How do i help my cichlid?

[Animalsequallife]

My electric yellows fins have gone all ratty over the past few months. Im sure its not as easy to swim with average fins.. how do i fix this? I have 1 other cichlid in with it. I used ro have an angel in with it and it got ich, i started to treat and the angel died in 2 days i dont want either of them do die. I do regular water changes but not too frequent. I dont want to do anything too drastic that could harm them

 

[AmyKieran]

Your water looks a bit hazy, could you please tell us your water parameters ? Also how often you clean filter/ gravel

 

[GaryE]

It's never too late to change your approaches.
You need 25% water changes every week. Pick a day and make a routine.

The mysterious other Cichlids need identification. Something seems to be beating up the Labidochromis, so what is it? We can move forward from there.

You don't need water tests or all the usual advice. You a water cleaning routine and a little detective work.

 

[Colin_T]

What other fish are in the tank?
How long have you had the fish for?
How long has the tank been set up for?

What are the tank dimensions (length x width x height)?
What is the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate of the water?

How often do you do water changes and how much do you change?
What sort of filter is on the tank?
How often and how do you clean the filter?

What is the GH (general hardness), KH (carbonate hardness) and pH of your water supply?
This information can usually be obtained from your water supply company's website or by telephoning them. If they can't help you, take a glass full of tap water to the local pet shop and get them to test it for you. Write the results down (in numbers) when they do the tests. And ask them what the results are in (eg: ppm, dGH, or something else).

Depending on what the GH of your water is, will determine what fish you should keep.

Angelfish, most tetras, barbs, Bettas, gouramis, rasbora, Corydoras and small species of suckermouth catfish all occur in soft water (GH below 150ppm) and a pH below 7.0.

Livebearers (guppies, platies, swordtails, mollies), rainbowfish and goldfish occur in medium hard water with a GH around 200-250ppm and a pH above 7.0.

If you have very hard water (GH above 300ppm) then look at African Rift Lake cichlids, or use distilled or reverse osmosis water to reduce the GH and keep fishes from softer water.

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I would do a 75% water change and gravel clean each day for a week.

Make sure the fish has compatible tank mates and suitable water chemistry.

Possibly isolate the fish so it doesn't keep getting attacked.

 

[gilpi]

This fish looks like its tank needs a water change. I keep Yellow Labs and they are not hard to keep. As any other fish, lots of fresh water and do not overfeed.