Sick Cichlid

[rainmaker02]

sick cichlid

My tank ammonia level is in .25 ppm, is a 55 galons tank and have 2 filters. Is ammonia the real problem?? Can I cycle the tank with the fishes inside? Adding plants is a good suggestion or is better to find whats wrong in the tank?

 

[Menagerie]

I don't know if ammonia if THE biggest problem, but it is a problem. Many people use one or two fish to cycle their tank. I would not add plants for two reasons:
1) they would be another think to worry about
2) cichlids love to dig and are very hard on plants in general.

How are your fish doing? What types of filters are you using? When you do water changes, are you vacuuming the gravel to get rid of the extra waste?

 

[rainmaker02]

My filters are Tetra Whisper 3060 and Regent. Actually I just change the water I don't do anything with the water. I went to a local pet shop and they suggest Cycle and some bacterial pelets to put in the filter ( I don't remember very well the name), they told me that this will condition the water for the fishes. I also bougth Ammo Lock, is it better for me to use this product insted of neutralizer of chlorine? I haven't used non of the products yet. The fishes are fine, only one of the Mbuna that is not swimming as usual. :?

 

[Menagerie]

Ivan, I'm at a loss here . I am not familiar with Cycle or the bacteria pellets. I have heard of Ammo Lock--you may want to try it. You want to lower those ammonia levels. However, I do not know why only one fish is being affected.
In all honesty, there are not many cichlid keepers on this forum--if there are someone can correct me, but IME, very few members are able to help with sick fish! :? The three times I have posted for ill fish (cichlid, pleco and Badis) only Allivymar has come to the rescue.
There is a site dedicated to cichlids-- http://www.cichlid-forum.com/index.php
Post with them and see if they can help.
In the meantime, please keep me updated. Good luck with your fish.

 

[Allivymar]

Unfortunately Cycle is a waste of time. It doesn't have the correct cycling bacteria. The only thing that does is BioSpira.

Your ammonia levels aren't sky high; we usually recommend water changing when ammonia reaches .5; your only halfway to that level. There are some fish which are sensitive to even those small amounts.

Have the other fish stopped eating or started to act weird like he did? Is it just the mbuna?

Oh. and I'm not sure the jellybean will do ok with the other fish. The others are Africans and need hard water and a high pH. The jellybeans need softer water and a low pH. Speaking of, what is your water hardness and pH levels? If you're not sure what those are, take a look here: http://faq.thekrib.com/begin-chem.html

I wonder if its the water parameters that are sickening the fish.

 

[rainmaker02]

Hello!!!!!! My fishes are eating like if there was no tomorow, even the one that don't swim normal. This fish in difference of the Mbuna that died, is very active and he even bothers the other fishes. Now I feed them only one time during the day. The Jellybeans are looking ok, the only thing is the other bother them, but they do the same thing back.
I don't know the levels of PH and hardness yet, because I order a water level kit by internet and is not here. I also order a book (I find out that I start the other way around, buying fishes first). This morning I check the ammonia level and the water is perfecty yellow, that means the level is in 0. The pellets I mention are BioChem Stars (biological filter substrate that remove toxic ammonia and nitrite). Are they save to put in the filter???
Thanks for all the advice, tips and help all of you have give me. I will consider the cichlid forum, but I will not forget the people that fist help me. Becuase even if the advice don't work for the fishes they will help me with my stress. ( I hope you know what I mean, becuase I have a little problem writting in english, spanish is my main language.) Thank you again and I will keep you updated.

 

[deli_conker]

I would not use the pellets. The bacteria involved in the cycle need ammonia and nitrites to survive.

fish produce ammonia
bacteria eats ammonia and produces nitrites
bacteria eats nitrites and produces nitrates
doing weekly water changes 10-20% keeps nitrates under control

If you add pellets that eat ammonia and nitrates then the bacteria die and you will have to keep adding the pellets or cycle your tank again.

 

[Menagerie]

rainmaker02--how are your fish doing??

 

[rainmaker02]

Sorry I wasn't around, thanks for asking for my fishes. Right now the are fine, all of them are almost reaching 5 inches and are pretty active. I also put in 2 Sinodontis. There hobby is to move the ravel making holes under the ornaments, is very fun looking at them. Right now I have see the walls of the tank cover with some green stuff, 8O is that normal?, should I cleaned?, is't a problem with the filter? or is it bad?

 

[Menagerie]

Sounds like green algae--completely normal. Some members leave it and some clean it--it is up to you.
Those cichlids will move all the rocks and gravel around if they can lift it!! I have shells in my African cichlid tank and one of them carries the smaller shells and dumps them behind the rocks

 

[poppab02]

Sorry I wasn't around when your fish died rainmaker. I had a mbuna once that couldn't deal with any high nitrate or ammonia levels. He'd turn extremely pale and stop swimming around. It never had any effect on his tankmates but I could always tell when there was nitrate or ammonia in the water. The levels were never high but it seemed like he was allergic to it (I don't even know if that is possible but that's what it seemed like).

The algae isn't a problem and you can choose whether to clean it or not but if you start seeing snails I would definitely keep the algae off from then on because they can cause problems with your levels and cichlids won't get rid of them like some other fish.

 

[dama27]

HELLO! Right now my fishes are doing fine, with the algaes. But I notice that one of my filters is not working properly 8O , maybe that is way the algaes are present. I am going to fit it and wait to see if the algae gets eliminated naturally, if not I am going to clean it. Still my water parameters are normal.
Thanks for your suggestions.