20 gal. age 3 monthspH ...

Question
20 gal. age 3 months
pH  :8
amm :0
NO2 :.25
NO3 :25
I have six African Cichlids and only one has changed color over night. I don't know the actual name of the fish but I call it z for zebra. It has black white and yellow, horizontal stripes. Today when I woke up I noticed that all of the colors have a darkness to them. They have all turned a shade of brown. I have seen no other signs of symptoms. Any help is appreciated.

Thank you, Russ";  

Answer
Hi Russ;

You might want to ask Ron Coleman about it. He's the cichlid expert around here;

http://www.allexperts.com/displayExpert.asp?Expert=21527

You might want to make a partial water change of 25% in the meantime. Nitrites (NO2) should always be "zero" in an established tank. The change will help reduce it and make the fish feel better until you can find out what's wrong. Nitrates (NO3) are okay as high as 40 ppm.

Hope everything works out okay......

Chris Robbins