Problem with 55g cichlid tank

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K

kfh

Feeder Fish
Jan 30, 2008
4
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WI
Hey, my first post... :)

I have a 55gal with one 8" acara, one 4" convict, and a few other un-ID'd africans, and also a 12" spotted gar, 5" red-tail shark, 10" pleco. 300w heater keeps temp at 77f. Filter is whisper 40-60. Tank has been up about 9 months or so.

My problem(s) are these- Every time I try to add new cichlids, the seem to die in fairly short order, a few days at most. They don't seem to be chewed up, and I re-arrange the decor prior to adding them. I don't think they are being attacked, at least not that I have observed. I 'float' the bag to equalize temp, so I don't think it's shock due to temp. This has been ongoing for the past several months.

Second, my red-tail has begun to look 'pregnant' or fat in the belly area and it's colors are fading. It's been about 6 weeks or so, and behavior seems unaffected, so I am unsure what the deal is. Now, one of my un-ID'd cichlids, a 3"-ish cichlid that is yellow and purple striped seems to be losing color and having lighter "spots" on it. Not like ich.

I test my water, and it is hard (due to well water I'm sure). Ammonia is zero. Nitrites are very low. My nitrates are a bit high and LFS suggested possible over-feeding as a cause. Alkalinity is high, which from my understanding is good.

I do about 10gal worth of water changes with a gravel-vac every Sunday, and replace only one of the two filter-media at a time about every three months, I wash them both in the water I have removed every week. The filter is a whisper 40-60.

As far as the over-feeding is concerned, I generally feed a mix of floating pellets and sinking 'wafer/disk' type food from Aquadine. A large pinch every afternoon. If I put less in, the big cichlids eat it all and the little ones get nothing. I also feed the gar a small goldfish every 2-4 days, it will not eat flakes. There is some food settling to the bottom, but in general the pleco takes care of it.

Sorry for the lengthy post, just trying to get all factors in. I think I pretty much have it all. I have had good luck with my other 4 tanks, but this is my largest so maybe I am missing something... Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

-Ken
 
I was always taught not to mix cichlids - you have african and american in the same tank. They require different water quality. I always use my dirty water from the water change to wash my filter media as if you use tap water it will kill the bacteria that live in the filter media, these bacteria are needed to break down harmful nitrates which should always be zero.
I am a novice myself but there are people on this site that will be able to give you better advice.
Good luck.
 
Incidently thata a few big fish for the tank size
 
...and i'm sure plecostomus make more mess than they clean up.
 
2 things to consider:
1) Add more filtration - a canister filter would help greatly.
2) Larger waterchanges - try 50% per week to keep your nitrates down.
 
First, thanks for all the fast reply's!

As far as mixing cichlids, I know that now but when I first got these fish I was really a beginner and knew nothing. I also was under the impression that they are fairly hardy (cichlids) and they can adapt to varying water hardness, someone correct me if I'm wrong.

As far as too many fish of size for that tank, I didnt realize how big some of them would get. Again, when I started I didn't know much. Most of these were in a 30gal and I upgraded to this 55gal, so I thought I would have enough space.

The fish that die are african cichlids generally. I had a livingstonii that lasted several months but died inexplicable. A peacock that only lasted about a week. Some un-ID'd africans with silver lips and fins (sorry LFS had them in ASSORTED tank). An oscar that jumped out of the tank the first night I had it. A pair of firemouths. An un-ID'd cichlid that was blue when I got it but turned pink after a few months, he was one of the longer-living ones. I'm sure I am forgetting at least one or two, but you get the picture.
What boggles me is that my red-tail shark is over 2 years old. My convict cichlid is almost 3 years old. The acara has grown very rapidly and seems in excellent health, as do most of the other ones left with the exception of the two I mentioned in my above post. If ALL my fish were ill-looking, or randomly died, or no fish lasted very long at all I could see more of a pattern. Presently I am somewhat confused.


For cannister filters, what is a good brand to go with? I don't really know anything about them, all I have experience with is the hang-on-back style. As I said above this is my largest tank, so there are probably many things I do not know.

And as far as water changes, I was under the impression that changes > 25% were not so good due to the bacteria, etc. Introducing too much new water if more of a shock, like setting up a new tank without cycling is my understanding.

Again, thank you for taking the time to read these lengthy posts and help a noob! I really do appreciate it.

-Ken
 
I'm surprised that no one has posted this yet, but a big problem w/your tank is that is very overstocked. With these sized fish in a 55 you should consider getting a larger tank, and upping your water changes in the meantime.

I have a 7-8 inch Green Terror in a 55 with a few Giant Danios for dither fish, and the tank is pretty much the bare minimum size. I also change around 30-40% of the water each week to keep my nitrates low, and the tank has two hanging filters rated for a 55 each, plus a giant sponge filter, so it is pretty over-filtered.

When choosing a new tank, tank into account the footprint in addition to the gallon size. You said you have a 12" gar and a 10" pleco...I know the pleco will get a lot bigger, and I don't know anything about gars but I'm guessing it will grow some at least. Your 55 (if it's standard) is only 12 3/4" wide meaning those large fish will have trouble even turning around.

Your new fish die-offs are likely from stress due to aggression from the other fish and/or water parameters due to the overstocking.

I'm not getting down on you for having all the fish, because when I started out I had my Green Terror in a 10 gallon with an African Cichlid. (before I knew anything about the fish I had). Research on this site, there is a lot of valuable information and many more knowledgeable people than me.

Edit: By the way, welcome to MFK!
 
You do not need to be adding any more fish to that tank. Your past the limit now. Take a look at Fluval or Ehiem for canisters. You need to get something.
 
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