Help please!!!!

[tommy_zito]

hey guys,

The Tank:
75 Gallons
Tetra EX70 Filter
Air stone
Tank temp is about 80 degrees
Ammonia 0 PPM
Nitrite .25 PPM
Nitrate 5 PPM
PH 7.6

Fish:
1 Electric yellow cichlid about 4"
2 Electric blue cichlid 1 about 4" and the other is 3-4"
2 Jewel cichlids about 2"
2 Peacock cichlids about 2"
1 Jack Dempsey about 4.5"
1 Pelco about 3"

History:
Tank was started in mid December 09.
Fish were introduced mid January 10.

Problem:
My electric yellow would be swimming around and all the sudden just start tweeking out or shaking in one spot. Local fish store suggested to do a 50% water change and add some salt (15 Tbs). Did that yesterday, and thats when the Nitrite came up. Today i added a cap and a half of prime. what can i do to help my fish out? Im still learning about cichlids and their natural behavior. Please any help would be awesome!

 

[Thebentfish]

Well id raise your ph up some but you do have a Jack Dempsey in with Africans. it should be about at least an 8. maybe lower the temperature a bit. But honestly thats normal for Labs. Malawi's are territorial and let out there aggression quite often. He's trying to be Boss.

 

[Blue2Fyre]

Totally normal mbuna behavior.

You are going to have some problems in the future with the mix you have.

 

[tommy_zito]

what kind of problems???

 

[Mar Mac]

they are gonna fight...The JD will prob. out grow the rest....Than they'll be on the menu.....

 

[greenearthlawns]

the shaking is normal. usually yellow labs shake when they are trying to either attract a mate or show dominance.

 

[jus1time]

I wouldn't worry about the Jack Dempsey. I have (2) 10in dempseys in with my peacocks and havent had a problem for over 1.5 years now.
So the tank has only been running for a month with fish in it? Has your tank been cycled yet? If it hasn't ,then what you are seeing is the tank getting to the end stages of the cycling process.
Ok the following is only a guide and only by testing with a kit that does Ammonia,Nitrite and Nitrate you will know the true state of the tanks progress.
Start by doing "no" water changes for about 2 weeks by which time the Ammonia level should be comming down with nitrite levels spiking. Then do about a 20% water change. Then after about another 2 weeks of no water changes the nitrite should be declining with nitrates starting to rise. If all goes well you should be able to start regular 20 to 30% water changes. (During the cycle feed the fish sparingly to avoid a bio overload effect) A fully cycled tank will read Ammonia 0,Nitrite 0,nitrate under 40ppm and under 20ppm or lower is best. If your using fish that you want to keep and they start showing signs of severe stress you can do 5 to 10% weekly water changes (More in real bad cases) This will naturally lengthen the time it takes to cycle the tank considerably.Also adding aquarium salt (or non iodized cooking salt) at a rate of 1 table spoon per 5 US gallons (about 20litres) of water will help reduce the effects of nitrite toxicity.

The actual time it takes can vary a lot as temperature,ph,whether or not you use gravel,filter media from an established tank and other factors can play an effect on how fast or slow a cycle will finish. Also note that a tank doesn't have to be new to restart a cycle. This can be caused by too much off a water change too often, overloading a tank with too many fish, using certain medications will kill off the nitrifying bacteria needed to keep the tank healthy.
Hope I helped!

 

[tommy_zito]

ok so another problem. my JD has developed some sort of black spotting, or blotching on his jaw, from his mouth down...should i be worried or what should i do?

 

[alexmuw]

Might be "Black spot disease" (I don't really think it's a disease, but more of a symptom). Few of my africans have it. I noticed it usually comes from fish fighting and stress. Your JD could be stressed from the presence of Nitrite. Since you have Nitrate showing in your tank, and your Ammonia is 0, I would do water changes of 10-20% every couple days until the nitrites read 0.

I would also work on getting another filter. Those filters that say "good for up to 70 gallons" is usually the minimum filtration you want. Plus, extra filter would carry more good bacteria to help with your cycling problems!

Good luck, and welcome to cichlid mania. I guarantee you'll want to buy a bigger tank in a couple months!!! (Just think about how many fish you can put in it!)