I do have rift lake cichlids! Again I was working when my husband purchased the sucker. My water parameters are where they should be I check very regularly! The store we purchased the sucker from was well aware of everything in my tank and said this one will be fine! Not saying that person is wrong but it seems like you are acting as tho I am doing something so terribly wrong? As I mentioned if this fish is a problem I am buying another tank!?!?!?
You have not understood my point, perhaps I did not explain it well enough, sorry. I feel it my duty, and other members feel likewise, to point out problems so you can avoid issues. A larger tank is not the issue here.
Water parameters refers to the hardness, pH and temperature. Hardness and pH are the parameters set by your tap water, and which impact fish, and we need to know those for your source (tap) water. Some fish have specific needs. Rift lake fish must have moderately hard or harder water; plecos need moderately soft water. There is some adaptability with the pleco depending what it is and the GH and pH of your water.
The pleco is not compatible with rift lake cichlids, unless it is a species hailing from the rift lakes.
As for the size, if the pleco does attain 2 feet and the store apparently suggests, you would need at least a 6-foot tank, and even that would be less than desirable. And these are very messy fish, meaning, they produce a lot of waste which impacts water quality.
Which brings me to your water testing...I suspect this is ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. These are not water parameters but conditions. Two very different things, and both can seriously impact fish health and well being.
It would be much simpler to take the pleco fish back. And please explain to your husband that fish must be researched before acquiring them. We all must learn this, or the fish are the losers. I did the same thing way back, and had no form like this one to set me straight.
