Dead fish....random? Water?

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Dieboldly

Dieboldly

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Apr 24, 2015
574
63
36
Buena Park, CA
Soooo I haven't had a dead fish in my 100 gallon tank till today! I did maybe a 50% water change yesterday and looked just now and I have two dead African cichlids. One was floating and the other was in the ground. Now I did a water test and my nitrite and ph are kinda high. However, This tank has been set up for months...didn't have this issue before....any ideas why it could be so high now? Was it too much of a water change? What's the true water parameters for a cichlid tank?
 
What are you ammonia readings? You shouldnt have nitrites. Did you clean anything in the filter? Forget dechlorinator? Match temperature?
 
Ammonia was kinda high also. I did not clean the filter seeing how it was just a water change. I did the de chlorinated from prime and I usually just add cold faucet water and it's been fine....?
 
I will do the test again and post pics of what I have right now. Idk why it spiked so high because I've had it low but I've slacked off on my water changes too....
 
The ammonia/nitrite is enough to kill, especially African cichlids; they tend to be sensitive to nitrogenous wastes. I would step up water changes until levels stabilize
 
What is your normal frequency of, time in between, and amount of water in your water changes?
And what do you mean by Africans? Do you mean rift lake, or riverine species?
Rift lake species can be very sensitive to abrupt fluctuations in pH, whereas riverine are more tolerant.
How often do you clean out filters?
 
I was betting on Mbuna as they are often sold as mixed African cichlid but good point Africa is a huge area with many collection points
 
You can neutralize it with prime. If your tank is close to a window add a pothos vine or similar plant to filter/sump(probably not to tank as your cichlids will eat roots)
 
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