Sick Cichlid

[rainmaker02]

Hello!! I need some help!!!! I recently made my fish tank and I have 13 different cichlid fishes. Some of them are Mbuna and the others are Jellybeans. One of the Mbuna is blue and I think he is a Cynotilapia. He is barely moves, in fact he is always on top or the tank. He does not eats. The only thing I can see in him is something is his mouth. It looks like a scar, its not that big, is on the bottom lip. But he opens and closes his mouth to breath fine, as far as I can tell. I am afraid that he is sick and all the fishes become sick too. What can it be?? How can I treated? It is better for the fish to put it apart? Thanks for the help you can give me, because I live in Puerto Rico and there is not to mush people that knows how to treat the cichlid fishes they just sell them.

 

[Menagerie]

[center:aa7d4e28fc] First off, WELCOME, rainmaker02 [/center:aa7d4e28fc]

Now, about that cichlid: I would QT him immediately for observation.
Then answer these questions and people can start helping:
What size tank do you have?
What are your water parameters (pH, ammonia levels, etc.)?
How long has the tank been running/is it cycled?
How long have you had the Cynotilapia?
What are you feeding the Cynotilapia?

That's all I can think of for now. Keep an eye on him and get back to us.

 

[rainmaker02]

I have a 55 gallons fish thank. The fish thank is new, it was a tropical tank before. I clean the tank and the rocks, put new water and start buying cichlids. I have them for a week only. About the water parameters I do not know how to measure them, is my fist time having cichlids. :? I am feeding them two kinds of food (Hikari, cichlid gold color enhance formula baby pellets (two times) and Wardley cichlid slower sinking crumbles (one time) ) tree to four times a day.

 

[rainmaker02]

This is my sick cichlid. I have decide to take him our of the tank, because my other fishes are bothering him. He is very weak and slow.

 

[Menagerie]

Ivan,
What do you mean, "it was a tropical tank before"? To me, that means it needs to be heated. Cichlids are a tropical fish that like warm water.
Are all your cichlids young? Do you know if they were wild-caught, or tank raised?
Since this is a new tank, you may be experiencing high ammonia levels. Water changes (25% everyday) should help--keep an eye on the other fish! You should be able to purchase water test kits at the LFS. If possible, get a test kit that uses chemicals, instead of strips.
I'm not sure what else to tell you.

This is my sick cichlid.

Is there a picture? If so, I cannot see it, but it could be my computer

Hopefully others will be able to help out.

 

[deli_conker]

I am feeding them two kinds of food (Hikari, cichlid gold color enhance formula baby pellets (two times) and Wardley cichlid slower sinking crumbles (one time) ) tree to four times a day.

That sounds like an awful lot of food. I feed mine spirulina flakes in the morning and maybe atreat in the evening of emerald entree or blood worms. If the excess food does not get eaten, it will decompose and release a lot of ammonia into the water. This is very harmful to the fish.

I would not feed them for a day or two (the fish will be fine) and do a 25% water change today and tomorrow. That will dilute some of the ammonia while your tank is cycling.

You should really think about buying a test kit. You'll want to be able to test for ammonia, nitrItes, nitrAtes, and preferrably ph and gh.

I would also recommend that you read this article. It will give you some insight into what's going on in your tank right now...

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/showquestion.php?faq=2&fldAuto=21

 

[rainmaker02]

Thank for all the help you are giving me. I have some bad news, my fish died during the night. I am concern about the other fishes, because if he was sick with a parasite the others can get contagious. I am worried because I realise he was sick since I bougth him. yes, their was a picture of my fish. But their is a lesson for me, I all ready bougth a water test kit and a book, so I can learn how to take a better care of my fishes, but I am waiting for them in the mail. :? I belive all my fishes are tank raised. And I feed them that mush, because they eat everything and are always looking for more and I don't want them to be hungry. Thanks again for all the help you have give me to start my new tank, everything you can tell me is appreciated.

PS. Whats the best temperature the cichlid fishes need to be in?

 

[rainmaker02]

I forgot to tell, that all my fishes are young, the biggest one is 3 inches long the other ones are 1 and 2 inches. Thank you.

 

[Menagerie]

Ivan--I am sorry for your loss

And I feed them that mush, because they eat everything and are always looking for more and I don't want them to be hungry.

