all

 

[Jessl17]

So I’m starting to worrie a bit I. Finished the meds put the carbon back in and did a water change and there still rubbing up against everything. I did end up taking the big guy I had out and bringing him back to my friend that gave him to me because he was just way to much so in general the fish are happier but I noticed this on this guy. So something is off.. any ideas as to what this is from?

 

[V227]

Are you sure the water chemistry isn't the problem. Just trace amounts of ammonia can irritate gills, which might cause flashing.
The problem is not Oodinium, death would already have occurred. Ick would be noticable. The only other parasite I can think of is Flukes. Maybe the meds used weren't dosed in sufficient amounts to do the job, or wasn't the correct chemical.
The best parasite meds i've used are Coppersafe and Formalin. Coppersafe is the easiest to use; one dose. Formalin requires continuous dosing.

 

[Jessl17]

I just tested the water again and I am reading a small amount of ammonia but nothing crazy. It looks a little darker in the picture than it actually is. But other than that I don’t see anything off. The only thing I was wondering and I don’t know if it would cause them to do this is I don’t have a test for kh or gh and I was reading that could possibly cause it? I ordered one but it hasn’t arrived yet. What are your thoughts on that?

 

[edevingo]

She's definetly stressed. Was she the main target for the male you removed? Because I've had females and males that when I seperated them or changed something in the tank get stressed. When I first started keeping Africans, I figured out that what I thought was to much aggression, sometimes was not and was just how the mated. So she definetly could be confused by the new dynamic in the tank. If so, it will pass.
How often do you do water changes? Maintenance goes way up the smaller the tank. I was doing almost 50% every 3/4 days. The more hiding spots, the more places waste has places to hide also.

 

[edevingo]

I just tested the water again and I am reading a small amount of ammonia but nothing crazy. It looks a little darker in the picture than it actually is. But other than that I don’t see anything off. The only thing I was wondering and I don’t know if it would cause them to do this is I don’t have a test for kh or gh and I was reading that could possibly cause it? I ordered one but it hasn’t arrived yet. What are your thoughts on that?

I've never tested for them, IMO if you where seeing drops in PH then yes but stable PH is better than fooling around with getting the exact PH they need. Once you start fooling around with those, it's a whole dif ball game. I would do a dose of Prime and Stressgaurd if you have it
Maybe someone could confirm but looks like you might be in a mini cycle also

 

[edevingo]

Are you sure the water chemistry isn't the problem. Just trace amounts of ammonia can irritate gills, which might cause flashing.
The problem is not Oodinium, death would already have occurred. Ick would be noticable. The only other parasite I can think of is Flukes. Maybe the meds used weren't dosed in sufficient amounts to do the job, or wasn't the correct chemical.
The best parasite meds i've used are Coppersafe and Formalin. Coppersafe is the easiest to use; one dose. Formalin requires continuous dosing.

Could be flukes. Which if you can take a very clear picture of her with a macro setting, you can actually see them. I've done it before and treated with Prazi. The next day, they were falling of and pooping worms. It worked but it was gross.

 

[V227]

Any ammonia present is bad, and can irritate the gills and affect the slime coat. Probably have the tank a little overstocked. As noted above, larger and more frequent WC's until a larger tank becomes available might help.
As long as your water isn't soft and acidic, your Mbuna probably will be okay.

 

[Jessl17]

No I’m pretty sure this particular one is possibly a male. I’m not positive yet but it’s definitely questionable. This is the first one I got that was very small when I got it. I don’t know what is wrong or what I’m doing wrong but I’m goibg crazy trying to figure it out...

 

[edevingo]

No I’m pretty sure this particular one is possibly a male. I’m not positive yet but it’s definitely questionable. This is the first one I got that was very small when I got it. I don’t know what is wrong or what I’m doing wrong but I’m goibg crazy trying to figure it out...

Male Kenyi are yellow and the females are blue. When I first learned that, I was shocked, due to her behavior ect..

 

[Jessl17]

I've never tested for them, IMO if you where seeing drops in PH then yes but stable PH is better than fooling around with getting the exact PH they need. Once you start fooling around with those, it's a whole dif ball game. I would do a dose of Prime and Stressgaurd if you have it
Maybe someone could confirm but looks like you might be in a mini cycle also

Yes I just talked to my friend and he said the same thing. And he said because I have crushed coral in the bottom everything there should be fine and not to start messing with it. I just did a dose of stress coat and prime. He also suggested because nothing else is working possibly worms or fish lice. I know none of you can really see or know what I’m talking about but I know something is going on. They just started doing this and hadn’t been doing it prior. I haven’t not been able to fix something or figure out what it is since Ive started keeping fish again so this is frustrating me

 

[edevingo]

Male Kenyi are yellow and the females are blue. When I first learned that, I was shocked, due to her behavior ect..

Welcome to owning Africans. Breathe in Breathe out. I have to tell myself that every once in a while. Lol

 

[edevingo]

Yes I just talked to my friend and he said the same thing. And he said because I have crushed coral in the bottom everything there should be fine and not to start messing with it. I just did a dose of stress coat and prime. He also suggested because nothing else is working possibly worms or fish lice. I know none of you can really see or know what I’m talking about but I know something is going on. They just started doing this and hadn’t been doing it prior. I haven’t not been able to fix something or figure out what it is since Ive started keeping fish again so this is frustrating me

Have you tried prazi?

 

[Jessl17]

Male Kenyi are yellow and the females are blue. When I first learned that, I was shocked, due to her behavior ect..

Yes I know this but they are all born blue. This one has lost most of the blue and the stripes are almost gone as well where it was very blue and black. Also developed a spot in the last couple weeks.

 

[Jessl17]

Have you tried prazi?

No I don’t even know what that is?

 

[edevingo]

No I don’t even know what that is?

While ago some of my fish looked like they had bloat but besides the bloat look, had no other symptoms. I took pictures of them as close as I could get with a macro lens and started zooming in on the pics. I couldn't see what's in the pictures just by looking at them. Gave them Prazi and next day, they were pooping worms and their stomachs started to go down. It will work for flukes too. Amazon sells Prazi Pro by Hikari (Sp?) If you can't find it in a LFS

 

[edevingo]

While ago some of my fish looked like they had bloat but besides the bloat look, had no other symptoms. I took pictures of them as close as I could get with a macro lens and started zooming in on the pics. I couldn't see what's in the pictures just by looking at them. Gave them Prazi and next day, they were pooping worms and their stomachs started to go down. It will work for flukes too. Amazon sells Prazi Pro by Hikari (Sp?) If you can't find it in a LFS

Worms, flukes it was gross. Prazi works for inside and outside parasites without having to add it to food