Illness, Health & Nutrition • New Cichlid Tank Problems

[mcarty]

Hello,
I am new to cichlids and i have started a 20 gallon long grow-out tank with 5 mbunas and i am fully aware that within a few months i will need to have a much larger tank ready to go for them. The cichlids are juveniles measuring in at about 1.5 inches. I began to cycle the tank using dr tims one and only nitrifying bacteria along with the 5 cichlids. My LFS confirmed that this would be ok so i decided to go for it. I had my fish in their for 3 days and everything was going fine my ammonia was starting to rise slightly and so were my nitrates. Unfortunately i noticed some white spots on my fish, i was not 100% sure it was ich but my lfs recommended that i treat for ich anyway. During my treatments my fish have been eating normally and swimming around although they have been hiding a bit and darting around the tank. My ammonia has also risen to 2ppm, nitrites 0ppm, and nitrates 5ppm. What can i do keep my ammonia down while treating for ich? Should i be adding anything such as stress zyme to the tank during the treatment to help preserve the biological filter? Will i have to restart the cycle once i am done with the treatment? And what should i do to minimize the stress in the tank during this? Any feedback or suggestions are appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[DJRansome]

I think the ammonia is more dangerous to the fish than the ich at this point.

Dr. Tim has a forum on CF, why not post your question about having 2ppm of ammonia in that forum and see what he says?

[mcarty]

Ok thanks i will do that. Do you have any recommendations for removing ammonia? Would it also be best if i could find some used filter media from an established tank?

[DJRansome]

Finding used media would be great! Ammonia can be removed by changing the water. But Dr. Tim's product is effective and he may have better advice for you.

[mcarty]

Would you recommend asking my LFS for some or seeing if i can find a person near me that has some that they would be willing to give me.

[DJRansome]

Both. If you are close to Boonton Township or Little Falls, send me a PM.