Help ! My Africans are acting sick !

beatsland

beatsland

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Nov 3, 2009
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I have 20 African Cichlids in a 90g, in the past week they have been scratching on the rocks and some of them start shaking like tremors. Other than that they are acting normal, beguing for food and swiming around fine.
I added some aquarium salt and raised the temperature to 82. I asked my lfs for some help yesterday and they told me to treat them with coppersafe. I took all the filters from my 2 Penguin 350 off and added the coopersafe. My Nitrites whent up a little .5 and the amonia is fine. I figure if I do a water change will lose the medication.
How long does it take to see improvement with the coppersafe, should I do a water change anyways?

Any advice...
 
Nitrites... they are "flashing" due to water quality..or lack of.

How long has this tank been running? And how many fish have been added or how have you stocked this...? (Sounds like a cycle going on...)



Do partial water changes and get the nitrites down.. ASAP... .5 nitrites is BAD.

No experience with coppersafe..
 
The Tank has been set for around 3 1/2 month, I started with 7 fish after cycle then slowly added 2 here, 3 there, now I have 20. The last fish were added around 2 weeks ago.
 
What type of african cichlids? I know mbuna will scratch off and on. Also the "shimmies" are normal. They tend to do this to show off, claim territory or impress a mate. I wouldn't treat the tank until they show since of disease. If they are acting normal then don't worry about it. DO make sure those nitrites get down to 0 though.
 
I would never treat a tank (with coppersafe or anything) unless I knew exactly what I was dealing with. As mentioned, some occasional flashing is normal, especially after a water change. Shimmying can be mating behavior.

But it appears that you are adding new fish without quarantining them -- so you are bound to run into trouble sooner rather than later. Flashing can be a sign of ick and other external parasites. I'm assuming your nitrites went up after the medication, but perhaps not. Agree with others -- nitrites are bad, bad, bad and you're treating a .5 level as not a big deal. Well, it is to your fish.

My thoughts:

1. Water changes to bring nitrites down and improve overall water quality.
2. Test daily in such a new tank and feed sparingly to get your tank fully cycled.
3. Consider adding Dr. Tim's bacterial additive (I've had great luck with this for jump starting a biological filter)
4. Watch your fish very carefully for signs of external parasites, i.e. ick and treat accordingly should you find it.
5. Make sure your water is well aerated and you're using a good quality dechlorinator (such as Prime)
6. Add stock slowly over time
7. Always quarantine. Just get a small 10 gallon with an HOB filter. This will greatly reduce future heartache.

Good luck
 
hollyfish2000 said:
I would never treat a tank (with coppersafe or anything) unless I knew exactly what I was dealing with. As mentioned, some occasional flashing is normal, especially after a water change. Shimmying can be mating behavior.

But it appears that you are adding new fish without quarantining them -- so you are bound to run into trouble sooner rather than later. Flashing can be a sign of ick and other external parasites. I'm assuming your nitrites went up after the medication, but perhaps not. Agree with others -- nitrites are bad, bad, bad and you're treating a .5 level as not a big deal. Well, it is to your fish.

My thoughts:

1. Water changes to bring nitrites down and improve overall water quality.
.5 is deadly..this is a must NOW, or you Will lose stock

2. Test daily in such a new tank and feed sparingly to get your tank fully cycled.
This is also a requirement...

3. Consider adding Dr. Tim's bacterial additive (I've had great luck with this for jump starting a biological filter)
Unless this additive has nitrite eating bacteria it is not a good idea, it will simply turn ammonia into nitrite...incrreasing levels of the toxic stuff we are trying to remove with WC's

4. Watch your fish very carefully for signs of external parasites, i.e. ick and treat accordingly should you find it.
I would hold off on ANY treatments..until the tank cycles there is not a stable enough quality of water. Use carbon to remove ALL medications and get your bactera colonies stabilized...

5. Make sure your water is well aerated and you're using a good quality dechlorinator (such as Prime)
100% agree... Oxygen(aeration) is important to both the fish and the bacterial colonies, aerating the tank and any buckets of new tank water can be helpful. Prime will render toxic ammonia safely enough for the fish, but again it does work as well with nitrite.

Added note, Test the temperature/pH of new water. Changes in temp/pH during medium-large WC's can cause problems...
6. Add stock slowly over time
DO NOT ADD STOCK!!! Until your tank is established again and there are no more spikes NOTHING should be added, chances are you will lose some stock. Adding fish before it cycles will only disrupt what you have accomplished and make this cycle take longer...Meaning more deaths

7. Always quarantine. Just get a small 10 gallon with an HOB filter. This will greatly reduce future heartache.
100% agree, I QT in a 10g with simple HOB at 78* for a number of weeks. You never know what new fish might bring with them.

Good luck
Click to expand...

Welcome again...and look forward to getting your tank cycled...:o
 
Just FYI -- Dr. Tim's One and Only includes both kinds of bacteria and reduced a .5 nitrite spike I had recently in an established tank to 0 overnight . . . I always have it on hand for emergencies.
 
Thanks for the info, its greatly apreciated. My water has been testing good, 0 ammonia and 0 nitrite, PH is close to 8. The fish are acting very happy and are not showing much sign of disease. I should be getting tomorow a Marineland Magnum 350 filter for the tank, I figure it should help with water quality for eaven happier fish and clear water.

Thanks again for all the help with my new hobby.
 
blue2fyre said:
What type of african cichlids? I know mbuna will scratch off and on. Also the "shimmies" are normal. They tend to do this to show off, claim territory or impress a mate. I wouldn't treat the tank until they show since of disease. If they are acting normal then don't worry about it. DO make sure those nitrites get down to 0 though.
Click to expand...
Firstable, glad to hear all are well.

I agree with B2F that this couldve been normal behavior.

As far as slight increase of nitrite in high pH/Very hard water is not that critical as long as nitrite subside with time as Nitrite is virtually non toxic in salt.

DOnt jump the gum when things are slightly off. Just monitor and act on needed basis. Unnecessary massive water changes can disturb well established tank or pose more burden on the fish.

Coppersafe would not have been my first choice for treating ectoparasites.

Try avoiding unnecessary med as meds themselves can be poisonous to fish when improperly applied.

Hope all goes well!
 
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