# Weird Cichlids



## davery08 (Mar 4, 2011)

So I have a group of parrot ciclhlids along with a green terror and convict. Every time I throw in an alge pellet for my pleco all of my other fish eat it? Is it bad for them? How can I get them to not? They are well fed


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## scent troll (Apr 4, 2005)

lol classic problem

first, no it is not bad at all for them. they can eat those as much as they wish. to stop it ive always implemented a tactic.

i feed them on one corner of the tank and get all the fish distracted eating their pellets and at the opposite end i drop in the sinking food. usually when its on the bottom it will go unnoticed.

however, they might still get at it. the only advice i can give in that point is to use a different method all together. add more sinking food so some makes it down. cichlids are difficult like that. you have to play their games and get around it.

try different tricks and see if anything works. otherwise you can use a flake food and dip it into the tank and let it sink. enough will make it to the bottom and dig into the gravel where the cichlids wont get it and the pleco will


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## davery08 (Mar 4, 2011)

I got them to stop eating the alge pellets but lately (within the last week) I've noticed my orange parrot cichlid has been on his side a lot. It's weird because when I come in every morning he's laying on his side so my first thought is that he's dead so I tap the glass and he gets up and swims off and swims around like he's perfectly healthy.

So I've kept a good track of my water quality this week and everything is normal and safe and hes the only fish doing it so could it be like his way of sleeping? Because sometimes he is upside down "sleeping" but still alive

I also thought that maybe he could be getting bullied but my other parrots (3 in total) and I have a convict and a green terror and none of them are that active and I am starting to think it's because of my 10 dannios I have in there with them. Could the 10 of them be bullying my other fish?
Any suggestions or advice would be great

Next time he's on his side or upside down I'll take a picture to post


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## scent troll (Apr 4, 2005)

a picture always helps. but cichlids often sleep sideways. upside down is a bit odd, not going to lie. but usually if he is getting bullied he will have beat up scales or ripped fins or be iscolated to a corner of the tank. 
i wouldnt suspect bullying. problem just a strange sleeping habit. especailly because when you get home he returns to normal swimming.

keep an eye on it. glad the food situation is better. post a pic if you can for certain. but i wouldnt suspect you should worry about this.


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## davery08 (Mar 4, 2011)

so it is hard to tell but there is a hole in my driftwood in the second picture it shows him laying on his side like hes dead.. i did the usual tap the glass to make sure hes alive and he went over to my other piece of driftwood and laid on his side as shown in the first picture


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## scent troll (Apr 4, 2005)

hard to see detail. 
honestly. looks okay. ive had more then a few cichlids (several species) that slept completely on their side. not uncommon. especially in a low stress environment.


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## davery08 (Mar 4, 2011)

But he does is all the time. Well as far as I notice. When I wake up he's like that. When I come home from work he's like that


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## scent troll (Apr 4, 2005)

i understand. strange as it may be there is nothing to worry over if he isnt showing any signs of illness. 
i couldnt see anything myself, but it doesnt look like anything is off or odd about him. and if hes eating and activly swimming when you are around, he may indeed just be resting


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## davery08 (Mar 4, 2011)

Okay that makes me feel better. All my fish have like air bubbles on them? It kind of makes them look cool but is it something to worry about?
I am going to go to my LFS this weekend and get my water tested but my test kit doesn't show anything is bad so I don't know what it could be


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## scent troll (Apr 4, 2005)

air bubbles? is that what i see in the pic? im not sure what im looking at but it looks like spots. are these air bubbles white dots by any chance??...


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## davery08 (Mar 4, 2011)

yeah white dots.. look like air bubbles


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## scent troll (Apr 4, 2005)

ah. sounds like a case of ich. its a fish parasite and it explains his frequent naps and lethargic moods. hes sick. 
you need to treat him for ich ASAP.

below i pasted some basic infor on ICH and a quick 5 step treatment method...read up.

_
Ichthyophthirius multifiliis (commonly known as freshwater white spot disease, freshwater ich, or freshwater ick) is a common disease of freshwater fish.[1] It is caused by the protozoa Ichtyopthirius.[2] Ich is one of the most common and persistent diseases. The protozoan is an ectoparasite. White nodules that look like white grains of salt or sugar of up to 1 mm appear on the body, fins and gills. Each white spot is an encysted parasite._

*1

Raise the temperature in your tank. The life cycle of the Ich is dependent upon temperature and Ich can be effectively controlled by raising the tank temperature to about 78-80 degrees. After about four days you should see considerable improvement in your fish and water of the tank. Slowly raise the temperature in your tank over 48 hours so as not to stress your fish.

2

Remove the fish. If you have a spare tank, fill it and prepare the water to hold your fish. Ich cannot live without the fish, so by removing the fish and raising the tank temperature to 80 degrees the Ich should die within two days. Leave the fish in the temporary tank another two days just to be on the safe side then return the fish to the original tank. Any Ich on the fish will fall off and die normally. Remember to then kill the Ich in your temporary tank before putting new fish in it or emptying it for storage.

3

Use the "Medicated Wonder Shell." This product is widely available and treats not only Ich but Velvet and helps clear cloudy water. Safe to use with fish in the tank, this is an easy and effective treatment. Read package directions to be sure you have the right tank conditions to effectively use the Wonder Shell.

4

Try Malachite Green. This is another effective and widely available Ich treatment but should be used with caution as it can sometimes stain a tank or it's ornamentation. Use this along with a raised temperature in your tank for the most successful treatment.

