My Cichlids committed suicide!

I am sorry Karl about your fish, I do know you need a much bigger tank. but that does not help your problem now.... I say test your water to see what they reveal. you may have had bad nitrates etc. 29 gallon tanks are not maed for large fish as yours are. that clown needs friends, they are not happy unless they have several. you will need a large tank for this. I hope you find out what the problem is, and that you will not let this discourage you from havign them ( cichlids ) again in the future. but remember, cichilids need a large tank. with lots of room to play and lots of hiding spots to.
 
Oh and I always do a 50% water change!! in all my tanks 1 time a week. with new babys in my fry tanks, I do them 3 times a week. but I have awsome filtration on my little fry tanks so they grow fast and do well.
 
I too am sorry if I offended you. I just think you need to know about big fish in small tanks. And believe me when I got my first big tank it was a 25 gallon tank. It was big to me! My other tank was a 5 gallon so by comparison it was a lot bigger.I too put big fish in it to begin with, I think gouramis and rainbows. I learned the hard way.Today this is one of my favorite tanks and is home to a nice school of rummienose tetras, a clown pleco and a couple of ottos. They are having a blast in their planted tank. I know you are having a problem with your cichlids going carpet surfing and there is no real solid answer as to why other then they may have felt trapped in cramped quarters or the water quality was not up to par. Fish jump for a reason. Now occasionally a fish will jump like one of my hatchet fish when I accidently left the lid open. (They are known jumpers). I felt really bad when this happened. I think you should check your water parimeters and do water changes accordingly.

In case no one else has said this , I am so sorry for your losses. We are all just trying to help you.

Marinemom
 
I've heard if this and seen it before when the ammonia levels get too high certain fish will dart around frantically and jump out of the tank. Algae eaters and small cichlids are among the first to be affected. Plecos tollerate this crap very well..and other species will vary.

New set-ups can experience this as well as procrastinating with cleaning filters and water changes.

You should be able to advertise on cl and fetch a good 10-20 bucks each for your large plecos as outdoor pond fish for the summer. Then you will have a few bucks for more fish.
 
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