Emergency

[Soaup]

Ok I have a bit of a problem.. I recently set up a 40 gallon tank and removed 6 of my africans from my 55 gallon tank which has been slightly overstocked.. The other day i went to the pet store and Bought 3 small Melanochromis Auratus Albino's and put them in with the other 6.. Ive had these six fish for just over a year in my 55 gallon and now the 6 of them and the other 3 are in the 40. Well two days later one of the auratus were dead.. Brought the fish back to the store and got a replacement along with 3 more so now 4 new fish 6 auratus in total.. The Auratus were then set up in their own species tank a 30 gallon.. No problems as of yet.. This morning the day after the first fish died.. One of my original 6 from the 55 is dead. No signs of fungus or injury, He was intact and not ripped up.. I have the fish body still if pictures are nessicisary. I have No idea what the problem is.. I think maybe my auratus introduced a parasite into the tank.. I cant be sure.. The remaining auratus look ok and same with the other fish.. There are no signs of infection with the other fish and there was no signs of infection with the one who died today.. They are still eating.. The ph is at 7.4, Ammonia is 0, Temp is 78.. I need to go buy some new test kits for anything else.. Anyone have any ideas What should i do??

 

[tttnjfttt]

If you're thinking of parasites, any signs of scratching on objects in the tank? Are they breating fast, red, inflamed gills?

I know this is no help, but when i tried cichlids, i had a series of mysterious deaths, and those were teh only fish who died from it. Also, you may want to look into a pH buffer. They are used to a pH in the 8's, along wiht very hard water, which may be adding to the problems.

 

[mamafish68]

were you intending on creating hybrids?
housing the two, normal Auratus with the albino will do just that...

they like a ph from 7.8 to 8.5+

 

[Soaup]

The tank was just recently established to avoid creating mass murder in the 55 gallon, I recently adopted fish i didnt have room for but they were gonna be flushed.. Anyways when i said auratus i meant just albino and no im not trying to create a hybrid.. The ph of 7.4 shouldnt kill them its just not the ideal... The auratus are now in there own tank with crushed coral substrate so their ph is fine.. Anyways The other fish are not itchy red or scratchy them all seem perfectly fine.. I cant think of what else the problem would be?? It doesnt seem too bad but if there is something going on its beyond the eye and i wouldnt want to wait until there are no fish left.

 

[Marshall]

If you could post a pic it would be of help. A number of things could have been to blame. Maybe a Nitrite spike from adding more fish to an immature setup. A dominant Auratus which is feisty at the best of times could have bullied another to death in no time. I doubt parasites are too blame as all the fish would be infected.
Like you say without a testing of your water parameters it could be hard to say.

 

[Soaup]

I have not lost anymore fish and the i flushed the other guy.. The auratus are like half an inch way smaller then the others.. I guess everything is ok but i dont know why i would have lost 2 fish right off the bat.