New African Tank

Question
QUESTION: Hi there. I have a 90g Tank with lots of hiding spots (Plants, Caves, Rocks Wood Coral, and crushed Gravel. My PH is 7.9 and I am cycling my tank with Prime Is it normal for the Cichlids to flash their sides on the crushed coral almost like they are scratching their sides? I have about 19 cichlids probably 11 different types with only I have a lot of minor fights going on and one really mean albino one that bothers every one except my 2 baby Frontosa's and my Big Catfish. How do i make the Albino more friendly he goes around bullying all the fish and takes their territory for about 10 seconds then evicts the next one and on and on all day same with food he guards it so the others cant eat I have to use sinking pellets and floating Should I remove him or will he calm down soon (They are all still very young)

ANSWER: Hi Phil,
That's quite a lot of fish for a cycling tank. They are probably flashing due to ammonia or nitrite irritation. The prime may not be enough to control the amount of ammonia being produced. Water changes would a much better alternative. You should also test your ammonia and nitrite everyday to know when your fish might be suffering from ammonia poisoning.

The cichlid fights will certainly continue and the Albino cichlid will likely stay the same or he may get even worse. With so many species, there may be some problems with that.

For now, focus on cycling your tank and keeping ammonia as low as you can until the biofilter establishes.

In the meantime, make sure you know the compatability and needs of all the types of cichlids you keep. With research you should be able to determine if any species should be removed.

Best wishes and I hope this helps!
Karen~

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

QUESTION: Thank you for your help Karen,
That answers my question partially, I have been doing tests on PH, Ammonia, Nitrite, and Finally Nitrate. At first I had higher PH, and Nitrite, They have gone down lots now Ammonia is at 0/.25ppm and Nitrite is at 0ppm I had a Nitrate level of 50 ppm last night so I did a 20% water change and it is about 20 - 40 ppm now Ph is about 7.9 steady I havent had a prob with PH ever  but they just seem stressed a bit odd behaivior But its been so long since i have had them i cant remember how to help I havent added any salt to the tank would this help at all? I bought the tank with a used eheim should i replace the media in it? or just the filter sponges? How do i know when it is completely cycled? Some fish seem great others seem stressed. If you can help or If i am on the right path your assistance is greatly appreciated

Answer
Hello and your very welcome Phil!

Seems like your tank hasn't cycled yet. Water changes are definitely the answer to your water quality problem. Until the biofilter bacteria establish they will need several weeks to finally be able to control the ammonia and nitrite. Sounds like your tank is trying to finish cycling but it still needs more time. Also, make sure your test kits are compatible with your Prime water conditioner. Sometimes you -can- get false readings when using an ammonia neutralizer. So check that.

I wouldn't change out the filter media unless absolutely necessary (example: the filter media is clogged beyond any chance of rinsing in a bucket of tank water). Wait until your aquarium has been established for a while at least a good two months or more until you try to change any of it. Doing so early could slow down your bacterial establishment since they tend to thrive in great numbers in your filter.

Its easy to know when your aquarium is cycled. It's when your ammonia and nitrite are both consistently ZERO and nitrate is about 20...though it can be more or less just depending upon your stock load.

*If you need more help on cycling your tank. This article offers a great explanation-
http://www.firsttankguide.net/cycle.php

Likely the ammonia is stressing the cichlids. Water changes are best thing you could do for them. I do hope they all make it through OK, Keep up hope, cichlids are tough critters.

Karen~