Signs of a sick cichlid?

another thing to consider is the different diets of African vs SA. and a good reason to keep the species separate.

the Africans , in general, usually require foods higher in vegetation(algae etc)
the SA will usually have a higher protein .

Steakman, when you dose the conditioner at water change.. how are you dosing? the volume of the tank or the water being replaced?
 
I find it really hard to believe that a dechlor product was causing fish problems unless they were way overdosed (I think Prime is safe up to 5x the recommended or something like that) and if you are using municipal water most likely it contains either chlorine or chloramine. Not only are these chemicals deadly for fish, but they will kill off you biofilter as well. I would not be surprised if something is out of whack with your water params too.

I think that there are plenty of reasons why you should not mix continents. Its your tank but I would seriously rethink that stocking. Behaviors change as fish mature, and with cichlids they are just too unpredictable to take a risk.
 
I have heard many times that a specific component of api's dechlor can harm certain fish... I just don't remember details, as I've never used it.
 
Ingredients...

API Stress Coat:

Aloe extract 1-10%
Non hazardous ingredients 1-10%
water >80%

API Tap water conditioner:

sodium thiosulfate 30.2%
EDTA tetrasodium salt 9.8A%

Does that ring a bell? LOL

edit: sodium thiosulfate is the active ingredient in most conditioners as it is what dechlorinates. EDTA is the cheleating agent used to break down heavy metals which is also in Prime.
 
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thank you guys ... and gals ... :D

so the verdict is 9 to 1 that i definitely hafta split them up ... :(

Here is the group broken down:

- 1 male 1 female dragonblood peacock 4 in. ea.
- 1 male albino kenji (this guy is at time the most troublesome) 3in.
- 1 male all yellow kenji (not the lab tho) 3 in.
- 1 female i forgot her name ... African peacock 4 in.
- 1 unknown-sexed bicolor peacock 3 in.
- 1 red german peacock 4.5 in.

- 1 male 1 female 4 & 3 in male and female firemouth
- 1 jewel 3 in.
- 3 JD unknown-sexed 2.5 in. ea.
- 1 blck convict 2 in.
- 1 blue acara 4.5 in.
- 1 VC10 4 in.
- 1 Jag 4 in.
- 1 earth eater 3 in.

The total is 21 4-6 months ago. 3 of the peacocks died in the last 3 months. There are 18 of then left. Tell me if the 2 groups are correct for their origins.

I have a 75 gallon tank available to split them up. I also have another 90 gallon collecting dust in the garage ready when they all grow to be unlivable.

*** About the part of the 2 group diet, i am confused. When i shop for their food in the lfs, there is no difference or separation food for different cichlids.
Every now and then i feed the chopped frozen shrimp and brineshrimp as well.
A few times i put in some fresh zucchini but they won't eat it.

What kind of fresh vegi you guys feed them. What if they refuse to touch it.
my son grows up and never eat any vegi his whole life, and he turns out to be ... 6-1 and weighed 190 lbs ... :D

Once again, thanks

SM
 
Apparently, the listed 'non-hazardous' ingredients in stress coat, when used in conjunction with certain resin products, may cause a chemical reaction, one product of which is hazardous to some fish.
 
steakman said:
- I am talking about 3 fish in 6 months period. 1 every 2 months or so.

- The 1st is Red Empress - Protomelas taeniolatus

- A month later the "Bicolor" - Aulonocara maulana dies.

- 2 days ago Blood-Red Jewel - Hemichromis lifalili.

Experts say most African cichlids are far more aggressive than their SA counterparts. But the dead fish I got were all African and were bigger in size. (Some say The Red Jewels are African cichlids, some say they are SA ???)
Click to expand...

Red Jewels - Hemichromis lifalili are african cichlids. I use to think they were SA yrs back but found out that they were african when my mom had her trio and I did a lil research.
 
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