# itching and wont quit HELP



## jfly (Feb 17, 2009)

cycled water.. 25 percent changes with conditioner. and went through 3 cycles of the bacteria and fungus treatment.. yellow cancer causing stuff... even ran hang ons with out filter pads in them for circulation everything yellow and yucky.... finally quit itching and replaced filter pads.. now itching again but not too much.. help please 55 gallon 1 yellow lab 3acei 4 kenyi 1 unknown


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

What are the water parameters on the tank?

Do you mean you treated with antibiotics??? What were they?

How long has this tank been set up?

What is your normal tank maintenance routine?

Have you lost any fish recently?

Added any fish without quarantine?

Did the fish ever have any white spots on them? If so, what did they look like?


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## jfly (Feb 17, 2009)

okay had water tested and all paramaters great.. bi weekly 25 % change with conditioner... no new fish but an angel *** had for a year had slime .ie. fungus first.. after yellow granual medicine . (dont have the name at work now) HE instantly cleared , and my cichlids started to itch... 2nd treatment with 25% change after 3 days fish fine.. reapplied filter pads.. and days later noticed a new itch with my electric orange.. any suggestions my lfs said it was shot in the dark so many different bacterias and fungus.. would like another suggestion for med


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

I would like to have the exact water parameters, please. Your tank maintenance is really stretching it.

Is this the same tank that has the mbuna in it? With angelfish???

You're going to have to give alot more detail in order for us to help you. I'm missing too much information.

Look at the sticky in the top of this illness folder and follow the guidelines there.


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## jfly (Feb 17, 2009)

thanks. im so new to cichlids im not too sure the different species, i know i have acei and kenyi. the only one really itching is my yellow lab and my electic orange ??? kenyi ??? i know the angels dont go well and they hate the higher ph, but i am giving them away this weekend.. i also have 2 blood parrots if forgot to mention


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

You'll need to get rid of the blood parrots, too, if these others are Malawi cichlids.

You've come to a good place for help. Once we identify what you have, we'll help you.

Without knowing the exact water parameters of the tank, I am very hesitant to advise adding meds, especially since you've already treated the tank twice and we don't know what you used.

How often are these fish flashing?


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## jfly (Feb 17, 2009)

i used... bionics , i think - jungle brand.. i have some cruddy pics of my fish in general african forum "acei and kenyi". I havent identified them, maybe you can have a look. I will post better pics this weekend. Hmm.. my blood parrots seem to get along fairly well with the other cichlids, but if need be i can give them away. I believe my lfs has screwed me with their pretend knowledge.


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## webgirl74 (Jan 30, 2009)

The yellow granual medication sounds like the Jungle brand fungus cure. I've used it before myself and have had success with it. You need to make sure you remove any charcoal media from your filter as well in order for medications to work effectively. A large water change should be done before adding the meds, and then regular changes done during treatment. Make sure you also add enough meds for your tank size and disolve the grains in a cup of tank water before adding it. Use the meds for a longer period than the package recommends to make sure you really get rid of the fungus or parasite. Don't stop using the product just because your fish stop itching. Medicating fish gets expensive, but if you catch the problem early and are persistent, most issues are cureable. Provide us with your water parameters though...there might be something that stands out here to those that are experts. Their recommendations are only as good as the info you can provide. What you think is a fungal infection could end up being an issue with water conditions. With the mix of fish you have going on though, it could also be stress that's causing your issues.


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## jfly (Feb 17, 2009)

thanks webgurl.. ill try dissolving in tank water first.. wow simple and sounds effective i will get the parameters on here asap.. i did have water tested at lfs and said all was fine.. list of fishl

1. 1x female krib
2. unsure but believe to be johanni--in breeder net and gone saturday
3. 1x male kenyi
4. 1x female kenyi
5. 1x red zebra -female
6. 1x female (i believe, due to less black on anal fin)
7. 2xs blood parrots but as a whole very calm parrots

suggestions for mates , changes, note+ the johanni is gone saturday


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## webgirl74 (Jan 30, 2009)

Problem with the LFS is that a lot of times the staff are not experts and the water parameters that they call "fine" are very general. What is good for say a guppy is not OK for African cichlids. Africans like a high PH and will not do well long-term if your water is too soft. Water here comes out of the tap at a 7.8 PH, which is fine for my Africans, but when I tried to keep some S. American appistos at that PH, they did very poorly and I ended up returning them to the store (I didn't know any better at the time). Also, did they check everything (PH, ammonia levels, temp, nitrates, nitrites, etc.)? You have an odd mix there too. When smaller and not fully mature, most cichlids will seem to get along, and then all heck breaks loose when they come into maturity. From when I've heard, Kenyi and Zebras can get pretty aggressive when they get a bit bigger. And you have 1 male with a whole mix of females, which will probably lead to a lot of chasing and harassing of his female when this male starts to establish himself. Have you added any new fish to the tank recently? Any recent additions might have brought some disease into the tank or caused a stressful situation, which is now bringing out an illness.


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## jfly (Feb 17, 2009)

yea i added the stupid johanni.. it was marked mixed cichlid.. its going back to the pet store. looks like im going to return him and probably trade my kenyi's in as well. ah to live is to learn. thanks so much.. *** just reached a point to where im just frustrated and i dont know which way to go with my tank.. any suggestions would be great i do like my krib


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## webgirl74 (Jan 30, 2009)

I'm not really an expert on what to keep with what, but check out the cookiecutter set-ups in the library section. You can probably get some good ideas there. How big is your tank? That will also determine what types of fish to keep/get. Cichlids like to be in groups with one male to a number of females. Having one male and one female will lead to problems later on. Unless you do a male only tank, you probably don't want to mix too many different species. It's so tempting to go to the store and just buy, buy, buy! You see all these pretty fish and want them all. A lot of tropicals you can mix like that, but cichlids are an exception to that rule. If you want some variety, get some peaceful tropicals to mix in with your cichlids. There are lots of botia (loaches) and cat varieties, plus they do double duty in cleaning up food that has hit the bottom of the tank. I have giant tiger barbs in my tank and they all leave eachother alone. Silver dollars are nice too, but there are lots of possibilities. If you have a decent sized tank, you might want to just start with one or two groups of cichlids and see how that goes for a while. Think about setting up a separate small tank as well to quarantine new/sick fish in. Good luck!


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## jfly (Feb 17, 2009)

webgirl thanks so much.. you are the sweetest. Yea im trading in some cichlids tomorrow ande i am going to add with education. thanks so much, love you crazy cannuk's.


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## webgirl74 (Jan 30, 2009)

Gee thanks! If you're bringing fish back to the store that might be ill, make sure you let the store know to quarantine the fish first. Wouldn't want another customer to end up with some sick fishies


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## jfly (Feb 17, 2009)

ill let my lfs know.. i believe the itching has stopped though... im leaning more towards stress from the johanni.. wow its like cujo of the cichlid world


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