fish dying and some living

[abelh7]

i set up a 55 gallon tank its been running for about 4 weeks. when i set it up i added water conditioner, ammonia remover, ph buffer all as indicated on the instructions. i have my blood parrot and a pleco that i have had for 2 years hes big a beautiful. well i went and bought a jack dempsy, electric blue african cichlid and some other cichlid. well the electric blue african cichlid started acting funny kinda floating then finally he died then the other cichlid. the only one who made it was the jack dempsy. my blood parrot and pleco always seem fine. this has happened before with oscars that i have bought. i bring them home set the bag in the water for 15 minutes for the temps to adjust is that long enough. also what is your suggestion on aquarium salt should i use it or not? and what could you guys suggest on me doing to be successful with other fish?

 

[rvm]

I would avoid using ammonia remover and any kind of Ph altering chemical. They can cause more problems than they solve. All my fish live happily in water with a Ph of around 7.8-8.0 and I never try to alter it. It's better to have a high Ph that is stable, than a constantly altering Ph.
I don't know if this is what caused your fish to die, but it may well have contributed.
Also, the blood parrot and JD are NW cichlids while the electric blue is african, these types of fish have different water needs and shouldn't really be kept together!!

 

[new fish lover]

Buffer your PH naturally: ie lava rock to raise it drift wood to lower it.
Possibly you tank is not properly cycled. May want to review the cycle post.

 

[abelh7]

so it is not possible to put my blood parrot with african cichlids? i have seen many people do it and the fish live fine has any one else do this?

 

[rvm]

It's not that it's not possible, just not a good idea. African and NW cichlids rarely mix well!!

 

[abelh7]

what about aquarium salt is it a good idea for my blood parrot, jack dempsey, pleco, and two fire mouths?

 

[clutterydrawer]

absolutely not. salt is deadly to plecos and i doubt the otehr fish would enjoy it either.