A few questions about my fishes health

[pjyan28]

Hello everyone this is my first post. I have a 55 gallon african cichlid tank stock with all males peacocks, yellow labs, and some other species. There's a total of 16 fish in the tank. I'm running a dirt magnet for a 100 gallon tank, emperor 400, and an AC 70. I feed them 4-5 times a day flakes, pellets and either krill or blood worms. I noticed alot of the fish have fin damage and my nitrates/nitrites are some what high. Ammonia is at close to 0. How can I get my nitrates and nitrites down and reduce the fin damage? I do a 30% water change once a month. Thanks.

Paul

 

[DiscusnAfricans]

Less food and more water changes. Once or twice a day is plenty of food, and on heavily stocked tanks, I'll change up to 50% on a weekly basis for a healthy tank.

As far as fin damage goes, find the aggressor, separate him out for a while or get rid of him. With male peacocks and yellow labs, it'll be extremely tough for everyone to have perfect fins. Look for the fish with the nicest looking fins and he's probably the bad apple. More water changes will help them heal faster.

 

[pjyan28]

cool thanks for the response. I guess i'll cut down on the food and do more water changes. Do you think sand would be a better substrate then crushed gravel?

 

[DiscusnAfricans]

Sand can be a little easier because food doesn't get trapped as easily as it can in coarse gravel. You still have to stir the sand bed to prevent bacteria buildups, but many people believe it is easier to maintain. If you're using crushed coral gravel and decide to remove it, just make sure you buffer the water during water changes or substitute another buffering media. Sand is also closer to the fishes natural environment and sometimes you'll see more interesting behavior on a sand bed.

Also FYI, avoid the bloodworms with your Africans, it can lead to bloat if not careful. Mysis, krill and brine shrimp are all fine in reasonable amounts.

 

[Tony]

+1 to everything Mike said.

30%-50% weekly water changes + 1 feeding daily = healthy fish.

If your fish are adults, I would also consider fasting them for one day per week.

 

[chris_todd]

+2 to everything already said, it's great advice, and it's basically what I do on my overstocked 65 gallon with peacocks and mbuna. 50% WC weekly, feed Ken's cichlid pellets about 5 times a week (w/ occasional mysis or spriulina brine shrimp), and use pool filter sand for substrate, and I still have some frayed fins (although I'm still tweaking the stocking ratios and composition).

On the nitrates, note that depending on where you are, you may have nitrates in your tap water (e.g., I have 10 ppm in mine), so you may not be able to reduce it to zero without heavily stocking with plants (tough in an african tank).