CichlidFish.com - Fish That Think.

I have a south african cichlid.  when i first got him the majority of him was black, now about a month later the black is about 95% gone and he is turning a yellowish orange color.  He's not as active as he used to be so i thought he might just be getting bored.  We got him another cichlid who was grey with black spots and has now turned completely black.  they fought a little in the beginning but they seem to agree more now.  however, i noticed today when i came home from work that my yellowish fish isn't swimming as well and seems to be leaning more to one side.  he isnt itching on anything but his eyes seem kinda swollen and he's breathing heavy.  i'm not exactly sure what the right temp and ph levels are supposed to be and i feel kinda stupid getting the fish without having proper knowledge of them.  any help would be really appreciated.

Hi, Stephi!  Sorry to hear about your problem.  Could you tell us a little more about your fish and your aquarium?  It would help us to know what size (how many gallons) your aquarium is.  If you know the name of the fish that might help too.  Is your aquarium pretty new, or have you had it for awhile?  What kind of filter are you using?  How often do you change the water, and how much do you change at one time?  What are you feeding your fish? 

I know this is a lot of questions, but it will help us advise you better.  One other thing:  Do you have a water test kit?  These allow you to find out things about your water, like pH, and about chemicals it might contain, like ammonia.  If you have a test kit, just follow the directions, and tell us the measurements of:
pH
ammonia
nitrite
nitrate

If you don't have a test kit, just take some of your water to a good fish store, and they'll measure it for you.  Then you can tell us what they are.  Ammonia and nitrite should both read zero.  Nitrates should be under 40 parts per thousand.

Good luck with your fish!

Some Questions for you:

1. How big is the tank??
2. Did you cycle the tank or just have the one fish in until you got this one??
3. HOW long has the tank been running??  As in Weeks, months...
4. What kind of tank cleaning do you preform, how often, weekly, monthly, and HOW many gal out/in??
5. Do you clean the filter and when was the last time you did so..

I can tell you now, that any tiime you add in a NEW FISH to a tank with only a few to one, he is going to be picked on for a few days.. NORMAL really.. Lots of caves in your tank wil help him out..

I am unsure on the cichlids you have, but it sounds like a bumble bee, Pseudotropheus Crabo.. They turn black when stressed then to a yellowish/brown striped.. Neat fish really.. I am not sure on the last one you just got.. Are you sure it is a African cichlid?? Sounds more like a American one to me.. Does the body resimble the one you have now, NOT the coloring, or is it bigger as in taller wise?? Could be a Texan cichlid, but I would need a pic to be sure..  

pH needs to be 7.6 to 8.6 for African cichlids..
GH/KH needs to be hard: 140ppm to 320ppm.. The GH needs to be higher than the KH to stabilize the pH or it wil crash.. NOT good.. But most water hardness are stable..  

IF you find that the above is less, especially the pH, then you need to get a buffer to UP  your hardness, so the pH comes up naturally.. But more on that later IF you need to know.. DO not get pH UP.. It does not work...

Some fish stores do water tests for you and they wil tell you if you are Ok or not, so call and ask if they will or not..  PLEASE make them write it down NOT TELL YOU IT IS OK..

So answer the above and maybe I can help you out a little more..  

thank you so much for replying!! The fish tank has been used before but was put away for about a year.  it's been functioning for about a month now.  i believe it is a 5 gallon tank.  the fish are rather small.  i change the water about every week or so replacing about 2-3 gallons of the water.  I have a ph test kit and the color of the water seems to not really match any of the colors on the card.  the card only goes up to 7.8 so this might be why.  I got the fish at petsmart and unfortunately all they told me about the fish was that they were south african cichlids.  i'll be sure to take pictures of the two fish and post them asap.  thank you for everything!

O my gosh, a 5 gal is not big enough for ANY fish, much less ONE African.. IS this a type O or is it really a 5 gal tank??

Maybe you meant a 55gal tank. I hope...

omg ooops yes it is 55.  i should probably read things over before i post them ehh? 

Yes that would help out a lot to re READ what you posted before you hit POST... I was REALLY hoping that it was a 55 gal.. So VERY glad that it is..  ( as now I am editing mine for miss spelt words)

NOW if you are only changlng out 2 or 3 gal, then you best get some 5 gal buckets so you NEED to do more.. AS what you are removing/adding back in is not enough.. Do you VACUUM the gravel?? This is very important to do to remove Waste and uneaten food.. Easy really but you have to watch how much you take out and NOT go over 1/2 of your tanks water volume.. Here is how I calculate how much to remove.. DEPENDING ON DECO and to much takes away from your 55 gal capacity..

55 x . 20%= 11 gal OUT/ IN.. NOW this is close to 10 gal so just do the 10 gal..
55 x .25%= 13.75, now this is closer to 15 gal. better to measure/dechlor/salt in exchange water..
55 x .30% = 16.5.. Now this is closer to 15 gal so just do the 15 as stated above..

YOU should not have to do more than the 25 to 30% as this is a lot of water OUT and back IN.. I only reccommend this amount in bad situations or over stocked tanks.. I do mostly 10 gal on my 55's and that is enough to make the water much better for them.. Even my Juvies tanks do good with this amount..

On your pH, I use a LIQUID TEST kit for HIGH pH that is INSTANT so I know where I am at in my tanks and exchange water.. They are different from the tap to the barrel I use after it sits for  a while.. 8.4 out of the tap, to 8.0 after 30 min.. I think the water conditioner/salt and letting it get Air seems to change it some..
You might have HIGH pH and that is good.. Like I said, see if the fish store will RUN some tests of your TAP water AND tank water.. They wil differ some, but not a lot.. This will let you know where you are at.. OR get a LIQUID instant pH test kit, the high range is for 7.6 to 8.4 or so.. this wil give you a better reading of where you are at..

I would say this tank is cycled or is almost done cycling but with out a Ammonia/NITRITE test, it is hard to say.. As you only had one fish in this tank, that is not really enough to get the tank cycled good.. I would see about the AMMONIA AND NITRITE test kits too.. The Ammonia comes in INSTANT but the NITRITE is a 5 min test, so get a timer..

If the fish are stil discolored, then youi really need to do a 5 gal OUT and back IN and see if that does not help them some..  IF you placed in the new fish in a tank with HIGH NITRITE, that wil make them discolor fast. The one that is their, has ajusted to the tank cycle and should not be affect to much, but high NITRITES can kill them if left alone.. Water changes are the only good way to reduce them SAFELY.. As you only have these two fish, A VAC is not needed, but please do 5 gal out and MAKE SURE you add in dechlor back into the exchange water BEFORE you place it into the tank.. I do my mix of water in the bath tub in a 5 gal bucket and add in the dechlorinater/salt first so it mixes good., let it sit for 10 min or so, then pour it into a smaller bucket to carry to the tank.  I do this if I am not using my barrell.. OR you can use a smaller pitcher and just add in 3 drops dechlorinater/water conditioner per but make sure you change out the 5 gal..

NOTE: THE TEMP OF THE EXCHANGE WATER, NEEDS TO BE WITH IN 3F OF THE TANK WATER TO AVOID TEMP SHOCK!!

Any other questions just ask..