johnloveday

I have 3 cichlids and a catfish and 4 gobies(im not sure if this is what they are called) in the tank. One cichlid is unable to stay upright and sort of swims on its side around the bottom..it looks almost dead... the other one is having like spasms...it starts to shake really hard in one spot and them starts to swim...the other cichlid is fine, the 4 gobies and the catfish are competely normal...what could be happening to the 2 cichlids? i dont know if the problem is related or not...and waht shoul i do?

Shawnie

sounds like the are very sick from the tank not being cycled....do you have a reading for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates?

johnloveday

i dont have the readings...the sickest cichlid already died...the other one still sort of shakes but the rest of the fish seem fine...i asked at a fish store and he said it was probably the fish was bloated..so he gave a capsule as medicine and i put that in..

Shawnie

im sorry for the loss of one of your babies
please dont medicate the fish ...LFS are always willing to sell you a ton of stuff to make the money..which tank is this that has the africans in it? you only have the 20g listed and thats so very new also..but it still sounds like ammonia/nitrite poisioning..if it was bloated,you would be able to see it and it would be severely swollen ..was it? ...seeing how you know about the nitrogen cycle, you must know thats the most important thing to test for when the fishies are sick or acting abnormally....

Riz

African Cichlids, need to be in a high pH water, i.e around 8 ish, low Ph's are not good for these fish. Also Regular water changes are needed. Gobies will be ok as they are ok with neutral and lower PH values..
Also set up a rock face using seperate rocks at the back of the tank to immitate thier natural habitat as much as possible. It's my personal view, but.. I wouldn't advise mixing African cichlids with other species.. esp because of the habitat differences, i.e. ph, GH, substrate

Can you find the sex of the two cichlids that are ok? It may be shaking in one spot as a part of its mating ceremony or to warn another cichlid off.. clues are golden looking egg spots on the anal fin for males( Malawies), other species the male may be more brighter in colour than the female, eg. lake victoria species..

Most importantly though, 20% water change, wait 1 hour for conditioner to disperse then add hagen/nutrafin cycle.. Also you could make sure your carbon in your filter is in good condition, renew if not. I don't know what other people think here, but I personally dont like using carbon in the filter as it can mask other problems :/ water changes for the win every time

Good luck

johnloveday

thnx for the replies..i dnt think this fish store was just trying to sell..it wasnt that expensive and they have been quite helpful...i only have the 20g tank..the fish are still small..i have reduced the amount of food because i heard this can cause the ammonia levels to rise...also i have changed the way the filter was set up so that it creates a stronger current and helps clean better so the ammonia levels drop...if this makes sense.. i will make more water changes to try and keep it cleaner....lets hope there are no more losses and i will post more info when there are changes..
ps i dont know what sex the cichlids are..one is sort of bright pink(this is the one that shakes) and sort of changes colour...the other is a yellowish orange but that one is fine..

aquarist48

Good morning John. So sorry to hear about your ill fish and fish loss. I highly recommend purchasing an API (liquid) Master test kit for starters. (I don't recommend paper test strips as they can be very unreliable). You really need to know your readings for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate along with pH levels (mentioned in the nitrogen cycle link below). I have to agree that it sounds like your tank isn't cycled.

The only beneficial bacteria additive that I know of that can work is Tetra Safe Start (TSS). Too, it doesn't work for everyone. The others do not contain the necessary bacteria to maintain your cycle with out adding it for the life of the tank.

For now I would suggest a 50% water change. Add some Prime or Amquel + to detox ammonia for 24 hours, that may be in your tank. A water change is always a good place to start when things are going wrong in your tank.
The Aquarium Nitrogen Cycle
Best of luck!
Ken

kcarmartinez

Could your pink fish possibly be hemichromis bimaculatus?
I would just like to clerify that even female cichlids can have egg spots, so don't take that as an end all be all. Some fish need to be "vented" so you can tell. Or you can tell when you have a female who is "holding."
The shaking could be a mating thing, but I have never seen mine do it unless they were demonstrating for another fish. Do you happen to notice if this fish is doing it when no other fish is around or when another fish is close by?
Hope you get the water parameters worked out. I also agree API Master Test Kits are the way to go. Those strip tests are "easy" but I don't think they are as accurate, they are hard to read, and in the long run will cost you more money. Liquid tests last for a LOT longer.

johnloveday

i will get a kit probably tomorrow...the shaking has stopped...i was told it might have been a small parasite but i had already put in medication for the fish that died...so i think this cleared up the parasite and stopped the shaking...but im not really sure..the two cichlids that lived are fine now