African Cichlid Died Today... Why?

[MauiWowie]

Hello,
I'm new to the forum but I've been lurking for months.
I have a 55 gallon tank with 6 African Cichlids in it.  Today one was dead.
I know fish die but I wanted to find out from the pros and vets here if this was Random, disease, or an attack.
 
Some background about the tank.
Cylcled tank for 6 weeks with some zebra danios
I have a Fluval 306 running in a 55 gallon tank with gravel and fake plants with plenty of cover.
tank has (had) 6 african cichlids, 2 pleco, and 3 zebra danios
Today one was dead and it had this on it's side.
 
key facts:
Ammonia is at 0.25ppm
Nitrites are Zero
pH is at 7.8
temps are 79 degrees
one 30% water change per week
 

 

 

[RRaquariums]

Sorry for the loss man
I've seen that kind of wound before and it was because one of my more egressive cichlids took a bite out of a smaller one I could be wrong but that's all I have for a diagnoses.
On another note if your trying to keep African cichlids you need to stock heavily to keep aggression spread out I have a 65 gal and I have 45 cichlids in it and they get along much better that way however you will need really good filtration what you have now should work good if you do water changes once a week.
I'd say a good move would be to get rid of the danios they will get eaten once the cichlids get bigger. After that slowly start to get more cichlids 5 or so at a time that way they don't get picked on as the new guys.
With good water changes I would put 35 medium size cichlids in a 55 gal no problem.
Again all of this advise is from my experience and I'm sure others will disagree with me on some of it but it's what has worked well for me.

 

[MauiWowie]

35 fish really?
I always thought that would be cruel crowding them like that but I've read that large amounts do control agression

 

[RRaquariums]

Actually it's not cruel at all since in the wild they are that crowded so there really adapted to it and act much more peaceful than when there's only a couple.

 

[MauiWowie]

Actually it's not cruel at all since in the wild they are that crowded so there really adapted to it and act much more peaceful than when there's only a couple.

 
Great thanks.... I'll get a more...
Do you quarenteen new fish? if so for how long?

 

[RRaquariums]

I didn't when I first got mine because I had no other tank to do it in but now if I buy any new ones I do.
What kind of tank do you have for a quarantine set up?
This is a pic of my 65 gal cichlid tank.
https/www.dropbox.com/s/spkx8mjlk6upqtn/2013-12-12%2018.26.46.jpg

 

[MauiWowie]

I didn't when I first got mine because I had no other tank to do it in but now if I buy any new ones I do.
What kind of tank do you have for a quarantine set up?
This is a pic of my 65 gal cichlid tank.
https/www.dropbox.com/s/spkx8mjlk6upqtn/2013-12-12%2018.26.46.jpg

 
 
Wow you wheren't kidding that's a lot of fish.
I have a small 5 gallon tank I can use but it's not set up.
How long should I quarenteen for?
 
I have one of the larger cichlids that has taken the role of "Bully" in the tank.
If I get rid of the "bully" fish and put him in his own tank would that help the others? or would that just make another fish step up to become the bully?
 

 

[RRaquariums]

Unless your getting fish 2 inches or small a 5 gallon is to small what I use is a 20 gallon long which you can find at Petco or Petsmart for a good deal if there on sale I got mine from Petco when they had a dollar per gallon sale and it works great for a quarantine tank.
Buy a small filter for it and a heater.
I just have mine next to a cheap lamp I got at Walmart and I only turn it on when I have fish in there and it being dark the rest of the time helps keep algae down.
I would keep them in there for about a week and a half watch them to see if they act funny or if any ich develops which is common when fish get stressed.
This is very important when you ad them into the main tank it helps to rearrange some of the decorations even if you move them back to there old places the next day this is because cichlids set up territories and they will attack new comers if they get into these areas by moving everything you put everyone on an even playing field again.

As for the bully fish he is good as long as he's not acutely hurting the other fish. There will always be a top fish and he actually helps keep all the others in line. In my tank the bumble bee cichlid is top dog and if other fish start to fight he rushes up and breaks it up fast he dose this because he doesn't want anyone else to move up the ladder and one day challenge him.

 

[bullit]

Is put some more rocks in aswell

 

[kiwi210]

Does the "bully" fish have his own territory and will he attack others if they invade it? 
 
Africans are used to being crowded in the wild. They should be okay in a tank, just don't overcrowd them and be aware that they will grow in a year or two. So, if you're getting them as juveniles, just picture them a few inches longer and make your best judgement if it is overcrowded. If you have a more opened tank, they should be fine together but when you start adding more decorations, there's more places for one to call its own and that's when they start to get a little territorial. If you see some fish claiming spots, just move the decorations around a bit. I would also recommend doing this every time you add a new fish.