New 6x2x2 Stock, Possible Parasites?

[davidblackson]

my new 6x2x2 with all new fish brought together at the same time

12 x electric yellows
6x cobalt blues ( maylandia callainos )
2x kadanga red ( copadichromis " i think? )
6x kingsizei
3x elongatus mpanga
2x sciaenochromis ahli
9x acei

2 of the electric yellows a kingsizei and a ahli, i have witnessed flicking and rubbing themselves of things dose this mean parasites, i cant afford meds for a tank this large what should i do..

 

[Colin_T]

Keep an eye out for little white dots on the fish. That is whitespot and will cause the fish to rub and flick against rocks and ornaments. Scratching can also be brought about by poor water quality so check the water for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate & PH.
If the fish do get whitespot you will have to treat it otherwise they will die. But wait to see if they develop it. Copper is pretty effective against whitespot and is reasonably cheap. Look in the pond section for whitespot medication because the pond treatments are usually cheaper and treat more water.

On another note, did you cycle the tank before putting all those fish in? If not you will probably have some problems as the filters develop and the fish suffer from ammonia poisoning.

 

[davidblackson]

the tank was not fully cycled and there is still small amounts of ammonia and nitirte, what should i do

 

[Colin_T]

keep the feeding right down, perhaps once every couple of days. The fish won't starve.
Do daily water changes to dilute the ammonia & nitrite and try to keep the levels as low as possible.