question

[hartman57]

i have a lake malawi tank (45 gal.) and i had 2 fish die in 2 days an eyebiter and a fucostomus. i also have a zebra tiliapia which is a pretty decent size. he seems to be very dull in color lately. i have noticed that he would have normal color then 1 minute later he was extremely dull. i have checked the levels in my tank and my nitrates are high, and my water is very hard. would the hardness of the water effect the fish enough to kill them. also any other idea about why he switchs in color. also i have a labidochromis and he is as bright as the day i got him!!! any ideas also did a quarter water change yesterday to maybe help

 

[Menagerie]

eyebiter and a fucostomus

Please be more specific, I tried googling for these, but....

The zebra tiliapia is from Lake Victory. Are all the fish from Lake Vistoria?

Please post exact water parameters (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, temp, pH, hardness) and the numbers of each species in the tank. A pic of the tank may also be helpful in determining what is going on.

 

[greenmaji]

If your nitrate is high.. assuming there is no ammonia... do 3/4 or 75% water changes..
And knowing what fish you have will help alot.. The eyebiter is from lake Malawi if Im not mistaking and it is too big and aggressive for your size tank.. not to mention if you have any fish in there that are not equally aggressive your going to have some casualties...ACK! It's also not a good idea to mix these fish from different Lakes.. the water perimeters are different.. but all of the rift lakes have very hard water and high PH's I doubt that the water hardness is a problem..
Do you know were the fish you have are from and what there needs are as far as space is conserned? Pics would help alot..