I am defeated ....URGENT!!

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Sunishka

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I am a new fish owner and I only learnt about nitrogen cycle today I have lost 3 fishes in the last week I canā€™t seem to figure out whatā€™s wrong I think it might be overfeeding and constipation. Moreover I donā€™t really have a water test kit cuz I canā€™t afford one yet. Please help! Another fish of mine seems sick . It has a weird slimy layer on its lips and top of eye !
 

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I would do a water change to help with the nitrogen cycle something like 50% or more. There are others that have more knowledge that may see more but that is what I would do. Treat the replacement water first and try to have it close to the same temp before pouring it in. I would isolate the sick fish in it's own tank too.
 
Agree with above, water changes. But you will have to get a test kit so you can monitor things going forward.

There are some other possible issue here too. The fish in the photos is a rift lake cichlid species. What is the GH (general or total hardness) and pH of your source (tap) water, or tank water? The water authority may post this info on their website, or you can call them. The GH in particular is critical for fish.

Feed very little, missing days. Fish do not need much food, and when they are struggling with most issues the food is only likely adding more problems whether eaten or not.
 
Agree with above, water changes. But you will have to get a test kit so you can monitor things going forward.

There are some other possible issue here too. The fish in the photos is a rift lake cichlid species. What is the GH (general or total hardness) and pH of your source (tap) water, or tank water? The water authority may post this info on their website, or you can call them. The GH in particular is critical for fish.

Feed very little, missing days. Fish do not need much food, and when they are struggling with most issues the food is only likely adding more problems whether eaten or not.
Thank you, I didnā€™t know that !I have ordered the kit, but I use RO water instead of tap water, because it is heavily chlorinated in my city. I change 70%of the water every week , is that an issue too?
 
I would do a water change to help with the nitrogen cycle something like 50% or more. There are others that have more knowledge that may see more but that is what I would do. Treat the replacement water first and try to have it close to the same temp before pouring it in. I would isolate the sick fish in it's own tank too.
Will definitely isolate it. Thank you
 
Thank you, I didnā€™t know that !I have ordered the kit, but I use RO water instead of tap water, because it is heavily chlorinated in my city. I change 70%of the water every week , is that an issue too?

Yes. RO is "pure" water. The rift lake cichlids are hard water fish meaning they must have dissolved mineral in the water. This is undoubtedly part of the issue, and I believe explains the white slime issue mentioned. Mollies (also hard water) often show this in soft water.

To solve the GH (hardness) problem, using your tap water without the RO would possibly be better, but we need to know the GH of this water, so get that from your municipal water authority.

Do you have any other fish? Rift lake cichlids are hard water, but these cannot be combined with other tropical fish.

The 70% water change is good, but using a conditioner to dechlorinate is much safer than what you are doing. But we need to know the GH and pH.
 
Thank you, I didnā€™t know that !I have ordered the kit, but I use RO water instead of tap water, because it is heavily chlorinated in my city. I change 70%of the water every week , is that an issue too?
Yes that is a problem for the fish in question. If your tap water is hard you can buy dechlorinator that will take care of the chlorine. If not you will have to add a supplement to ensure the fish get the minerals they need. The easiest way is to search for "rift lake salts". You may need to add a supplement to your tap water anyway so it is important to find the GH of your tap water as @Byron suggests. Unless there is a reason not to, use that (with de-chlorinator) because it really is much easier.

70% weekly changes are a good thing to do. If you have an easy / cheap supply of RO and its not too late you may want to consider returning the fish and choosing soft water fish instead.
 
Yes. RO is "pure" water. The rift lake cichlids are hard water fish meaning they must have dissolved mineral in the water. This is undoubtedly part of the issue, and I believe explains the white slime issue mentioned. Mollies (also hard water) often show this in soft water.

To solve the GH (hardness) problem, using your tap water without the RO would possibly be better, but we need to know the GH of this water, so get that from your municipal water authority.

Do you have any other fish? Rift lake cichlids are hard water, but these cannot be combined with other tropical fish.

The 70% water change is good, but using a conditioner to dechlorinate is much safer than what you are doing. But we need to know the GH and pH.
I donā€™t have any other fish yet , and as advised I will definitely change the water in a few hours because I just changed some, and donā€™t want to shock the fish. Besides we donā€™t get municipal water we use borewell one, but I will try to get more information on it. Apparently according to a survey, it is close to200 mg/l. Thank you so much!
 
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Also acording to a lab ph strip, the ph seems to be 4!!!!!
 
Also acording to a lab ph strip, the ph seems to be 4!!!!!

That is due to the very soft RO water you are using. This acidic pH is very bad for rift lake fish.
 
But if you have replaced the old water with RO it is still bad for Rift Lake cichlids. Even water with a GH of 200 ppm is too soft for Rift Lake cichlids. if you want to keep these fish, you need to 'harden' the water for them, whether you use RO or bore well water (it's just that the bore well water won't need quite as much 'hardening')
As seangee said, do a search on line for Rift Lake salts.
 
You really need to pin down the GH, KH and pH of your tap water. It may be sufficient for rift lake cichlids, without adding anything. There are also a couple ways to deal with this that we can discuss. But knowing the parameters of the source water is the first essential step.

Another thing is the nature of rift lake cichlids. The tank size (dimensions as well as volume) has not yet been mentioned, and this is crucial with these fish, some of which can be quite rough on one another. The members with more experience than I have with rift lake cichlids can help you with this aspect, but first let's get the water sorted out.
 
But if you have replaced the old water with RO it is still bad for Rift Lake cichlids. Even water with a GH of 200 ppm is too soft for Rift Lake cichlids. if you want to keep these fish, you need to 'harden' the water for them, whether you use RO or bore well water (it's just that the bore well water won't need quite as much 'hardening')
As seangee said, do a search on line for Rift Lake salts.
Can aquarium salts suffice?
 

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