Throwing in the towel... No more fish for me

morgan7338

OK, Now I have my orange cichlid dying? its trying to keep afloat on the top of the tank. The other two cichlids are really being aggresive toward it. This orange cichlid has like 3 spots (more like dashes) like you see on their bottom fin, on one side of the gills. This little orange fish has not grown as hearty as the other two.
That is it for me, no more fishes if all the fish die, my tanks will be up sale. This is turning out to be an expensive hobby for me. Can't take the heartache of seeing these fish die. my dark brown cichlids looks like its may have an ick spot on the back. I was not able to really look at these fish before cause they were so shy and would hide anytime that I came to look or even stand a little far away. NOw that they are very close to the computer and I can watch them I see what is going on.
I wish I had a camera so that I could show you a picture but living on a fixed income somethings you have to live without!

Tbx

Well thery are rift lake cichlids so they perfer some salt in there water that would also make them less vonerable to ick and raising the temp might also kill the ick,but you could give up the hobbie is not for everyone
and it is expenssive so mabey it is for the best.
Well what kind of setup do you have and how much are you going to sell it for?

BJP

The nice thing about this hobby is you have so many roads to travel. If the cichlid trail isn't bringing you pleasure, there's always less aggressive fish and many that cost less. I've worked my way back to goldfish indoors recently. Some classics provide pleasure decades after your first attempts. It wasn't a smooth road this time. I had to buy nine if I remember correctly to get the four gorgous ones I have now and it was rough losing the five but now that everythings calm, I expect them to entertain me for the next decade or two. Once I get a bigger tank set up for the goldfish I might even get a few guppys or something simple for their current tank which will be empty. Hang in there. Some things are worth the headaches and hassle when their viewed in the rear view mirror as you cruise happily into the future with a tank full of joy. The greater the struggle, the sweeter the success.

morgan7338

Thanks for your support! after losing almost my whole guppy population (which I have had for 4 years) they survived a 300 mile move, is really tuff on me. The cichlids are hangin in there. One day both tank were gorgeous next day the guppy tank is no longer a pleasure to look at. Guppies dying every day. Keeping the tank dark and treating with meds. Cichs are doing ok though water has turned a little cloudy will probably do another 20% water change.
Barb

Tommy Gun

I do not think that I could ever tell you just how much I agree with this statement. BJP truly hit the nail on the head here and I can also vouch for the idea that issues such as yours have not only happened to all of us in the past, but still have the annoying habit of popping up. In fact, I am currently struggling with a VERY annoying algae problem in my FW tank, on top of fighting Ich in my saltwater tank.

Besides, I really think that there is a very big possibility that you are simply experiencing a cycle, or 'new tank syndrome'. While I realize that, as you pointed out, this tank has been up for a while and you have successfully kept some guppies for over four years, I think that your long distance move may have 'un-cycled' your tank, for the lack of a better term. The reason I feel this way is because your fish are obviously an easy target for Ich to latch on to, which may be due to stress caused by the water quality issues (such as high ammonia levels, high nitrite levels, etc...). However, the 'clue' that is probably even more telling is the cloudy water since this is very common in new tanks because the mini-ecosystem you are trying to create is unbalanced right now. However, cloudy water is not solely limited to new tanks and new tanks only.....but it is still a clue nonetheless.

To gain more insight, and to make a better 'guess' at things, can you share your water test results (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, etc...) with us? If so, that would really help us try to help you.

I also understand that this hobby is getting expensive for you, but I am 100% sure that you will be able to turn this around and eventually be able to keep any fish you want alive for its entire lifespan. Keep your chin up and keep us posted on your tank/fish. I am sure that you can find the answers you need here on FTF and if not, I am sure that we can help point you in the right direction at least.

TG

morgan7338

Thanks, Tommy for your words of encourangement! ..Not giving up on them or flushing all of them like I was advised by a friend. I got 8 guppies left and they all look female. The tanks ph is good. Its a 30g. The 8 guppies that are left seem to be fine and no sign of illness, we shall see. I moved the tank in August of 2006 so I don't think it was the stress of moving> I think it was overpopulated! This tank will now become my hospital/quarantine tank. I have a feeling the guppies will all go to heaven. The 55g is doing beautifully now that I have been cycling the water and have done 2 filter changes. The cichlids, I found out at the fish store today,went and bought new filters. One is a cobalt zebra, a red (which is the orange) and a rusty. I have it set up with a plastic DW which is about 2 feet long, a log hidding place and a stone gate hiding place. These are not anything extraordinarie they are what you can find at your local pet shop. the gravel is small river pebbles and though I have lots of plastic plant I have decided not to put any in there yet. I want to scrub all the plants with a brush and maybe soak them in chlorine and hang to dry for several days. i'm afraid to introduce anything into that tank. I have a nice marineland pump w/filter and a nice submersible heater. I also found out that these guys are all males.
Thanks everyone
Barb

bobthecat68

Dont give up , if all your chichilds die u can get some more passive fish. I THINK that guppies go well with each other, if you dont want babies u can get all males or all females. their signs at the pet store tell your what gender they are