# Something's wrong with my Jewel Cichlid pair



## Mattie (Aug 3, 2011)

I had a breeding pair of jeweled cichlids and their first bunch of fry all in a tank together. The other day the male started darting back and forth and kicking up rocks, basically acting crazy, and all the other fish in the tank were trying to stay away. The male hid in the far corner and didn't move for an entire day, and the female backed herself up in the opposite corner. When the female moved around, the fry darted away from her (which is unusual granted how well they've been taking care of their fry since the beginning). I figured it was probably time to remove the parents from the fry (the fry are about 1/2" long) thinking they might be starting the mating cycle again. I put the two adults in a tank by themselves. They wont eat, their color is not right, and they have brownish-black blotches on them. I thought maybe they were just stressed out from the move, but it's been a few days now. They haven't eaten anything and hang out at the bottom of the tank and hide all day. I'm not sure whats going on with them but the don't look good. Any advice?

I checked the water and the nitrite & nitrate levels are all good. The ph is 7.7 The temp is at 80, which is a bit higher than I usually have it ( 77-78 ). The water in their tank is comprised of half new (treated) water and half from the fry tank.


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## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

Did you test ammonia? Also, what are the nitrite and nitrate levels, besides good. Not to sound condescending but not everyone's version of 'good' is the same.
Any chance of a pic? What other fish were in with them and are there any others in there with them now? It's a good idea to have other fish for the male to take out his aggression on, otherwise it will be the female he harasses. Also, if removing the fry from the pair's tank, it's best to leave some otherwise there's a chance you'll be dealing with world war 3.


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## Mattie (Aug 3, 2011)

The ammonia level is .25 I did a nitrate/nitrite test yesterday and nitrate was under 20 but today it read as 40, nitrite is still under 0.5.

The fish aren't aggressive towards each other. In fact they seem to like each other a lot. They stay close together.

Right now the pair is in a tank with no other fish. Before they were in a tank with about 100 fry. When the male fish was freaking out the other day he didn't attack any of the other fish he was just darting back and forth, stirring up rocks, and running into the side of the tank.

I'll try and get some pictures up. Thanks for your help.


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## triscuit (May 6, 2005)

Any ammonia or nitrite is too much. Do a water change immediately and stop feeding. Both of these compounds are toxic, and should not ever be in a tank with fish. They are byproducts of fish poo, but in a healthy aquarium the biofilter converts ammonia and nitrite to nitrate instantly.

Has your filter been disturbed lately? How often do you do water changes? Do you use a good dechlorinator when you change out water?


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## Mattie (Aug 3, 2011)

The levels in my last post are from the new tank I moved the breeding pair into 4 days ago. I used half new water and half water from the fry's tank to fill it and I have not done any water changes because it has only been running for 4 days. I'll cut back on feeding to help with their levels as you suggested. Although, I finally got them to eat some blood worms today. At least I know they won't die from starvation...

I did a 25% water change as often as once per week in their original tank. When I moved the pair into this new tank, I did a 50% water change in their original tank (as I used 50% of it in their new tank). As of now, in their original tank where the fry are still located, nitrate level is 80, nitrite level is 0, and ammonia level is under .25.

I believe they began stressing due to a recent move. I posted about this experience here:
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/view ... highlight=

They were doing very well before I had to move the tank out of the kitchen. In fact, my avatar is an image of the male exactly one day before I had to temporarily move the tank out of the kitchen. They began stressing a few days after. They were not eating up until now and still retain the dark blotches along their backs.

Here is a before picture and a picture I managed to take today - they spend most of their time huddled together behind a rock out of view.


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## triscuit (May 6, 2005)

They are stressed because there's ammonia and nitrite in their tank.  If this doesn't kill them, it will burn their gills and weaken their immune systems so that they are more susceptible to infections.

Immediately- grab some filter media from the established tank and put it in the new tank's filter. Water does *nothing* to help a tank cycle, but the sponges and things in the filter harbor all of the beneficial bacteria that detoxify ammonia and nitrite. *STOP feeding* until you have the water quality issue resolved (I promise they won't starve to death... that's the last thing that ever kills fish in the aquarium.)

In the meantime, 80 ppm nitrate is not good. That means you are feeding too much and not changing enough water. Start doing larger water changes (50%) every day or every other day until your nitrates are below 10ppm- try vaccuuming the substrate on day, and then rinse your filter media out in a bucket of tank water the next. Make sure you use a good quality dechlorinator with every water change. While nitrate itself is not toxic like ammonia or nitrite, it does show if you are performing necessary maintenance.

Also- spend some time in the library reading about the nitrogen cycle: http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/cycling.php; it will help you make sense of what's happening to your fish.

Good luck!


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## Mattie (Aug 3, 2011)

Oh, I forgot to mention that the filter in that tank is one I took out of an established tank. I figured it would help cycle the tank faster. And the dechlorinator I use is Tetra-Aquasafe.

I will do all of your suggestions and see what happens. Thanks for your help.


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