I've heard that members here tend to give out good advice and I have a fish problem I simply do not understand, so I thought I'd register and ask here.
I have a 55 gallon tank with 1m and 1f Flameback cichlid (the regular Victorian Flameback, not the Kyoga type), 1m and 3f Mbamba cichlids (4 females until a few hours ago), 1f Red Shoulder (she was sold to me as a female Sunshine peacock, but apparently the seller was mistaken), and 1m Sunshine peacock. As of late, the filter has been on the fritz, occasionally not working and then randomly deciding to work again, but I don't know if this is part of the problem I have currently. I do know that the Ammonia level is between the Caution and Harmful ranges according to my test kits thanks to the lazy filter. The pH is 8.0 and the water is hard. The tank has been set up for over 3 years, although it had to be broken down completely and restarted for a move about 8 months ago. The newest additions to the tank were two of the female Mbambas, who were added about a year and a half ago. There have been no new ornaments, substrate, tank mates, or anything added since then. There was an incident about a month ago where my idiot cat managed to fall into the tank and killed my Calvus cichlid in the process. The fish largely get along, the only exceptions being the occasional squabbles between the female Mbambas, which never last long or cause much damage.
Last night, I noticed one of my female Mbambas gasping at the surface, which is certainly strange since I have more than enough oxygen in the tank coming through air stones. She swam away quickly when I got close though, so I assumed it wasn't a problem. As of a few hours ago, I found her dead at the bottom of the tank. The male Flameback is lying on the bottom, fins clamped, acting like he desperately wants to die. The Peacock is a much lighter color than he should be (almost white in areas), and he has black spots on his fins and a single giant white spot on his left side. I do not know if the black spots are a sign of an illness, or if that has something to do with the tank's substrate being black sand (maybe he's been rubbing on the sand lately?). The fins on all of the fish, including the dying Flameback and the Peacock, are completely intact, with no signs of shredding or damage. Many of the fish are displaying appetite loss, and even tossing food in right in front of the male Flameback would not convince him to eat. I am confused as to what is killing my fish, and I want to stop it before it gets any further. Any advice would be appreciated.
These are images of the fish. The first is the Sunshine Peacock from the front. I could not get him to show me his left side while I had the camera, but the spot is large enough that it can be seen from a frontal image. The second is also the Sunshine Peacock, and show the black spots and abnormally pale coloration. The last is a close-up of the male Flameback. The balls around him are a bit of food I had put into the tank minutes before, in the hopes of spurring him to eat.
I have a 55 gallon tank with 1m and 1f Flameback cichlid (the regular Victorian Flameback, not the Kyoga type), 1m and 3f Mbamba cichlids (4 females until a few hours ago), 1f Red Shoulder (she was sold to me as a female Sunshine peacock, but apparently the seller was mistaken), and 1m Sunshine peacock. As of late, the filter has been on the fritz, occasionally not working and then randomly deciding to work again, but I don't know if this is part of the problem I have currently. I do know that the Ammonia level is between the Caution and Harmful ranges according to my test kits thanks to the lazy filter. The pH is 8.0 and the water is hard. The tank has been set up for over 3 years, although it had to be broken down completely and restarted for a move about 8 months ago. The newest additions to the tank were two of the female Mbambas, who were added about a year and a half ago. There have been no new ornaments, substrate, tank mates, or anything added since then. There was an incident about a month ago where my idiot cat managed to fall into the tank and killed my Calvus cichlid in the process. The fish largely get along, the only exceptions being the occasional squabbles between the female Mbambas, which never last long or cause much damage.
Last night, I noticed one of my female Mbambas gasping at the surface, which is certainly strange since I have more than enough oxygen in the tank coming through air stones. She swam away quickly when I got close though, so I assumed it wasn't a problem. As of a few hours ago, I found her dead at the bottom of the tank. The male Flameback is lying on the bottom, fins clamped, acting like he desperately wants to die. The Peacock is a much lighter color than he should be (almost white in areas), and he has black spots on his fins and a single giant white spot on his left side. I do not know if the black spots are a sign of an illness, or if that has something to do with the tank's substrate being black sand (maybe he's been rubbing on the sand lately?). The fins on all of the fish, including the dying Flameback and the Peacock, are completely intact, with no signs of shredding or damage. Many of the fish are displaying appetite loss, and even tossing food in right in front of the male Flameback would not convince him to eat. I am confused as to what is killing my fish, and I want to stop it before it gets any further. Any advice would be appreciated.
These are images of the fish. The first is the Sunshine Peacock from the front. I could not get him to show me his left side while I had the camera, but the spot is large enough that it can be seen from a frontal image. The second is also the Sunshine Peacock, and show the black spots and abnormally pale coloration. The last is a close-up of the male Flameback. The balls around him are a bit of food I had put into the tank minutes before, in the hopes of spurring him to eat.
