I've had this 65 gallon aquarium for over a year and haven't been able to keep any fish alive for more than 2weeks except for my striped Raphael Catfish and mystery snail. Water temp is at 79, pH is 7.7, nitrates around 20, nitrites 0, KH 40, GH 60 and ammonia between 0 and 0.25. I have one piece of drift wood and a nice chunk of java moss as well. As for filtration I'm running a hydor 450 with various filter media. I've used prime and other tap water treatments during water changes. I've never had a problem like this with any aquarium before so I'm absolutely lost. Please Help. TYA
Cichlids keep dying after around 2 weeks
- Thread starter Marekj
- Start date
So, what you're saying is, this tank has been up and running for over a year with a catfish and a snail as its residents? And those parameters are with the catfish and snail in it? And they're pretty much stable all the time? And your catfish and snail are fine?
And then what? You add some cichlids and within 2 weeks they're all dead? And you've tried this on a number of occasions with the same end result, dead cichlids?
What species of cichlids do you add? How big are they? Do you stagger their addition or put a load in at once? Do you quarantine them first?
And then what? You add some cichlids and within 2 weeks they're all dead? And you've tried this on a number of occasions with the same end result, dead cichlids?
What species of cichlids do you add? How big are they? Do you stagger their addition or put a load in at once? Do you quarantine them first?
Correct those parameters are stable with the catfish and snail but when I add 2-4in Oscars to grow out or even tiger barbs they are fine for the first week and then they stop eating and lay at the bottom of the tank until they die. And yes snail is doing great and catfish comes out at night and feeds regularly. I added 5 tiger barbs and then an Oscar this past time. the Oscar surpassed the tiger barbs but still died unfortunately they get really sluggish after the First couple weeks until laying at the bottom. And no I don' quarantine them
When you add extra fish you are adding to the bio load of the system. Your BB have to adjust to this new bio load. In the meantime, until they multiply in numbers and catch up, you can get ammonia spikes. The time scale of the oscars deaths is pretty much in line with this. I believe raphael cats are quite hardy, this is why your cat seems to pull through unaffected.
If you add new fish in future check your water for ammonia for a few days after. If you have positive readings you need to do a water change, using prime too, and keep checking until the BB multiplies enough to process the excess ammonia your oscars are putting out.
And by the way, i'd stay clear of oscars anyway if that 65g tank is all you can offer them long term. Unless, like you said you are growing them out and maybe shifting them to a bigger tank later.
I don't suppose you have another tank? You could take some seeded media from another filter and give your 65g a kickstart.
But yes, you need to be very aware of the ammonia issue. Any signs and perform water changes. Using prime helps a great deal because it detoxifies the ammonia for 48 hrs or so making it safe for your fish until your BB get into gear. Have you got a liquid test kit? The API kit is the one most commonly used.
I have the test kit and some prime. How much of a water change do you recommend 50%?
