african cichilid

Question

IMG_0364.jpg   QUESTION: We have a red devil and have been battling I believe a fungus issue. No meds are working, there is an issue with the ammonia in the tank, I cannot get it to come down. I was told that I was changing the water to much (1-2x per week) but as soon as I reduced the cleaning schedule my fish became very stressed.  The ammonia levels are thru the roof, the nitrites & nitrates register 0 on the test, and the ph was low. How do I get the ammonia levels & ph in check? I have also medicated my fish several times over the last 4 months but can not get rid of whatever is on him, see attached.  I appreciate any advice, thank you.

ANSWER: Hi Heather,
Poor fish!  This is due to poor water conditions.  You cannot cure him now, you must bring your ammonia level down to zero before curing him as putting medication in his tank now, would be deadly.  I am quite confident that this is caused by ammonia, and once you bring your ammonia down to zero, this should help him, and he could get better on his own.  Ammonia burns skin on fish.  If this ammonia is not brought down, you will lose your little pet.  You must get rid of the ammonia which is the number one killer of fish, and bring you PH up.  To do this, make 10% water changes everyday using a good water conditioner.  If you have rinsed your sponge in hot water to clean it, you have killed all your good bacteria.  A sponge should be rinsed in water removed from tank when cleaning your filter.  A sponge is good for a very very long time, until it is falling apart.  If you have rinsed your sponge in water other than your removed tank water, buy a used sponge from your pet store, and put it into your filter.  You PH should be around 7.5.  To do this, buy a bag of crushed coral, and a pair of white nylons.  Rinse the coral well, and pass the nylons under water.  Make a bag with the nylons.  You didn't mention the size of your tank, so I am guessing here, it should be around 75 gallons since this fish grows quite big.  Put a handful of crushed coral into the nylon, and put this in your filter to let the water run over it. The next day check your water, if it is still too low, add more coral, wait one day, check again, and so on.  This must be done slowly as bringing up the PH too fast is also deadly to fish.
If you have a friend that has a tank, borrow as much water as you can from him/her, and put it in your tank.  This too will help it cycle, and bring good bacteria to your water.  
Once your tank has cycled, and there is no ammonia, or nitrites, and nitrates are low, you must do water changes every week of 25% always cycling from the bottom.
I hope your little pet pulls through.
Lynda

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I was told to add aquarium salt to the tank.  Do you recommend this? If so, how do you check the salt levels in the tank, I do not want to add to much?  You mentioned adding a water conditioner when changing water, is "StressCoat" sufficient? Lastly, what temperature do you recommend during this stressful time?

Answer
Red Devils are tropical fish, therefore there water temperature should be 76 -78 degrees.  Adding one teaspoon of diluted aquarium salt to 5 gallons of water would be good.  When doing water changes, add salt to the amount of water you have changed.  Salt helps with stress, and parasites.  "SeaChem's Cichlid Salt" is also very good instead of aquarium salt.  It is especially made for cichlids.  However, I have always used aquarium salt, and never had a problem. Always dilute it first.  Stress Coat is a very good water conditioner.
I was thinking of your situation, and depending on how high your ammonia level is, you could do a 50% water change, and 10% change thereafter.  This also depends on how long your tank was cycling.
Lynda