Cichlids swimming unnaturally

[Maria]

I bought 4 young African cichlids last week and now they are swimming
at an angle with their heads up and body dangling. It looks like
they're swimming with great effort also. What can be the cause? Also
some of them are hanging at the water surface and one is sitting on the
tank bottom. I bought 3 rainbow sharks at the same time but they are
acting normally. The hanging fish aren't gasping, no sign of parasites
on them, nothing else looks wrong with them. The GH is on the hard
side, KH is in the middle and PH is neutral. I haven't tested for
ammonia, nitrates or nitrites. Could one of those be the cause? Also,
on another subject, is it possible to have very hard water that is also
very acidic? I've tested the water in the past and that was the result.
It just seemed odd.

[Gill Passman]

Maria wrote:
> I bought 4 young African cichlids last week and now they are swimming
> at an angle with their heads up and body dangling. It looks like
> they're swimming with great effort also. What can be the cause? Also
> some of them are hanging at the water surface and one is sitting on the
> tank bottom. I bought 3 rainbow sharks at the same time but they are
> acting normally. The hanging fish aren't gasping, no sign of parasites
> on them, nothing else looks wrong with them. The GH is on the hard
> side, KH is in the middle and PH is neutral. I haven't tested for
> ammonia, nitrates or nitrites. Could one of those be the cause? Also,
> on another subject, is it possible to have very hard water that is also
> very acidic? I've tested the water in the past and that was the result.
> It just seemed odd.
>
African cichlids are best kept in a specialist cichlid tank IMO. You
will need hard water and quite a high pH. I would guess that the water
parameters do not match these fish - the sharks may will most likely be
more tolerant....Seriously, if you want to keep African Cichlids I would
set up a tank just for them with plenty of rock work and very few plants
(they will cause problems in a community tank)...otherwise try taking
them back for credit. They really are a specialist type of fish - and by
this I'm not trying to put you off keeping them - but I would never,
ever consider mixing my African cichlids with any of my other fish -
they have their own tank - end of story....they are very aggressive -
when you read about African cichlids we are talking degrees of
aggressiveness not peaceful....

It sounds to me as if these fish are not happy - either because of your
water parameters or the environment....

Gill

[Frankster]

> I haven't tested for ammonia, nitrates or nitrites. Could one
> of those be the cause?

I think you should do that right away. From the sounds of your post(s), I'd
guess one or all of these are way too high. I know you said you've had this
tank for a long time. Maybe long enough for your existing fish to have
slowly become accustom to the louse conditions?

-Frank

[Amateur Cichlids]

"Maria" > wrote in message
ups.com...
>I bought 4 young African cichlids last week and now they are swimming
> at an angle with their heads up and body dangling. It looks like
> they're swimming with great effort also. What can be the cause? Also
> some of them are hanging at the water surface and one is sitting on the
> tank bottom. I bought 3 rainbow sharks at the same time but they are
> acting normally. The hanging fish aren't gasping, no sign of parasites
> on them, nothing else looks wrong with them. The GH is on the hard
> side, KH is in the middle and PH is neutral. I haven't tested for
> ammonia, nitrates or nitrites. Could one of those be the cause? Also,
> on another subject, is it possible to have very hard water that is also
> very acidic? I've tested the water in the past and that was the result.
> It just seemed odd.
>

It sounds like nitrite poisoning. Has this tank been cycled? What size is
the tank? As mentioned by Gil, the pH is wrong from cichlids from Lake
Malawi. It is possible to have hard water and a low pH. pH should be
buffered to at least 7.8 using baking soda. Don't do this until you know
that ammonia and nitrites are at 0. Ammonia becomes more toxic at higher pH
levels. The rainbow sharks, if your Mbuna (Lake Malawi algae grazing
cichlids) bounce back will most likely be dead within a couple weeks. Mbuna
are not real tolerant of sharing space with others. Without an aggressive
durable fish to defend itself, tankmates usually don't last long.
The term "African Cichlids" is misleading. It's come to be synomonous with
hybrid Mbuna from Lake Malawi sold in less reputable shops and chain stores
as "Mixed Africans". The aggressive nature and space needed by these fish
quite frequently turns off Newbie hobbyists against any cichlids from
Africa. There are hundreds of species of cichlids found in Africa and by no
means are they all like the Mbuna you most likely purchased. Research is the
key to happy fish keeping.
I'd take a sample to one of the local fish shops and have them test your
ammonia and nitrites at a minimum. Good luck with your fish.
Tim
http://www.fishaholics.org
(Check out the site and read the article on tank cycling. Also give this
article http://www.fishaholics.org/articles.php?ArtId=1 read. It talks about
starting cichlid tanks with "mixed Africans". )

[Maria]

> It sounds like nitrite poisoning. Has this tank been cycled? What size is
> the tank? As mentioned by Gil, the pH is wrong from cichlids from Lake
> Malawi. It is possible to have hard water and a low pH. pH should be
> buffered to at least 7.8 using baking soda. Don't do this until you know
> that ammonia and nitrites are at 0. Ammonia becomes more toxic at higher pH
> levels.

The tank was cycled, it's been actively running in it's current
location for 6 years. The tank is 30 gallons. The water is in the upper
hard region, PH is 7.2 and buffering capacity is right in the middle.

> The term "African Cichlids" is misleading. It's come to be synomonous with
> hybrid Mbuna from Lake Malawi sold in less reputable shops and chain stores
> as "Mixed Africans".

That's exactly what happened.

> http://www.fishaholics.org
> (Check out the site and read the article on tank cycling. Also give this
> article http://www.fishaholics.org/articles.php?ArtId=1 read. It talks about
> starting cichlid tanks with "mixed Africans". )

I'll do that, thanks. Two of the "Red Zebras" occasionally hang out at
the top of the water, but the rest seem normal.