# "Spinning" Cichlid



## kreature (Feb 26, 2010)

Good Morning!
I have a 30 gallon tank of "mixed" cyclids, possibly with some peacock in them. This morning, when I turned on the light, one of the larger males was spinning as he swims. Thought it might be the light, courtship, I'm confused. :-? I have some iron stone slabs in the tank, and some terra cotta pots (were new over 6 months ago), could it be from the ironstone? Some kind of toxicity? Could there be too many? When I got them in April they were all the same size, but now some are almost 3 times as big as others. 25% water change was done on Sunday, the rest of them look fine so far.


----------



## GeriJo (May 13, 2010)

Get the Ironstone out of the tank. You can't put anything metal in tanks. It oxidizes and can kill the fish. Ironstone contains high concentrates of iron oxides.


----------



## GeriJo (May 13, 2010)

And definitely do another water change... I would do them frequently till you're sure you got the iron oxidation out of the water.


----------



## kreature (Feb 26, 2010)

How frequently can I do water changes to try and dilute this? I've read up to 60% weekly. Can I repeat another change today? (last 25% one was done on Sunday)


----------



## GeriJo (May 13, 2010)

Yes. You can do another one today, I would actually recommend it. 100% can be successfully done but is not recommended. You could do as much as 75% today and then stick with 50% every other day for a week or two.


----------



## GeriJo (May 13, 2010)

Just make sure the temperature of the water you are putting into the tank closely matches the temperature of the water you are taking out when doing large water changes.


----------



## kreature (Feb 26, 2010)

Should I put in some cycle or something for the beneficial bacteria? What's the best rock to use without paying an arm and a leg at the LFS???


----------



## GeriJo (May 13, 2010)

I would add a bit of cycle after every few changes and then a good amount once you are done with all of the big water changes. I generally go to the creek behind my house and get stones and clean them up. Sand stone, slate, & holey rock are all common choices in aquaria. Landscapers will generally carry river rock and slate as well as some other choices. Just avoid anything with metal in it.


----------



## gymdog (May 24, 2007)

Is the iron the reason for the spinning?


----------



## DonnieS (Jan 10, 2011)

Im new to this but i had three 1.5'' - 2'' assorted cichlids, and i fed them regular and i actually had some rocks i took from outside and i cleaned them. So when i put them in some started letting bubbles out and most of them looked like they had some sort of rust and also shedding particles off . Later on i read that these are bad and had some sort of metals in them and not to put rocks that have rusty look or lines in your tank . Welllll all 3 of my fish ended up spinning when they swam and ended up floating upside down swimming then died. Later i took the rocks out and changed the water 85% added the stress coat to condition, nitra bacteria, and ph booster. 
Put some new fish in and they have been fine . i also have limestone rocks for my decor , i have had no problem with them.

Hope all goes well
DonnieS..


----------



## marshpollock (Jan 19, 2011)

Could you explain what happened to the news, I added two days ago are dead. When I added the fish, it started to vibrate as they were furious. If you are in the center of a territorial battle, they need this stress.


----------



## bpman25 (Oct 21, 2010)

Hey Kreature, if you don't want to pay what the LFS charges just go in and look at what rocks they sell, then go to a landscaping supply store and buy the same thing. I get slate for about 1/4th the prices of what the LFS charges for the same stuff.


----------

