# My cichlid is swimming as if having a seizure please help!!!



## blueairy (Dec 5, 2010)

So i cant find anything on the web about my poor cichlid having swimming issues. she was fine and a couple of days a go she started nodding her head as if saying no, then having spasms and now it just wont stop, she barely ate today and im quite afraid for it the poor thing.. i cant seem to find anything on her coating to make me believe that its ick, i went ahead and treated the water with coppersafe the first day just in case and no change. 
now the other fishes are fine so far.. actually i just saw 2 of them doing some kind of mating dance today for the first time, wich kinda lets me know that might not be the whater but again what do i know?
this is my first tank and to say the least these fishes have had it a lil rough since honestly i had no idea about what cycling was when i first started.. but *** educated myself about it and bout the species, i found it all so interesting im very exited about this whole experience.
anywho im rambling.. i took a video and posted it so you guys can see if maybe you can recognize whats wrong with my youngest baby.. id really apreciate any help..

btw i know my tank is not done cycling since i added new fish to the original group(bare with me...its been a very long road of trial and error.... ) so it had to start all over again.

ph is 8.2
ammonia is 0.ppm
nitrite is 5.0pmm
nitrate is 40.pmm

thanks for taking the time to read all this..


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## blueairy (Dec 5, 2010)




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## PsYcHoTiC_MaDmAn (Dec 26, 2005)

you need to lower the nitrite IMMEDIATELY.

water change plus dosing something like seachem prime/safe, which binds the nitrite in non toxic form.

personally think the fish will be fine once thats sorted, think its just disliking the water conditions


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## DrTim's (Jun 8, 2010)

forget the prime - change the water NOW. The nitrite is too high and you need to get it down.

if you have to change 50% of the water every 2 hours to get the nitrite down do it.


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## Robin (Sep 18, 2002)

I watched the video, (what a beautiful bright tank you have!).

I think the problem is the high nitrite level in the tank. High nitrite will damage your fish internally and kill them if you don't do something about it. This is what you should do ASAP:
First if you don't already have a good dechlorinator go buy one. You want something like Seachem Prime or Amquel Plus. Both of these will work to detoxify the nitrite. Follow the specific directions for dosing for nitrite poisoning.

Do a 40% partial water change with the dechlorinator. Siphon the gravel. Wait a couple of hours and do an other 40% partial water change with the dechlorinator.

Add aquarium salt at the rate of 1 tablespoon per ten gallons of water. Dissolve the salt first and add it gradually over several hours time. If you don't have aquarium salt then go to the grocery store and get some pickling or kosher salt. You need to find some that is pure salt--no additives. The salt will help detoxify the nitrite.

For the next several weeks feed the fish sparingly. Not more than one small feeding a day.

Tomorrow repeat the water changes and re-add the salt that was removed with the water changes. 
The following day test the water. If there is any nitrite repeat the water changes and re-add the salt. Remember: you only want to add back the salt removed with the water change so for example if you remove 10 gallons with the water change then you need to re-add 1 tablespoon of salt.

Good luck. Let us know how it goes.

Robin

P.S.It's late as I write this. If you don't have salt or a good dechlorinator do a 40% partial water change for now with whatever dechlorinator you have and then get the better dechlorinator tomorrow. Not all dechlorinators are going to do the job we need them to do so shop around until you find one


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## Robin (Sep 18, 2002)

oops, I was typing while others were answering. But seems we're all in agreement


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## blueairy (Dec 5, 2010)

So i apreciate so much you guys replied so quickly.. and yes i just done a 35% water change before i tested the water this evening.. im getting ready to do another one, im guessing 50% will help.. and yes its quite late round here so i cant get anything till tomorrow but i defenetly will try everything you guys sugested.
thank you so much and ill keep you all posted.
oh and im using aquasafe for the tap water.


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## blueairy (Dec 5, 2010)

so i just made a 75% water change, tested it right away and still nitrite is the same!! dunno if my tap water just had something added to it??! im running out of options for tonight so all i can do is sleep on it.. is so frustraiting though.. im sure you guys understand...
well..goodnite for now.


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## Robin (Sep 18, 2002)

What kind of test kit(s) do you use and how old are they? 
Did you also siphon the gravel?
Did the fish, any of the fish, show any reaction/change of symptoms after the water change?
Prior to these emergency water changes when was the last time you did a partial water change on the tank and how much water did you remove?

Robin


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## blueairy (Dec 5, 2010)

the test kit im using is API freshwater master test kit, wich i got about a month a go.. I got JJ like a month a a half a go, and she seems to be growing slowly not like the other 3 fishes i got.. and i know that she is a different breed so im not to worried about that.. 
about the water well i have been making partial changes like 25% almost every 2 days since my ammonia was high before. 4 days a go was the first time it started go go down dramaticly and last nite was the first time that reached 0 wich got me so exited..
i did syphon the gravel aswell, not all of it but i try to get different spots every time i change the water.. and yes as soon as i changed the water i noticed that JJ started to swim around the tank with way more energy as if "breathing more" ? but then she still had the little spasms going on.. i didnt feed them last nite.. so this morning i gave them a lil food and everybody including JJ was going after it so that gave me a little bit of hope.. im getting ready here to change the water again. nad ill be getting the nitrate detoxifier this afternoon. so wish me luck!
thanks again for all your help guys, it means a lot!!!


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Test your tap water for nitrite and other parameters.


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## Robin (Sep 18, 2002)

Sounds like your tank is going through a complete cycle where you had the ammonia spike a few days ago. It's important to realize that even if some fish aren't showing symptoms of ammonia and now nitrite poisoning t*hey are in fact being harmed by it.* If it doesn't kill them outright then it may weaken/injure them permanently so that they will be more susceptible to ailments and disease that they would normally be able to avoid.

Also: it's not good idea to treat for parasites without some kind of indication that there may in fact be parasites. I know you just wanted to do something to help the fish but medications add a certain amount of stress to your fish and if the fish is fighting off something other than parasites then the parasite med will make that harder for them to do. Sometimes we end up treating without being certain of what we're treating for but we try to avoid it.

Whenever you have fish showing symptoms of any kind the first thing you want to do is test the water. Nine times out of ten the problem is with the water. And then, regardless of the test results the next thing you should do is a partial water change and gravel siphoning using a good quality dechlorinator. From there you decide what, if any, meds you need to treat with.

Check out this link to learn more about cycling your tank and what you can do to speed things up. 
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/view ... p?t=214764
There are also many articles in this forum's library section that talk about cycling. There's so many ways to cycle a tank that no fish should have to suffer through ammonia and nitrite poisoning. 

let us know how it goes
Robin


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## blueairy (Dec 5, 2010)

thank you all for helping me deal with the issue i had.. im sure i still got lots learn bout my cichlids, but i must say that the quickness of your response and advice really helped my babies. so thank you very much..
ph is 8.2
ammonia 0.00
nitrite .25
nitrate 5.00

so i'll keep a very close eye on the water. will test it tonight and change if necessary.
heres a clip of JJ last night like 10 mins after i changed the water with amquel plus in it plus the aquarium salt. i did everything as i was told and you can defenetly see that it worked.






so needless to say im giving this website 2 big thumbs up!!! :thumb: :thumb: you guys know what you are talking about and help in a very nicely way.
again, thank you lots and ill defenetly be around reading your articles.


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## Robin (Sep 18, 2002)

Love hearing that fish are feeling better! And I actually did hear and see it because I watched your video.

Keep up with the daily water changes until you're consistently at 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite and low, (less than 20ppm) nitrate.

Thanks very much for the _video report and thank-you_. That's a first for me!

Robin


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