[brianmccord2001]

I just got a breeding colony of C. Afra "Jalo Reef" today, my first experience with them. Over half of the colony has collapsed tails, and quite a few have fin damage. Could this be some sort of sickness, or just stress from transport?

 

[Guest]

Are they eating? Any aggression? Any other symptoms?

How long have they been like this and water parameters?

I think it could just be stress as long as they're all eating and no other symptoms. How long were they shipped for?

~Ed

 

[brianmccord2001]

They werent shipped, I drove an hour to get them. I didn't test my water before I added them, which might have been a mistake, because here are the results...

p.h. 8.2 - good
amonia 0.25 ppm - ok
nitrite 5.0 ppm - kinda worried
and I haven't tested nitrates yet, but I assume they are high.

Are they in serious danger? They have been in the tank for about 4 hours, and I have already added Melafix for their fin damage.

 

[brianmccord2001]

I just checked my nitrates, and they are at 10 ppm

 

[Guest]

You shouldn't have any nitrites or ammonia. How old is your tank? You should really do some water changes to lower your readings to a safer level.

 

[brianmccord2001]

I have had the tank running since the 23rd of may. As per your advice, I did a 25% water change today...but seem to have misplaced my Stress Coat. I'll keep up the water changes for the next 5 days.

 

[Guest]

Keep the changes small though. Was your tank cycled before you added the fish? If it wasn't cycled doing larger water changes can disturb the tank cycling.

 

[brianmccord2001]

I have had 2 Ps. sp. Acei in the tank for about 2 weeks now. I recently changed filter (within last 10 days) to a Fluval 304. Maybe the bacteria havent colonized yet?

 

[cichlidaholic]

Your tank is going through the cycle. Any ammonia reading besides zero isn't "okay".

You need to do frequent water changes, perhaps more than one a day. Keep feeding to a minimum. And, you need to pick up a good dechlorinator like Prime - don't go without a dechlorinator for any water change...Prime will help detoxify the ammonia, and remove both chlorine and chloramines from the water.

This is a hazardous situation for your fish that may cause long term damage to them.

 

[brianmccord2001]

I purchased the following: more Stress Coat (dechlorinator), Cycle (Bio cycle supplement), and MelaFix (For torn fins/ragged tails). I've been doing one water change per day, but I have noticed that the fish are flashing and seem like they are itching. I've already lost one of the females.

 

[cichlidaholic]

I'm not sure if StressCoat works for both chlorine and chloramines, and I don't believe it will detoxify the ammonia.

Prime would be your best bet.

Cycle isn't going to help as much as water changes will as far as the ammonia and nitrites go. As for "bacteria in a bottle" Biospira is the best I've heard of. I've not heard alot of good stuff about Cycle.

Are you monitoring your water parameters? It may be necessary to do more than one water change daily.

 

[brianmccord2001]

Stress coat does both. Plus has aloe. Ok, after my water test, here are the parameters...

pH - 8.0
Ammonia - 0 ppm (sweeeeeeet!)
Nitrates - 10 ppm
Nitrites - .25 ppm

Am I going to be able to sleep tonight?

Also, the fish all seem like they're chewing gum. I know that what a female looks like when shes tumbling eggs, but they're ALL doing it.

 

[cichlidaholic]

That's good...But you've still got a nitrite reading, and that needs to be zero too.

What you are seeing might mean they are breathing heavy, due to the nitrites.

 

[Guest]

By the way Prime can be found at all Petsmarts. Ultimate is another good dechlorinator but isn't as cost efficient.

If you have any other established tanks with gravel or know anybody, even your LFS you could borrow some gravel, put it in a filter bag into your filter to help speed up the cycle.

Prime is also a good choice because if you overdose it a bit, it binds ammonia and nitrites making it non-toxic. I do that when I medicate my quarentine tank since the dead bacteria constantly give me slight ammonia rises inbetween water changes.

As Kim said don't use Cycle...it's just water in a bottle in my opinion. Marineland's BioSpira helps speed up cycles but won't do a "instant cycle".

~Ed

 

[brianmccord2001]

I tested the water this morning before I was scheduled to do my daily water change, and this was the results.

p.H. 8.0
Ammonia - 0ppm
Nitrate 10 ppm
Nitrite 0 ppm

Should I still do water changes? I feel kinda stupid asking, but I have $180.00 worth of new Afras in there.

Anyhow, this is their soon to be happy home.

Still a little cloudy. Thanks for all your help, guys.

 

[cichlidaholic]

I would monitor the water closely for the next couple of weeks...You may spike again with the new fish load, so it's better safe than sorry!

The tank looks great! :thumb:

 

[brianmccord2001]

Thanks Kim! Will do.

 

[brianmccord2001]

Checked water again this morning, results were...

pH. 8.0
Nitrates - 0ppm (weird)
Nitrites - 0ppm
Ammonia - 0ppm

But fish are still flashing...why could this be?

 

[cichlidaholic]

How often are they flashing? Are the same fish flashing over and over again?

What type test kits are you using? Are they the strips or liquid reagent? Have they been open longer than 6 months?

 

[brianmccord2001]

I am using the API freshwater master test set. I have owned and used the test set since September of 2007, but I can find anywhere on the set that would indicate any sort of expiration. The tests always seem to coincide with LFS test results. Do you think my kit might be inaccurate?

I can't tell if it is the same fish flashing over and over due to the fact that they are mainly the females flashing, and they all look the same to me right now. I haven't had them long enough to know them yet. And they are flashing pretty irregularly. It isn't consistent.