Yeah, bumblebees can be quite aggressive, especially males. If you take a picture of the mystery fish you talked about, perhaps I can identify it.
Your more than likely okay with the water parameters with the schedule you maintain, but I just thought I would ask just in case. Some people do frequent water changes, but don't vacuum enough and can get build up in the substrate. Or, if you never take the rocks out and vaccuum under them, there could be a great deal of debris under there and that could lead to bad water even with water changes. It all depends on how much you feed. If you took the water parameter measurements then I could rule these possibilities out.
Yeah, definitely do not feed your cichlids that stuff. I know some people say to and think it is a "treat" for them, but it really isn't. They are herbivores that eat off algae off of rocks in nature and their digestive tracks are not meant to handle foods high in meaty proteins. It has no benefit to them and in fact can cause them severe problems. Simply put - there is no reason to do it. Stick to your other foods and if you want to give them a treat then suction cup a piece of lettuce onto the glass. They will go nuts for it after they build up the courage to approach it.
Thanks for the information about the suckerfish. I always enjoy hearing what different people experience.
Good luck with the rest of your fish. If you start to see any other fish showing signs of stress, let me know immediately.
Cichlid actin WiErd?
14 posts • Page 2 of 2
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JazzyD_KingRoy - Posts: 32
- Joined: Sat Mar 07, 2009 8:47 pm
Hey, Miami
So.... i guess this means that i should slow down on the live food.! Sucks, because i really like 2 watch them eat.
I went today & bought a ammonia alert thing that will tell me if my ammonia is high or not, and the clout just incase.
I never vacume my tank. i hurd mixed advice about using the vacume. i added powerheads 2 my tank 2 circulate the water more so i dont need 2 vacume. (i think) i do move the rocks around once every few months, but not often.
And i am going to get a 2nd filter soon.
oh, and i did upload 2 pictures of that fish. Check it out and let me kno.
Thanks for all your advice, its been really helpful.
ttyl, JazzyD954
So.... i guess this means that i should slow down on the live food.! Sucks, because i really like 2 watch them eat.
I went today & bought a ammonia alert thing that will tell me if my ammonia is high or not, and the clout just incase.
I never vacume my tank. i hurd mixed advice about using the vacume. i added powerheads 2 my tank 2 circulate the water more so i dont need 2 vacume. (i think) i do move the rocks around once every few months, but not often.
And i am going to get a 2nd filter soon.
oh, and i did upload 2 pictures of that fish. Check it out and let me kno.
Thanks for all your advice, its been really helpful.
ttyl, JazzyD954
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miami754 - Posts: 373
- Joined: Sat Feb 23, 2008 9:18 am
Bloat wouldn't be killing them this fast unless they have had these symptoms for a while and you just didn't notice. I really think you should buy a test kit for me to see what is going on. Get an ammonia one and a nitrate one. Those are all you need for right now. Take the readings and let me know what you get.
I assume that when you said "you heard not to vacuum your gravel" that you were talking about it killing bacteria. While it is true that a deep vacuum can diminish your colonies on the subtrate, you have more than enough rock and filter media to keep the colonies going and replenish. If you are really worried about it then just vacuum half with one water change and then the other half with the next. Or don't vacuum with every water change. There are a variety of things you can do, but not vacuuming at all would not be something I would recommend with messy cichlids. I am wondering if you just had a toxic build up in your tank and it exploded or something. That's why I want the readings.
In the mean time, I would do a 50% water change and I would vacuum your tank (under the rocks as well). Leave the filter media alone so you have bacteria still there and don't kill everything and don't let your rock dry out when you remove it from the tank to vacuum underneath it. Also do not run tap water over these rocks or anything. Just remove them and put them on a platic bag on the floor, quickly vacuum, replace them, and then do the water change. Then get the ammonia and nitrate readings for me. We can work from there.
I assume that when you said "you heard not to vacuum your gravel" that you were talking about it killing bacteria. While it is true that a deep vacuum can diminish your colonies on the subtrate, you have more than enough rock and filter media to keep the colonies going and replenish. If you are really worried about it then just vacuum half with one water change and then the other half with the next. Or don't vacuum with every water change. There are a variety of things you can do, but not vacuuming at all would not be something I would recommend with messy cichlids. I am wondering if you just had a toxic build up in your tank and it exploded or something. That's why I want the readings.
In the mean time, I would do a 50% water change and I would vacuum your tank (under the rocks as well). Leave the filter media alone so you have bacteria still there and don't kill everything and don't let your rock dry out when you remove it from the tank to vacuum underneath it. Also do not run tap water over these rocks or anything. Just remove them and put them on a platic bag on the floor, quickly vacuum, replace them, and then do the water change. Then get the ammonia and nitrate readings for me. We can work from there.
