Need Help For Balas!

[Neonmoon]

I am fairly new to the fish world. I have a 55 gallon fresh watter tank that has been set up for about 2 months now. There are 3 Bala sharks, 2 Jack Dempsey's, 2 Raphael cat fish, 1 pleco, 1 Jeweled Cichlid, 3 Pink Convicts. There are artificial plants set up in the tank. 2 of the Bala's have small white spots on them which I am thinking is most likely Ich. The other fish are all fine without any white specs. One of the Jack Dempsey's has turned a lighter color. I'm not sure if this has any thing to do with what the two bala's have or not. Any suggestions

Tank size: 55 Gallon
pH: 6.5
ammonia: unknown
nitrite: 0.1
nitrate: 10
kH: 150
gH: 100
tank temp: 77

 

[electric yellow]

Thats a lot of stock for a tank thats only been running for two months...also the fact you have cichlids in there at a ph which is acidic. I know convicts should be kept in a ph which is alkaline. Our convicts are in 7.4 to 8 alkaline ph.

Also your nitrate reading should be at 0ppm. Did you complete your fishless cycle before adding the fish? Two months seems quick to have that many fishies in there. Sometimes if you add to many fish at once the bacteria has not had enough time to establish and set up so there isnt enough 'goodness' in the filter or tank for the lil folks to survive.

Whats the aggression like in your tank? Having cichlids in with more calmer communal fish is a reciepe for disaster..

We have a communal tank and an african/south american cichlid tank. Both our tanks are 3 to 4ft. Convicts are pretty aggressive despite their charm and they grow quite large to.

Maybe you have too much stock to quickly in your tank? Will there be enough room when the fishies are fully grown for them to all live happy? Whitespots can be ich but also something as harmless as a scratch. Our clown loaches sometimes think they can still fit under the driftwood and scratch themselves so they get a white mark on them.

What do the specs look like?

 

[Doc-55]

I would agree with EY......I may not so much be an issue of water quality versus space....Your JD's need space to call their own and are agressive, your Balas will outgrow the 55 gallon in short order and are fast sometimes "jumpy" fish.

I do know that if the Pleco you have is a Common Sailfin with the stocking levels you have now you maybe in for some headaches down the road as their bio-load is impressive......Their are many things in your tank that could be complicated now or certainly down the road a bit.......I would also really want to know what my Ammonia level is, so I would get a test kit for that is short order.....Hope this helped, good luck, let us know how things turn out......Keep up the water changes with that level of stocking in the interum..........Dave

 

[Loony Fish]

treat the whole tank. just to be safe.

 

[Neonmoon]

What do the specs look like?

The Specs at first looked like air bubbles caught on the bala's scales. But after looking closer they look more like specs of salt almost. Only two are affected.


Also, the tank ran fishless for about 3 days. The catfish were the first to be added followed by the 3 balas. Then the Jack Dempseys and other Cichlids. There are a lot of fish in the tank, but as far as agression, the larger of the two Jacks is the only fish that appears to be really aggressive. And it looks like the bala's are the only ones with tails getting nipped. The pink Convicts seem to be the most passive out of the Cichlids.

I am not sure how quickly these fish are supposed to grow, but I started the tank with the intention of going to a much larger tank in the future (about a year). Will these fish out grow the 55 gallon before then?

Thanks for the help!

 

[Neonmoon]

Also, the amonia is 0 ppm

 

[Neonmoon]

One of the Bala's died today
Any suggestions??? It looks like the 3rd Bala is infected now as well.
I really do not want to lose any more!!

 

[kribensis12]

A picture would be great