Help With Water Quality

[yabbiebee]

hi i have a problem due to the new fish been added to my tank my water quality has all gone out thw window. Now i have noticed my fish starting to flick alomg the rock and the sand and am now worried something is not right in the tank. One of my hongis looks dull and its got this weird twitch its doing sometimes it loos like it dont want to swim and just floats around so i thought i would do i 40% water change a last week still the levels are really high so i got some stuff to put into the water its called amQuest + im sure thats whats its called been told it will help with all my levels and bring the down the fish look a little better but still they are flick along the rocks and sand anything else i could do to try and help them out ?

 

[5teady_2012]

Opps sorry, i think my info was more related to diffrent types of fish..

 

[Ferris]

Perfectly normal behaviour for Mbuna and is usually a good sign. It's referred to as "flashing" and is pretty much part of the daily life in an Mbuna tank.

It's generally a sign of aggression, part of a mating ritual or just plain showing off (instinctual behaviour).

 

[Eviltoon]

Perfectly normal behaviour for Mbuna and is usually a good sign. It's referred to as "flashing" and is pretty much part of the daily life in an Mbuna tank.

It's generally a sign of aggression, part of a mating ritual or just plain showing off (instinctual behaviour).

Wow, you don't know how happy I am to hear that! I've been looking for ick to start for the last 4 weeks as my mbuna's have been doing this on and off and it had me really worried. They looked so healthy but kept showing this tendancy. I was thinking it might be water quality too, but all the readings looked great...

Thanks.

 

[yabbiebee]

i know something is not right both my female hongi and my moori. I can tell cuase there is such a change in their moods the hongi was so freindly now it just sits still by its self on the bottom or at the top of the tank hardly moving. im going to talk to the guy where i got them from he was really helpful when i got them. i knew the tank would go through a bacteria bloom just did not think it would be this major. All im worried about now is losing the fish.

 

[Ferris]

Have you got plenty of surface agitation? Rift lake Cichlids are used to highly oxygenated water - they are gerally pretty hardy but poorly oxygenated water will cause problems fairly quickly.

If you haven't already - make sure you're filter output is really stirring up the waters surface or invest in a powerhead for just this purpose. Airstones are OK but a powerhead positioned along the surface will be far more effective.

 

[WaterBender1995]

and how about giving us some REAL numbers to look at. test the water and give us the results.

 

[yabbiebee]

yes i have my input from the pump just on the surface cause the water to mix i also have an airstone in the tank. this was take on the 24.02.08 no3~50 no2~0.8 hn3/nh4~4.9 and my ph is 8. thanks for the help everyone