Lost Two Juvies No Ideas Why?

[odannyboy]

hi bought 10 juvies salousis and three obs and three red zebs.all looked great been fine for a week then two salousi dead this morning.no damadge,just lying on the bottom mouths open near one another.water ok, bit of nitrate, but nave done a decent water change now.poss bloat maybe, have been paranoid im feeding to much since reading about it.git small pinch of veg flake morn and night plus odd bit of cucumber. any ideas?

 

[Ferris]

When you say "a bit of nitrate" - what was the actual reading?

 

[odannyboy]

10- ppm i think.ive got those dip strips and its not easy to be really accurate. i think there a bit crap really.am gonna get some thing better in the future.

 

[Ferris]

10 is not so bad but you're right - those strips are not very accurate.

Any signs of aggression during the week?

Also what is your Ph and do you know what Ph the LFS kept them in?

Ph shock can take a week to kill hardy fish like Mbuna, if there were no obvious signs of aggression and no other major water problems - that would be my best guess.

 

[odannyboy]

my ph is around 7.5, again the strips are not to accurate. no signs of aggression,i think they are to young and were all housed together as they came from the same local breeder no lfs.tried my best to exchange water into the bags slowly from the tank etc.if it was bloat i gues they would have taken a while to die and have fattened up?no? ps the other fish seem to pant a bit, not much at .i mean really not much but compared to calmer tropical community fish ive had before( non cichlid) do mbuna have a tendancy to this as there always racing about? they never seem to rest and move there mouth or gills really slowly?

 

[Ferris]

If it's bloat - the swimbladder usually goes and they lose the ability to swim properly so the signs are pretty obvious.

Do you know what Ph the breeder kept them at?

The mouth/gill movement varies a lot with Mbuna so i wouldn't worry about that - it's a misleading way to try and diagnose problems. Are they hanging about at the surface at all? - that might inidicate a lack of oxygen.

 

[odannyboy]

breeder was 7.8 im 7.5ish but my tank is very mature and will drop down with time to around 7 -6.5 given enough time.

not hanging at the surface at all.all seem to be behaving fine.

 

[Ferris]

Doesn't seem to be a specific problem them - maybe it was just the stress of the move, it happens sometimes.

You want the Ph to be just over 8 ideally 6.5-7 is no good for Mbuna.

 

[odannyboy]

does limestone rock buffer much? some say it does some say no.ive popped a lump in now.

 

[Ferris]

Yes - it should do, most porous rocks will buffer the Ph, limestone is a good example.

If you're Ph stays at around 7.5/6 that will be fine as that what your fish have been raised in anyway. You don't want it dropping to 7 or less though.