Only My Cichlids Are Dying

[dasgherkin]

I (my daughter) have a 60L tank which has been running for about 4 months. We have a community tank approach and have the following

2 Platys
4 Neon Tetras
2 Corys
2 Sucking Loaches

All of these fish have been with us since we first cycled the tank.

We have had two fatalities, an electric blue dwarf gourami and a colombian ram.

Both these fish have died the same way. Listless, hiding in the rocks in the bottom of the tank. Keeling over and then slowly dying over the space of a couple of days.

The ram changed colour quite dramatically from silver with red tips to his fins to dark grey with very dark red fin tips.

Concerned that these fish are similar species and there might be a specific problem.

We do 25%-30% water changes every 3 weeks and all the other fish are healthy. We even had baby platys.

Any thoughts.

 

[PDSimon]

You weren't doing enough water changes? Most people here do them every week or two weeks at the most - I think.

What were your ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels when they died?

 

[snowflake311]

Yeah that's a 15 gal tank and it's over stocked. Doing wc every 3 weeks on an overstocked small tank is going to cause death.
When you say colombian ram do you mean the German blue rams or the Bolivian Rams. Both do not do well in poor water. Gourami tend to get infection easy. Thoes are not hardy fish for a tank that's water quality is most likely on the poor side.

Sorry don't get any more keep what you have do more wc things should be ok. Think about getting a larger tank a 20 gal or 30gal are good starters.