Don't worry about that. My cichlids would eat all day--if I let them. I only feed my cichlids once every two days (sinking pellets and a couple of algea wafers)--believe me that has not stunted their growth!

Whats the best temperature the cichlid fishes need to be in?

I would do a google search on the types of cichlid you have to make sure, but I recommend 78F.

if he was sick with a parasite the others can get contagious

Just worry about the ammonia levels for now and keep watch other the others.

 

[deli_conker]

I second everything that Menagerie just said.

Don't worry about your fish being hungry. They will eat 24 hours a day if you let them. It is perfectly alright to feed them only once or twice a day. If they don't eat the food, it decomposes and adds ammonia into the tank. If they do eat the food, then they poop a lot more which decomposes and adds ammonia into the tank. This will take care of itself after your tank cycles.

High levels of ammonia will stress your fish making it more likely that they will get sick. Take care of the ammonia levels first, then worry about other sicknesses.

What type of cichlids do you have? I have african rift lake cichlids. They like to have thier water around 80 degrees fahrenheit.

Good luck...

 

[rainmaker02]

I have 12 fishes, 3 jellybeans, 2 red zebras and 3 auratus. :? I am not sure about this types, 2 anomalochromis thomasi and 2 Mbunas (1 yellow and 1 mix color).

 

[Menagerie]

3 auratus

IME, they will give you trouble later on. I had one once and he wasn't the biggest fish and he definitely wasn't fully mature. He took on a mature zebra and had it cowering in the corner. Then we gave the auratus to the university--he was placed in with two Oscars. He was not a welcomed guest!
There is a huge difference between territorial aggression and down right food/mean aggression. The auratus has the latter rep.

2 Mbunas (1 yellow and 1 mix color)

Zebras are a type of Mbuna. Try your best to confirm the identifications of all your cichlids. Then find out what their individual needs are and if they are all compatible. As they all mature, their true nature will come out!

 

[rainmaker02]

Thanks for everything!!!!!!!!!!

 

[rainmaker02]

I have alot to learn now!!!!!!!!

 

[Menagerie]

Yes! Good luck and ask questions when needed!

 

[rainmaker02]

I am desperate, the ammonia level does not seem to get low, no matter if I have been changing the 10% of water every day. I have another fish with the same caracteristics of the one that died. I made a search on the net and find a product (Bio Spira from Marine Labs) that lower the ammonia level to 0 in 24 hours. But I don't find were to buy it. Because, in Marine Labs direct is for dealers and other places don't sell it or is out of stock. In my local pet shops I dont find nothing to lower ammonia. Can some one help me I am staring to get fustrated. 8O

 

[Menagerie]

What is your exact ammonia level? I recommend a 50% water change.
In the Getting Started forum, someone was posting about bio-spira and where they found it. I know it is available through mail-order, but I'm not sure where. You have a large bioload in your tank, which was not ready to handle the stress. Have you read the article on cycling found in the articles section here in AA?

Keep me updated.

 

[rainmaker02]

No, I haven't read the article, I will. Thanks for all the tips they are being very helpfull. What is bioload???

 

[Allivymar]

A 10% water change is close to nothing, especially with high levels of ammonia in a fishtank. A 10% water change means you are only removing 10% of the ammonia as well; if you have a reading of 5ppm (for example), you are only taking out .5ppm of the ammonia, leaving 4.5ppm in the tank. And that can go back up to 5ppm quickly. You need to do large water changes, as Menagerie suggested. Start off with a 50% today; do a 30% tomorrow and the day after. Then daily 20-30% changes until the ammonia and nitrites read zero. Its MUCH better to get the ammonia out of the tank then to worry about doing water changes that are too big. A big water change MIGHT stress a fish; too much ammonia will kill it.

Oh, and BioSpira is only available in the continental US. You might get one of the online stores to ship it to you in PR; check with Bernie in the Fish Store forum (he is one of our sponsors and ships biospira)

 

[Menagerie]

Bioload--the amount of living organisms in your tank.
If the tank is not established, putting in a large amount of fish will cause ammonia and other toxins to get higher. Normally, when a tank is cycled, good bacteria colonies are established that take care of everything. With weekly water changes after a tank is cycled, the values for ammonia, nitrate, and nitrites are stable and are kept very low (or none at all).
FYI--this is my knowledge of cycling/water parameters in a nutshell--read the cycling article for more info. Also, under Getting Started, someone asked about Cycling and it was explained in very simple terms