Cichlids Deaths

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BaierBones

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Dec 21, 2014
Messages
16
Location
Indiana
Need help!

I have lost 2 cichlids recently and have no idea why. They are Mbunas.

Tank is cycled and has been for some time
Ammonia 0
Nitrites 0
Nitrates less than 40
pH 8.5
Hardness KH and GH are high
Temp solid at 80
15-20% water whence a week. Stress coat added each time.
Fed 2-3 times daily
Aggression seems low
I can't see any signs of disease.

I'm pulling my hair out here! They (the dying or apparently soon to be dead) just seem to hide out in one of the ciclid stones or under a dense plant and play loner for about two days. Then, dead. They are not even being picked on by the others either and I've been watching my tank nonstop and notice nothing goofy.

Please send some ideas please!



Always Appreciated,

---BaierBones
 
First thing they are going to ask you is tank size. Cichlids stress out very easy without the right space so add this to your forum and you should get some help. I haven't dealt with this kind personally.

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How long have you had the cichlids? Could it be possible that they were sick when you got them?
 
Nitrates over 20 start to become harmful to fish fyi


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The ones that died I've had less than 2 weeks. Maybe they were sick perhaps. I'll do some more water changes to lower nitrates more. Keep the ideas coming. Thanks guys.


Always Appreciated,

---BaierBones
 
ImageUploadedByAquarium Advice1420461098.726843.jpgImageUploadedByAquarium Advice1420461112.468803.jpgImageUploadedByAquarium Advice1420461139.097589.jpg

The cichlids flakes are 90% of the time. Pellets the other 10% of the time. The seaweed was recommended to me as a treat and I have done that once.


Always Appreciated,

---BaierBones
 
mbuna are herbivores, they don't need a high protein diet. I would lose that omega one protein formula. Keep it if you have peacock cichlids but don't feed it to mbuna. How much is the protein content in the other foods?

Is your PH stable? or does it swing up and down. What chemicals are you using? do you have rocks for them to hide? Mbuna means "rock fish" they need plenty of hiding places to get away from other aggressive fish

size tank? what kind of fish do you have? how many? etc.. temp is a little high at 80..drop it to 76-78. Also adult fish only need to be fed 1-2 times a day and no more than they can consume in about 1-2 minutes, they don't need much food at a time
 
pH seems relatively stable. It is alkaline from the tap.

I use Mars "Stress Coat" for my de chlorination with water changes

They have lots of cichlids stones to hide in which are fantastic if you are unfamiliar with them.ImageUploadedByAquarium Advice1420672460.949951.jpg

It is a 29 gallon tank. I know this is not the ideal size but I have been told it will work while they are smaller and then I have a larger tank in my classroom I can transfer them to in a few years.


Always Appreciated,

---BaierBones
 
drop the temp a little bit, stop feeding them 3 times a day. Feed only what they can eat in 1-2 mins. Do not feed mbuna high protein foods they are herbivores and graze on algae. Stress coat is ok, but I prefer Prime. Up your water changes to about 30-50% a week, the cleaner the water the better for your fish

I feed my mbuna new life spectrum cichlid pellets in the AM, and a veggie flake at night.

It could be aggression because the tank is too small, how many fish are in there? What type of filtration ?
 
Right now there is

1 blue johanni
1 yellow lab
1 cobalt blue
1 red top
1 tiger lab


My filter is a fluval 70 over the back. I have always believed in over filtering tanks. I have been warned about aggression in a 30 but was told that 5-8 would work if started small and kept in a tank with many hiding places, hence the cichlids stones. When the lights go out, I don't know what's going on in there but it is in a place where I am a lot in the house and I love watching the tank. They never seem too aggressive. Actually seemed less before I have lost 3. When there were 8 in the tank they seemed to coexist very well. This whole situation is killing me. Are they murdering each other at night? Were they sick when I got them? Is there something odd in my water? Not all direct questions but all things I have been thinking about...... I am loving that I am getting feedback here. Last time I tried to start a thread I got very little.


Always Appreciated,

---BaierBones
 
they could of had some parasites or something when you got them. Males could be killing off the other males. In a mbuna tank you want to try to reach a 1 male to 3 female ratio, and they are better kept in groups. Try the things I mentioned earlier, and I would look for a 55 gallon tank at least, you can get them cheap on craigslist. Sometimes overstocking will help with aggression because they won't pick on any one specific fish
 
Your veggie flakes, who makes them? And thank you Quest very much.


Always Appreciated,

---BaierBones
 
That's not going to work, in all fairness I don't know much about your fish.. i do know that 15% weekly wc is not enough and your nitrates are to high.. that tank has very minimal swim space, those cichlid stones are a waste of space. You'd be best to get a 55 gal tank or get fish that would be comfortable in a 29 gal.tank.

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That's not going to work, in all fairness I don't know much about your fish.. i do know that 15% weekly wc is not enough and your nitrates are to high.. that tank has very minimal swim space, those cichlid stones are a waste of space. You'd be best to get a 55 gal tank or get fish that would be comfortable in a 29 gal.tank.

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see we can agree on something lol :dance: The more water changes the better in that small of a tank. It will lower his nitrates
 
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