5

Use aquarium salt. Most effective in goldfish tanks, aquarium salt is inexpensive and successful in treatment of Ich and some other water problems. Use one teaspoon of aquarium salt per gallon of water every 12 hours for a total of three treatments (total dose: 3 teaspoons per gallon.) Some live aquarium plants don't respond well to the salt, so check with your aquatics store or remove plants temporarily.

Read more: How to Treat Ich in Fresh Water Fish | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_2364484_treat-ich-fresh-water-fish.html#ixzz1YirFv6Fb*


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## davery08 (Mar 4, 2011)

When putting fish in the other tank do I put ALL fish in there? And do I fill the other tank with new water or with tank water? Or 50/50


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## davery08 (Mar 4, 2011)

he died so nvm.. i turned my tank temp up to 86 so hopefully that kills the ich and doesn't hurt anymore fish.. thank you


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## Guest (Sep 24, 2011)

The key words were to *slowly raise your tank temperature*. By raising it to fast you will place your fish in shock and since they are already sick, they are weak and cant handle such a dramatic change. This usually will result in some deaths. So next time raise it slowly. Also the higher the temperature, the more surface agitation is required.

I have never used chemical treatments to treat ich. I have only ever used Aquarium salt and it clears it everytime







Once the spots have disappeared, you should continue treatment for an additional 7 days, then do a water change.

Sorry your fish passed away, hopefully to can take care of the rest and not have anymore casualties.


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## gjohnson1989 (Dec 19, 2010)

ksls said:


> The key words were to *slowly raise your tank temperature*. By raising it to fast you will place your fish in shock and since they are already sick, they are weak and cant handle such a dramatic change. This usually will result in some deaths. So next time raise it slowly. Also the higher the temperature, the more surface agitation is required.
> 
> I have never used chemical treatments to treat ich. I have only ever used Aquarium salt and it clears it everytime
> 
> ...


he did slowly raise the tank temperature. raised it 8 degrees over probably 6 hours. and he plenty of surface agitation with his canister, HOB, and air stone. I think it was just too late for the little guy.


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## davery08 (Mar 4, 2011)

Yeah I did raise it slowly but like johnson said it was too late. He had been like that for 2 weeks before I realized what I needed to do. Just another learning lesson


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## AKSkirmish (Jun 24, 2005)

Central said:


> ah. sounds like a case of ich. its a fish parasite and it explains his frequent naps and lethargic moods. hes sick.
> you need to treat him for ich ASAP.
> 
> below i pasted some basic infor on ICH and a quick 5 step treatment method...read up.
> ...


I hope you did not follow these steps...

Also as a rule stay away from Parrot...It's the creation of these little guys that cause the problems.....Their immune systems are not up to par of that of a healthy cichlid....

Anyhow a bit late..

Sorry for your loss


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## davery08 (Mar 4, 2011)

AK what was wrong with the advice central gave me about the hospital tank? My other parrots seem to be doing fine so hopefully it stays that way


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## AKSkirmish (Jun 24, 2005)

Two things should be used for ich and nothing else.....Temp increase and salt if needed.....

If them two things can not get rid of your problem-you need to start looking elsewhere for occuring problem...

Malachite-and whatever in the hell this wondershell is shouldn't even be a consideration....if one has to go that far----like I said they need to look elswhere for occuring problems.

And if extremem measures are needed...A good ole salt bath will cure most.....


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## Bawb2u (May 27, 2004)

gjohnson1989 said:


> he did slowly raise the tank temperature. raised it 8 degrees over probably 6 hours. and he plenty of surface agitation with his canister, HOB, and air stone. I think it was just too late for the little guy.


 That's not slowly, fish can't sweat and need to acclimate to temperature. The fish was weakened by disease and killed by overheating.


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## Bawb2u (May 27, 2004)

davery08 said:


> AK what was wrong with the advice central gave me about the hospital tank? My other parrots seem to be doing fine so hopefully it stays that way


The basic fact is: Ich has 3 stages of life, It can only be killed in ONE of those stages. That means you HAVE TO TREAT the outbreak for the entire cumulative life cycle of ALL THREE STAGES.

This is a sure fire CURE for the ich on your fish, the ich in your tank and the ich in your substrate.

Over a period of 48 hours raise your tank temperature to 82-84F, no higher. Add 1TBSP of non-iodized salt per 5 gallons, do this over a 24 hour period, DO NOT DUMP THE SALT ALL AT ONCE. Once that's done add another 1/2 TBSP over the next 24 hours. Now don't do anything else. Feed your fish like normal, when you do water changes, re-add salt to the amount of 4TSP (NOT TBSP) for gallon. Do this for a MINIMUM of 14 days, 21 if your temperature is lower. Then just start doing regular water changes without the salt.
No more ich.


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## scent troll (Apr 4, 2005)

shame. sorry he didnt make it. being a smaller fish its not surprising. the directions i gave you were a quick flowchart. i havent had ich in years but whenever i had it i would always medicate and that would do the job. some people need more steps, some not. tried to help.


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## davery08 (Mar 4, 2011)

thanks for the help central.. I think it was a little too late but now i know if it happens again.. thanks for trying to help though


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## scent troll (Apr 4, 2005)

im sorry we couldnt get on it soon enough.
really bums me out. but dont give up. time to go fish shopping soon for you. start fresh


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