Please Help Me with my Firemouth!

[GoLdFiSh_GrL]

! Please... as I said in another post, he usually likes a certain section of the driftwood and usually chases my Kisser away. This past week he's been settled on the ground, hasn't eaten a nibble, and doesn't chase away my Kisser! I even bought him (instead of giving him the tropical fish flakes & bloodworms my other fish eat) sinking cichlid pellets! And insted of him eating it, my Opaline Gourami & Kisser do! I put him in a quarantine tank (he's in observation right now) and don't know what to do. Just in case it helps you, here are my water test results:

*Nitrate- 20 ppm
*Nitrite- 0 ppm
*Alkalinity- 120 ppm
*pH- 7.2

 

[Harry Tolen]

What size is the quarantine tank, how long has it been set up, what kind of filtration does it have, etc.

 

[GoLdFiSh_GrL]

well, it's not really a tank... just a 17gal. bucket I always keep with cycled water. It's been set up 2 weeks, and has a Regent Aqua tech 20-40 attached to it

 

[Harry Tolen]

If your other tank has a Regent filter also, switch one of the cartridges to speed up the cycle in your quarantine tank.

I'd do 30% water changes every other day to try and improve water quality before trying anything else. If your water is too soft, however, I'd add some cichlids salts and buffers (slowly) to try and bring it more up to CA standards.

 

[GoLdFiSh_GrL]

the water hardness is at 150ppm