# New aquarium needs HELP. Fish Dying.



## galdy1988 (May 4, 2020)

Hello,

I set up a 55g 4 ft long Mbuna aquarium. So far 4 fish of 19 that I bought have died and I don't know why. Any help I can get to save the remaining will be greatly appreciated.

I did a fishless cycle using "Dr. Tim's One and Only" and tank cycled in a month. Started in March, the tank cycled by April and I added the fish in April. I added 8 the first week, 8 the second week and the remaining the following week. I use API Freshwater Master Test Kit to determine if the tank cycled and to test my water. Water parameters this morning are:

PH 7.8
Amonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 40ppm (Water change is do today)

I do a weekly water change of 50%. The Mbuna I have left are 4 Yellow Tail Acei, 3 Blue Cobalts, 3 Jalo Reefs, 4 Yellow Labs and 1 Ancistrus pleco. I lost 2 yellow labs, 1 blue cobalt and 1 Jalo reef. I feed them a mixture of Northfin Veggie pellets, pellets I bought from <vendor name removed> website and Northfin algae waeferf for the algae eater. I used to feed them 2 times a day but since I lost a few I changed to once per day thinking I was over feeding them.

I dont know why this is happening. Fish dont look sick and I have not seen extreme aggression in the tank. The only thing I have noticed with some that died is that they became less active, shy and did not eat a few days before they passed.

Let me know if you need more information.

Thanks in advance.


----------



## SoccerMbunaAndShak (Apr 7, 2020)

Could be aggression. Fishkeepers rarely see aggression, at least the kind that kills. Were there any non-fishfood colored feces? If so, some kind of intestinal disease. Contact the seller of the fish. Feeding once a day is definitely the way to go. After switching to once a day, my fish haven't had bloat for years.


----------



## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I think ideally you would have 3 species and 1m:4f of each in a 55G. But for now we can see if we can get them well. As Soccer advises, observe the feces. A common ailment is bloat and it can happen if the fish are stressed.

Normal is thick and food-colored. Bloat is thin/thready and clear/white.

Overfeeding should not cause a disease...poor water quality yes, but not a disease with a good formula like Northfin.

Stocking could cause stress if you don't have enough females. 15 is a good number for mbuna in a 55G but you want 12 of them to be females.

Acei might be on the large side to keep in a 55G so if you contemplate stock changes...think about omitting the acei and adding females.

But get them healthy first.


----------



## ironspider (Dec 5, 2017)

Are they juveniles? If so it's not likely aggression.


----------



## galdy1988 (May 4, 2020)

Morning,

Thank you for the quick reply. I have been monitoring them and have seen discolored feces in the fish that are affected. I had another one die yesterday (Jalo reef) and it had a swollen belly. They are all juveniles I believe, biggest ones are 2 inches, smallest about 1 inch. When I bought them I aimed to have 1 males and 3 females but I believe with some I got 2 males. I am not sure since I am a beginner and it is not easy to tell. I can consider stock changes. The most important thing is getting this guys healthy again. It sounds like it may be some type of parasite or disease. The fish that are affected stop eating and don't behave normally. Any advise on how to get them healthy again?


----------



## shiftyfox (Aug 2, 2019)

From past experience I won't buy 1 inch fish from a vendor, I prefer 2.5 inch fish + 
Get some Epsom Salt in to the tank, has worked for me when fish have had bloat before along with Seachem Metroplex 
After a few days of treatment I like to try flake food before I return back to pellets. 
In my opinion over feeding does not cause bloat. Bad water and stress does.


----------



## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Let's hear more about the feces first. Are they thready and clear or white? It would make a difference on what medication you should use.

A 2" fish can easily be mature, especially with the Jalos and the labs.


----------



## galdy1988 (May 4, 2020)

We observed thready and white feces. The one Jalo that I am looking at now is very inactive hanging out in the bottom all the time and he is thin rather than bloated like the one that died recently. The ones that are two inches are the Labs. I bought epsom salt yesterday along with Metro+. I did a water change and treated the tank with the salt and Metro+.


----------



## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

OK let us know how it goes. This is likely the result of stress and aggression, so once they are healthy, stocking changes are next.


----------



## galdy1988 (May 4, 2020)

Will do. How do I know for certain that they are healthy? What stoking change would you guys recommend, just remove the Yellow Tails and add more females?


----------



## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

They will start eating and feces will be thick and food colored. Wait three more weeks after that, and then I would do 1m:4f each of the Jalo, labs and cobalts. Maybe you can swap the acei for females of the others.


----------



## galdy1988 (May 4, 2020)

Just wanted to give a quick update. Sadly the Jalo Reef that I talked about earlier died. He was not eating at all. On the bright side the rest of the fish look good and are all eating and behaving normal. I have been monitoring the feces and i see less and less white thready feces each day. I treated with Metro+ and Epsom Slats by adding to the water. Tomorrow is the last day of the treatment. I am thinking of medicating the food as the next treatment since I was told that was better and just to make sure whatever they have goes away. Would this be a good idea??


----------



## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Metro is like any other antibiotic. The more you use it the less effective it becomes.

If they are eating and feces are good, then I would just use the Epsom salts as the preventive.


----------

