Cichlids sitting at bottom of tank and breathing fast

[jackkranjac17]

Do a huge (90%) water change and gravel clean the substrate each day until you get the temperature up to 86F. The water change and gravel clean will reduce the number of parasites in the water and there will be fewer to infect the fish.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.

 

[jackkranjac17]

bro i lost 2 more!!!! and these 2 didn’t even have ich!!! what is going on?? i’m changing 90% of the water rn i don’t understand what’s happening

 

[jackkranjac17]

Also, salt doesn’t dissipate so after your initial dose of salt, only add back equal to water you remove. For example, if you initially add 1 tablespoon of dissolved aquarium salt for every 5 gallons, then the next time if you do a 90% water change, only add about 3/4 of a tablespoon of dissolved aquarium salt back in for every 5G. That way you won’t overdose on salt.

 

[jackkranjac17]

if i think about it. they started dying after using the fizz tablets. i’m done with meds. i am so pissed

 

[FishGuest5123]

Yeah, the temp/salt method is much safer for treatment of ich. A lot of those meds have heavy carcinogenic chemicals in them. I’m sorry for your loss.

 

[jackkranjac17]

Yeah, the temp/salt method is much safer for treatment of ich. A lot of those meds have heavy carcinogenic chemicals in them. I’m sorry for your loss.

yea thank u.

 

[jackkranjac17]

African Rift Lake cichlids don't tolerate heat as well as South American cichlids. But they will be fine with 86F, which is where you need to get the temperature if you want to treat whitespot without chemicals.

You CANNOT keep Rift Lake cichlids with frogs. The Rift Lake cichlids come from hard alkaline water (GH above 300ppm, pH above 7.6). The frogs come from soft neutral - acid water (GH below 100ppm, pH below 7.0).

The African Rift Lake cichlids are very aggressive and will rip the frogs to pieces.

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Your fish are probably breathing heavily because you overdosed them. Check the water quality for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH. Do a 90% water change and gravel clean the substrate. Then raise the temperature to 30C (86F) and keep it there for 2 weeks.

As Deanasue mentioned, don't use chemicals and raise the heat. Do one or the other. Heat is the safest method for you and the fish. Most fish chemicals are hazardous to people and fish.

To work out the volume of water in the tank:
measure length x width x height in cm.
divide by 1000.
= volume in litres.
When you measure the height, measure from the top of the substrate to the top of the water level.

There is 3.785 litres in a US gallon, and 4.5 litres in a UK gallon.

ok i just changed 90% of the water, vacuumed the sand, and added the correct amount of salt. and i have the bubbler going and the filter acting like a waterfall but 2 of them are at the surface trying to get oxygen it looks like and the other is sitting at the bottom. they are also breathing fast

 

[Colin_T]

did you dechlorinate the new water before adding it to the tank?

 

[jackkranjac17]

did you dechlorinate the new water before adding it to the tank?

there is none

 

[jackkranjac17]

there is none

i went the the fish store and showed the guy the videos and he recommended ich x so i got that but i don’t know if i should use it? should i? my fish don’t show any signs of ich but they are at the surface breathing fast. he thinks it’s in the early stage.

 

[Colin_T]

if you did a water change and the fish are gasping, there is something in the new water that is making it hard for them to breathe.

why do you say there is no chlorine/ chloramine in your tap water?

if you are using mains water in the USA, you probably have chloramine in it and that needs to be removed before adding it to the tank.

if you are using well water, then check it for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH before using it. You should also aerate well water for 24 hours before using it to make sure it has oxygen in.

 

[jackkranjac17]

if you did a water change and the fish are gasping, there is something in the new water that is making it hard for them to breathe.

why do you say there is no chlorine/ chloramine in your tap water?

 

[jackkranjac17]

it’s a private well

 

[jackkranjac17]

if you did a water change and the fish are gasping, there is something in the new water that is making it hard for them to breathe.

why do you say there is no chlorine/ chloramine in your tap water?

if you are using mains water in the USA, you probably have chloramine in it and that needs to be removed before adding it to the tank.

if you are using well water, then check it for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH before using it. You should also aerate well water for 24 hours before using it to make sure it has oxygen in.

 

[jackkranjac17]

just got the water tested and everything was perfect. no ammonia and got everything else tested. nitrate, nitrate, and everything else. it’s all good. and no chlorine. so why are they like this? i’m completely out of ideas of what to do.