Help With My Cichlids And Featherfin Catfish:)

[TANK40]

Hi all I'm a newby to this but have had tanks over the years but not a tropical one , l rescued the tank from thick black algue and about half a foot of dark green water , one was dead the others are ok ,
I've got 5 cichlids 1 featherfin catfish and 1 climbing preach , cleaned the tank fully scrubbed the rocks new filters and new stones , all is good , had this about 5 months I then introduced 2 new cichlids , lovely colours and great to watch , 6 months gone and my friend bought me 2 more cichlids, left in bag at top of tank for about 30 mins and introduced them to there new home , only to find 1 was being strange playing dead at the bottom swimming upside down then died by morning , my friend took it back and bought me another one , same again introduced it to the tank and this time it's playing dead swimming sideways and not eating all my other fish have moved and staying at one end , I've taken it out and they all ok again the first fish I got from my friend in this batch is all good , could this be a bad batch or am I doing something wrong ,
Thanks
Tank is 3ft by 2ft
Have two filter pumps
1 long airstone

 

[Akasha72]

cichlids can be susceptable to something called Hexamita. It is generally brought on by stress and is caused by a build up of excess bacteria in their gut. The general signs are a white stringy poo, lethergy and in extreem cases popeye disease. The fish will also hang around in corners and refuse to eat.
 
I'm wondering if this is what has happened. It's just a guess with the limited information but swimming erratically as you describe could also be a sign of swim bladder disease which is also caused by internal problems.
 
Hex can be treated with anti-biotics and food dipped in an epsom salt water solution but by the sound of it the fish was already too far gone. As you have had these fish in your tank it is possible they have infected your tank so keep an eye on your other fish. Any signs of what I've described then you'll need to treat the tank with an anti-biotic and arm yourself with some epsom salt. Waterlife do a good anti-biotic called Octozin.
 
I'll leave it there and see what the other guys here think

 

[fluttermoth]

Do you know what sort of cichlids you have?

The cichlid family of fish is very large and has many differing fish; from South American dwarves which are generally peaceful and need soft water to Rift Valley cichlids, which are very aggressive and need very hard, alkaline water.

We really need to know what species you have before we can help.

Also, do you test the water, and if so what are the numbers you're getting?

How often and how large are your water changes?

 

[TANK40]

Thank you yes the second one stayed hiding behind my pump all day yesterday then today just dropped to the bottom swam funny then played dead its out of the tank and is still alive , no poo or funny eyes , but I had notice just know it's Finns look a it thin .

 

[Akasha72]

as fluttermoth says we really need more information. We can't see the fish and so trying to diagnose remotely can be difficult. It does sound like an internal thing but that could be any number of things
 
Agreeing with fluttermoth here. What type of cichlids are they? what are your water parameters? (ph, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate at the least) 

 

[TANK40]

Not sure of test in water as I havernt changed the tank since I've saved fish (6 months) ish I'm trying to send photos but it's telling me it's to large and I'm not sure how to smaller the photos on iPad any ideas?

 

[TANK40]

These are the two I've lost
I will buy a test tomorrow
Thank you both
And I'll take more pics

 

[Akasha72]

those are rift lake cichlids and not my expertese. I keep south american cichlids
my best advice would be to get a water test kit. Api do a good one called the API Masterkit. It will give you most of what you need - pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. Once you have a kit follow the instructions and test your water. Then let us know the readings. We can help more once we know what is going on.
 
Often, when things are going wrong, it comes down to water problems. We need to rule that out first before we can look at other causes

 

[TANK40]

I'll try and get more pics know I've got others ones

 

[fluttermoth]

Not sure of test in water as I havernt changed the tank since I've saved fish (6 months)

All fish tanks should have weekly partial water changes, where you remove some of the water (usually between 25 and 50%, depending on how heavily stocked your tank is, but you an do more) and replace it with fresh, dechlorinated water. If you haven't been doing this, then your tank is probably suffering from what we call 'old tank syndrome'. This just means that undesirable substances (mostly nitrate and fish hormones) have built up it the tank. Your older fish will have become accustomed to those levels, but any new fish won't be able to adapt fast enough.

If this is the case, it could be harmful to do large water changes, as you could shock the fish, so you'll need to do a lot of small water changes to get those levels down. Start by doing 20% daily for a week, but put some of the current water aside for testing beforehand, as the current levels in the tank are what we need to know. If you don't have tests of your own (which you really should; a set of decent liquid or tablet tests, not the paper strip kind, are an essential part of a fishkeepers kit), you can get your local shop to test it for you, but you must get them to write the actual numbers down for you; 'fine' or 'a little high' is of no use to us.

I'm trying to send photos but it's telling me it's to large and I'm not sure how to smaller the photos on iPad any ideas?

The bandwidth for photos is a bit mean on this site; I use Photobucket myself, so I'm not sure what to suggest for iPad users! I think there's a thread on posting pictures somewhere......

 

[TANK40]

As I said I rescued these as someone left them to die so I took them in being a animal lover so not sure which cichlids I have any help is great full thank you I will get a decent test kit tomorrow and let you know
Thanks

 

[fluttermoth]

You do have Rift Valley cichlids.

Your problems are almost certainly one of, or a combinatation of, these issues;

Old tank syndrome, as I mentioned in my previous post

Aggression. Rift Valleys are very aggressive fish. They need be kept in large groups (so your tank will be much more heavily stocked than is generally recommended, and you'll have to do extra, or larger water changes in compensation) so the aggression is spread around more (your dominant fish won't be able to bully a weaker one to death if there is a large shoal of fish for them to pick on). Your current fish see the whole tank as their territory, and won't take kindly to interlopers. If you want to add new fish, you need to move the rocks around to break up the current territories shortly before adding the new fish.

If your water isn't very hard and alkaline, this could cause issues. While fish that evolved in soft water can, to some extent, adapt to harder, fish from hard waters cannot adapt. When my mum kept mbuna, she had to artificially raise the the pH and hardness with buffer salts, as our Cornish water is very soft and acidic.

Hope that helps you pin down what the issues might be; getting your water tested is your first priority though.

 

[Carpynicholls]

Looks like a p.H problem to me

 

[luca1980]

I have an African cichlid tank, with a featherfin catfish as well. I would consider cichlids to be more territorial than outright aggressive other than specific cichlids such as the bumblebee cichlid who are notorious bullies. Most will live happily with others provided that there are sufficient caves and rockwork for them. If the fish died due to fighting, there would be more obvious signs that this was the cause of death.
 
Your tank is on the small side for Africans - they prefer very large tanks - both long as well as wide.
 
Weekly tank maintenance is the key to healthy fish. I do a 50% water change every week, as well as dosing my tank with seachem prime and stability. I also add African rift lake salts to maintain a high pH. Over time, your fish will begin to suffer if their water is too soft.

 

[Demeter32]

Not really sure if this is really relevant anymore but the two that died are peacocks. The all blue one with the spots on its anal fin is a blue zebra. The other fish that have different colors (blue, orange, yellow) are also peacocks(males). You also have an electric yellow lab, an elongatus of some sort (blue and black fella) and the rather drab brown looking one is a female peacock. Btw that feather-fin looks amazing. I have a little fella that's about 2-3 inches right now and I hope he looks like your's a year or two.