# Jewel cichlids starting to freak out in tank



## Doyoulikefishsticks (Jan 10, 2013)

Hello forum,

I haven't visited this site in awhile as my fish are all doing great up until now, and I'm really worried. I got a 20 gallon tank with about 10 jewel cichlids all about an inch and a half long. They were raised from a mating pair I had quite awhile ago. Everything has been fine with them up until Saturday night. I had some guests over for dinner and they started freaking out in the tank and swimming around really fast and hiding from some people who were over and looking at them. It is now Monday, and they are still looking stressed and are very on edge, completely lost their color, if I even approach the tank slowly they freak out to the point where they're hitting the glass, and possibly some of the rocks I have. Some of them are looking injured. Every single one of them is acting this way, and I am very worried they wont get better. I'm hesitant to even walk by the tank. They do still eat though, but they don't seem to be eating as much as they did before. I'm feeding them NLS Cichlid formula.

I did a water change and tank cleaning last week, I thought maybe my biofilter media went bad and toxins were rising but I tested the ammonia levels just now, and its reading .25 ppm. Temp is at 79 degrees.

Is it common for them to be this on edge after an "event" scares them so much? Even a couple days after they got so scared? What can I do to get them to settle down and feel comfortable?

Can't think of anything else to add at the moment, but I'll answer any questions you guys send my way.


----------



## Kanorin (Apr 8, 2008)

Doyoulikefishsticks said:


> I thought maybe my biofilter media went bad and toxins were rising but I tested the ammonia levels just now, and its reading .25 ppm.


This seems like it is part of the problem. What are your readings for nitrites and nitrates?


----------

