Who Gives A Fish Forums

Hey,

I'm Zorchnda, I've got a 55 gallon mixed African Cichlid tank.
Water parameters: 80 degrees, 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 20ppm nitrate, and pH 8.0.

Just did a water change and noticed my fish are flashing and breathing heavy. My male yellow lab has tiny red spots on his left side, just above the anal fin. He's eating normally, but hiding - the rest are swimming around, flashing and breathing heavy.

I've cleaned my filters and treated for ick with Quick Cure - 55 drops, one drop per gallon. I'm worried, my female lab has been holding for a week and a half, and I don't want the babies to die. She's flashing, but no spots or sores.

Inhabitants:
- 2 Yellow lab's, breeding pair, 3.5 inches
- 2 kingzisei, 1 m, 1 unknown, 3.5 inches
- 2 sulferheads, 2 inches, genders unknown
- 2 Johanni, 1 m, 2.5 - 3 inches, 1 unknown, 1.5 - 2 inches
- 2 african thickskin, 1 m, 1 f, 3 - 3.5 inches
- 2 kribensis, 1 m, 2 inches, 1 f, 1 inch
- 1 Orange blotch peacock, gender unknown, 2.5 - 3 inches
- 1 Red top zebra, gender unknown, 2.5 - 3 inches
- 1 albino red top zebra, gender unknown, 2.5 - 3 inches
- 1 brichardi, gender unknown, 2 inches
- 1 red empress male, 3.5 - 4 inches
- 1 clown pleco
- 1 common pleco

Tank: 55 gallon, 48" long, 12" wide, 18" tall, tons of rocks, some lace java fern and fake plants, small piece of wood, 30 lbs of aragonite, some sea shells.
Running 2 HOB filters - one Aqua Clear 70, one Aqua Tech 30-60. Heater - Theo Hydor, good for a 70 gallon tank.

I know I'm overstocked, but I do 50% water changes every week, and I'm upgrading to a 120 gallon in two months. Sorry, I don't know the scientific names for my fish, except for my Labidochromis's.

Any thoughts?

Hey, just wondering if maybe someone accidentally put something in your tank. I'm not joking, my grandad once put syrup in my tank and the next day it was all cloudy and gooey on the sides. My cichlids were all breathing heavily near the surface.

It turned out to be an oxygen issue, so I added a bubble pump and it helped a lot. You might want to consider adding one or even a small powerhead to circulate the water. It could make a big difference.

Also, I'm not saying anyone did put something in your tank, but it's worth checking just in case.

mixtune wrote: ↑Sun Jan 05, 2025 10:25 am Hey, just wondering if maybe someone accidentally put something in your tank. I'm not joking, my grandad once put syrup in my tank and the next day it was all cloudy and gooey on the sides. My cichlids were all breathing heavily near the surface.

It turned out to be an oxygen issue, so I added a bubble pump and it helped a lot. You might want to consider adding one or even a small powerhead to circulate the water. It could make a big difference.

Also, I'm not saying anyone did put something in your tank, but it's worth checking just in case.

Thanks so much for the reply, I really appreciate it. I actually found my little guy today and he's looking a lot better, just a bit of body slime. I'm adding a little salt to the water and doing another water change to help him out. I'm pretty sure someone must have picked on him - probably that bully of a kingsizei. What a jerk, right?