Question
African Cichlid Aquari
Hi Lynda,
I have four African Cichlids in an approximately 35-36 gallon tank. It had not been maintenanced in a while. I removed a lot of debree about 2 weeks ago. All was well. Lots of algae but seemingly happy fish.
A week ago, an aquarium store maintenanced the fish and I've had problems ever since. First, the fish were gasping for air. We had low oxygen levels as the water was filled all the way to the top and it lacked aeration at the surface.
We fixed that by putting hydrogen peroxide in and performing some water changes. Within hours they were fine. But the Aquarium store suggested I was feeding a poor type of food, so we switched the food. They weren't eating the floating pellets, so I overfed by mistake. Now the nitrite levels are really bad, a 10.0, if I red the 5-n-1 test strip correctly today. One of the yellow African Cichlids has what appears to be a burn on its side.
Any suggestions. It's Sunday and while I've contacted the manager of the service department at aquarium store, unlikely I will hear back from him today.
Thanks for any help - oh - do have filter system - high end - don't know the name of it but they said it's super high end - and one last thing - have holy rocks which were cleaned as well.
AnswerHi Laura,
Do a 50% water change, and leave a space from your filter to the water in your tank so that the water splashes into your tank causing movement. I would also add an air stone. (Unbelievable these people who work in some of these places!) Continue doing water changes every single day of 10% to get your nitrites down. Check your water every two days for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates. Good water chemistry shows ammonia to be safe, or zero, nitrites safe, or zero, and nitrates must be low. The only way to do this is water changes, always using a good conditioner such as "Stress Coat." You yellow cichlid, has what we call "Ammonia burn" This happens when your water chemistry is off. The water changes should help him. Do not delay these water changes, as fish may die if left undone. Disease spreads quickly in poor water quality, and fish get stressed, do not eat, and so on... We cannot cure fish in poor water conditions, we must get the chemistry right. If your little yellow African is still sick, we will cure him once the water is normal.
Do the 50% water change today, and check tomorrow to see if the ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels are going down. You can buy these small test kits at your pet store, and they are always handy to have. They should be number one in your fish cabinet. Ammonia, and Nitrites are the number one killer of fish.
Once you get your water chemistry right. Do water changes of 25% every week, and you should have no problems, but buy the test kits, so that you know at the first sign of ammonia, nitrites, and high nitrates, you can be quick, and change some of the water.
I hope the little man pulls through...there was no reason for this to happen with someone who should know what they are doing, and working in maintenance. (Avoid products, do not buy any products, they will do no good, the only product you need is a good water conditioner. Do not clean your sponge, it is full of good bacteria. Just a tip: When you do clean your sponge, always rinse it in water that you have removed from your tank. Never rinse it under tap water. The reason for this is that your sponge in full of good bacteria, and rinsing it under tap water would kill your good bacteria fish need to survive.
Keep me posted please, and I will try to help you as much as I can.
Lynda
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