"New" African Cichlid Setup

[Joonburg]

I recently got a tank from a person that was SEVERELY neglected. The water was like pea soup, about an inch of algae growth on all of the fixtures etc. After about two days of super filtration and TLC, the water is still cloudy but no longer green. The ph is close to 9 and I added some Acurel F to help clear up the water which oddly enough didn't work much. The one big Frontosa ate a little yesterday but today didn't eat at all. Any advice on how to stabilize this setup and get these fish happy again?

 

[jbird79]

Have u tested the water for anything besides ph. Have u changed the water, how much and how aften

 

[Joonburg]

When I started the thread, I had only tested the PH. Since then, I've tested for everything. The ammonia is high but that's to be expected because I had to start over from scratch. I've been treating this ammonia spike with Special Blend and Nite Out. I won't be doing any water changes until the tank has a chance to cycle.

 

[Ukdans1k]

My advice to you would be to do regular pwc until your tank is cycled, if you don't you could get spikes and kill or seriously harm your fish either way it's gona be a bumpy ride. If you know someone with a tank already try and get some of their filter media and add too your filter, this will give you the best results.

Your frontosa I wouldn't worry about, when moved they can go off their food for a long time, when I got mine they didn't eat for about 6 weeks!!!

But eat like pigs now.

The best way to have happy fish is healthy water. Most people will agree that we don't keep fish we keep water. Get that right and the fish look after themselves.

Also what size is your tank frontosa get big and need space.?.

 

[Joonburg]

My tank is 46 gallons. According to its previous owner, this is the only tank this frontosa has ever been in. What's pwc?

 

[spoonman]

I would do about a 50% water change and do it often to keep the ammonia down. You may not have to completely cycle because there is probably tons of beneficial bacteria already in there. You just need to control the algae.

 

[CraigMac]

My tank is 46 gallons. According to its previous owner, this is the only tank this frontosa has ever been in. What's pwc?

Pwc-partial water change.
Don't wait to do water changes, do them often until the tank is cycled, water changes won't stop the tank from cycling but will keep the fish alive.

 

[Joonburg]

Ok. Thanks for the info guys.