Help with African Cichlids!!!!?

Question

I have a tank full of about 7 Malawi cichlids about 2 1/2- 3 1/2 inches long. They are darting around the tank, swimming up and down alongside the tank, they have little air bubbles on their bodies, they are having spasms and they are scraping themselves against things in the tank. Does this sound like anything you guys may know? I really dont want to lose my fish and it seems to be getting worse. They are still eating and are very active. They are always displaying lines across their bodies which I was told they have when they are stressed. My water is fine I test it weekly. I don't know what else to say..Please Help!!!!!!

Any questions just ask I will respond asap.

Answer 1

My first response to fish scratching is always : Parasites. It's one of the few things that will make them scratch. Ammonia or nitrite irritation can as well, but if your water tests clean that wouldn't be it.

The bubbles you see on the fish are trapped on their slime coat. They are producing extra slime in the attempt to wash off the parasites and to protect them from additional parasites. So that too points to a parasite infestation.

To treat for parasites use something like Paracide or Clout. Don't use Maracyn, it's an antibiotic and not only won't kill the parasites, it will kill the bacteria needed for your cycle. Even common ich medications will kill many other parasites, but since we don't have a good indication of which it might be, I would suggest the stronger medications mentioned above.

Get the treatment started as soon as possible and you should be able to clear up the problem with limited risk to the fish. In the mean time I would suggest a 50% water change to help lower the parasite load in the water.

Also check the temperature of the tank and make sure it's not getting a little on the high side, that could account for some of the extra activity.

If I can help any further feel free to email me.

MM

Answer 2

Had you done a water change just before this happened? If you added fresh tap water, did you add a dechlorinator? The bubbles you describe usually appear when new water is added and the water "degasses", or releases the oxygen or other gasses within it. If you added the dechlorinator, was the new water of a similar temperature to what was in the tank? Maybe the bubbles on the slime coat is annoying to them, and they're trying to scrape them off.

Answer 3

check it out with the shop that sold them to you. May be a fungus: methylene blue may help at the right concentration. Create a small depression in the sand where detritus can gather - many species are detritus feeders and will love to grub around in that area of the tank ie don't keep the bottom too clean.

Answer 4

Sounds like body fungus or parasite... It could even be both.

Treat for the fungus first use Marcyn - it's strong and will kill different kinds of fungus.

If they continue to scratch (the scratching leads me to parasites) after medication try Parasite Guard (Jungle brand). It should kill any parasites.

Remember especially with parasite you often have a second and even third wave - which means you should be prepared to medicate again.

Answer 5

sounds like ich. Get them some fungus or ich medication.
also, raise the water temp about 5degrees, put some uniodized salt in the tank. leave it like this for a few days. If none of this works, put "african cichlid care" in yahoo, google, or any other search.

Answer 6

find out if your fish are in a large enough tank and the temp in the watwer is swell i have 2 fish and they stopped after i bought a bigger tank and regulated my temp. You need:

29 gallon tank or higher

1 heater

A filter

Fish stand

gravel

a gravel cleaner. if you already know this then sorry.