Blue Acara Cichlid is looking very lethargic and hangs in the bottom of the aquarium.

[EelBoyTheChampion]

I have a Blue Electric Acara Cichlid that hasn't looked too good over the past two weeks. Before, it was a lively fish that would pop out of no where and follow me whenever I walked near the aquarium. However, since I've had a very bad Cyanobacteria outbreak (am currently still dealing with trace amounts of it although it only grows on the tank glass), it has been hanging in the bottom of the aquarium. Whats weird is its tank mates, which is an otocinclus, yellow tail spiny eel, zig zag/half banded spiny eel and peacock eel are very active and well.

I've been checking my water parameters with the API Freshwater Master Kit and everything except for Nitrates and maybe ph looks good. Ammonia is at 0 ppm, Nitrite is at 0ppm, Nitrate seems to be around 5.0ppm, ph seems to be around 7.4 but I"m not to sure about ph. The temperature of my tank is 78 degrees Fahrenheit.

I have a 55 gallon tank with black sand, a power filter hanging in the back and a water heater in the tank. Below is my stock:

1 Otocinclus
1 Blue Electric Acara Cichlid
1 Striped Peacock Eel
1 Yellowtail Spiny Eel
1 Zig Zag/Half Banded Spiny Eel
8 Marimo Moss Balls

 

[tlindsey]

Have you noticed any stringy white poop?

 

[EelBoyTheChampion]

Have you noticed any stringy white poop?

There is no stringy white poop anywhere in the tank. I made sure to keep an eye out for some when I did a 30 percent water change. I also did all the test right after the 30 percent water change.

 

[Galantspeedz]

Think test should be done before water change...

 

[duanes]

Agree with Galantspeedz, its what the water is doing before a water change that is important as a barometer of the health of the tank.
You can then test after the water change to compare the difference, if the parameters are radically different (or not) before, and after, is what tells you if your water change regime is adequate.
For example, if your nitrate was 25 or above, just before the water change, this indicates to me, you had too much time in between water changes, and may be the reason you are having an algae bloom.
If your pH is 7.4 after a water change, but was 6.6 before, this also indicates there was too long a wait between water changes, allowing the tank water to become much more acidic (fish urine), another indicator of why cyano/algae may be blooming .
Stability is what we as aquarists strive for, and testing before and after water changes is how it is determined.

 

[EelBoyTheChampion]

Think test should be done before water change...

Since the cichlid has been acting this way, I've been testing parameters right after a water change as well as before it.

 

[EelBoyTheChampion]

Agree with Galantspeedz, its what the water is doing before a water change that is important as a barometer of the health of the tank.
You can then test after the water change to compare the difference, if the parameters are radically different (or not) before, and after, is what tells you if your water change regime is adequate.
For example, if your nitrate was 25 or above, just before the water change, this indicates to me, you had too much time in between water changes, and may be the reason you are having an algae bloom.
If your pH is 7.4 after a water change, but was 6.6 before, this also indicates there was too long a wait between water changes, allowing the tank water to become much more acidic (fish urine), another indicator of why cyano/algae may be blooming .
Stability is what we as aquarists strive for, and testing before and after water changes is how it is determined.

That is true. Before the cichlid became lethargic, I always tested the parameters before a water change and almost never did after unless I suspected something was up. Whats confusing me is since I am still dealing with some leftovers of the cyanobacteria, I've been starving the fish and blacking out the aquarium. I've been doing this for a good month now, feeding the fish twice every week. So I'm honestly not to sure what could be causing a spike in Nitrates.

 

[EntoStentor]

Are you aware you are extremely overstocked? Apart from the fact that otocinclus are schooling fish, blue acaras need more than a 55. Also each spiny eel needs at least a 100 gallon each. I highly advise you to clear out some of your stock before trying to sort out the acara.

Are you using a liquid test kit to measure ammonia? Others tend to not be reliable.

Have you cycled your tank?

Has the acara been eating?

Any aggression?

These are all questions that need to be answered before we can help you.

 

[EelBoyTheChampion]

Are you aware you are extremely overstocked? Apart from the fact that otocinclus are schooling fish, blue acaras need more than a 55. Also each spiny eel needs at least a 100 gallon each. I highly advise you to clear out some of your stock before trying to sort out the acara.

Are you using a liquid test kit to measure ammonia? Others tend to not be reliable.

Have you cycled your tank?

Has the acara been eating?

Any aggression?

These are all questions that need to be answered before we can help you.

1. I'm not sure if my tank is extremely overstocked as of right now (will definitely have to upgrade in the future). The yellow tail spiny eel is about 4 inches, the zig zag/half banded spiny eel is about 3 inches. The peacock eel is about 5 inches in length and the Blue Electric Acara Cichlid is about 3.5" inches.

2. I am using the API Freshwater Master Kit to test my parameters. I've been using it for about a year now.

3. My tank is cycled. I have ceramic rings and Bio Balls inside my Power Filter to house the beneficial bacteria.

4. The Acara is only active when it eats a sinking pellet. I use the Aqueon Cichlid Pellets to feed it.

5. There isn't any aggression in the tank at all. The eels are constantly out in the open and almost never bury themselves. The otocinclus does his job and no one bothers him. Before the cichlid would stay in the middle of the tank, but now it just stays in the same spot on the bottom.

 

[EntoStentor]

I was assuming the eels were full grown. Sorry about that. As long as you upgrade in the future, should be fine.

Hmmm...could it be internal parasites of some kind or another? Lethargy is usually in indicator. Nothing looks off on the outside. I have noticed this same thing in many acaras at pet stores, could be an acara thing. I don't have any cichlids nor do I know much about them, would talk to FINWIN about this.

Sorry I'm not much help, I don't keep much fw in general.