Guest New to fish Posted April 10, 2006 Report Share Posted April 10, 2006 My cichlid is doing a very weird thing. It is digging out all the gravel from under the bridge in its tank and spitting out the gravel, which makes a little (about 4 inches high) mountain against the tank window. It is also not eating. What is wrong? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vallisneria Posted April 10, 2006 Report Share Posted April 10, 2006 Well the digging is perfectly natural. He is just trying to redecorate. Just be careful that if he is digging under(or close to) a rock or decoration that it can't fall and squish him. The not eating is a seperate issue. Have you tested your water, or had a LFS test it for you? MAke sure that Ammonia is 0, Nitrite-0 and Nitrate are low. Knowing your water tests will help us figure out whats wrong. If its the water then water changes will help. If the water is ok then we have to look at some other causes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vapor Posted April 10, 2006 Report Share Posted April 10, 2006 What kind of food are you feeding it and was it eating this food before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest New to fish Posted April 10, 2006 Report Share Posted April 10, 2006 How do I test my water? I am feeding him tropical fish flakes. I know that I am not supposed to feed him this but I didn't know that I was getting a fish with the tank so we were not prepared with cichlid food. Recently we bought Wardley's slow sinking cichlid crumbles, but they sink to the bottom in two seconds. So for now I am feeding him the flakes until tomorrow when I am going to get different cichlid food. He was, however, eating the flakes before. He just stopped eating a week ago. Do you know any good cichlid food? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAlberta Posted April 10, 2006 Report Share Posted April 10, 2006 I am not a big fan of NLS but our Cichlids eat the stuff. Flakes should be ok. You could try some frozen foods. We also slice up and blanch zuchini - they go crazy over the stuff Dave :beer: How do I test my water?I am feeding him tropical fish flakes. I know that I am not supposed to feed him this but I didn't know that I was getting a fish with the tank so we were not prepared with cichlid food. Recently we bought Wardley's slow sinking cichlid crumbles, but they sink to the bottom in two seconds. So for now I am feeding him the flakes until tomorrow when I am going to get different cichlid food. He was, however, eating the flakes before. He just stopped eating a week ago. Do you know any good cichlid food? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest New to fish Posted April 10, 2006 Report Share Posted April 10, 2006 What is NLS, and why is he not eating?????? :well: :well: :well: :well: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vapor Posted April 11, 2006 Report Share Posted April 11, 2006 My cichlids eat all flake foods plus most other foods. Not sure why he isn't eating. To test your water you can take a sample to a local fish store or you can buy test kits. The two I test for is ammonia and nitrites. How long have you had your fish, and have you ever changed any of the water? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest New to fish Posted April 11, 2006 Report Share Posted April 11, 2006 I have had my fish for a month and have not yet changed the water. When I got him, he was in a slime pit tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vallisneria Posted April 11, 2006 Report Share Posted April 11, 2006 Yes, take a sample of your water to a petstore and ask them to test it for you. They will know what you mean and will let you know if anything is wrong with it. As ask them to write the results down and then let us know what they were. Your fish could be not eating for a bunch of different reasons. It could be bad water quality or he could have a disease. thats why you need to make sure the water is ok first. African cichlids can have problems with bloat if fed the wrong diet. Most "cichlid" foods aren't made for africans and could cause them problems. New Life Spectrum food is the best choice but it can be hard to find in stores. I'm sure someone will be able to tell you where to find it in Red deer. Hagen spirulina flakes is also another good choice for africans. I'd stay away from frozen foods though. Brine or mysis shrimp isn't too bad if used as the occasional treat but it shouldn't be fed as a staple. So take your water sample down to the petstore and get it tested. You should also buy an Ammonia and Nitrite test kit so you can test at home and make sure everything is ok. Edit- Also let us know what your water change schedual is like. HOw often and how much do you change? What kind of water conditioner are you using? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vapor Posted April 11, 2006 Report Share Posted April 11, 2006 I have had my fish for a month and have not yet changed the water. When I got him, he was in a slime pit tank. I would suggest that you change about 30 percent of your water. When you add water back in make sure it is roughly the same temp. as the tank water. Whenever I think there might be something wrong I do a water change. I also change mine weekly, but I have a lot of fish in my tanks. But get your water tested as soon as you can. Water quality is very important. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vallisneria Posted April 11, 2006 Report Share Posted April 11, 2006 I would suggest that you change about 30 percent of your water. When you add water back in make sure it is roughly the same temp. as the tank water. Whenever I think there might be something wrong I do a water change. I also change mine weekly, but I have a lot of fish in my tanks. But get your water tested as soon as you can. Water quality is very important. Good luck. Take a water sample out before you change some water and then take another sample out after. This will give you an idea of what your water like was before and after the water change and let you know if you changed enough of the water and if the water was dirty in the first place(althought i suspect it is if you havent' changed it before). Vapor has a good point, If i see something is wrong with my fish the first thing i do it a water change. Make sure you have a good water conditionner. I'm not sure if red deer has chlorine or chloramines though. Make sure whatever water conditioner you have gets rid of whatever red deer uses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOSStile Posted April 11, 2006 Report Share Posted April 11, 2006 It certainly wouldn't hurt to change one third of the water. You shouldn't have a huge bio-load with only one fish in a 20 gal. if you are not feeding him too much. I would try to vacuum up food he hasn't been eating lately. As far as what to feed, it doesn't matter if your fish likes flake and not pellets. NLS comes in flake as well if you want to feed a premium flake food. I found a lot of my fish hate most pellets except for NLS. And remember your fish can go a week or more without food so don't kill him with kindness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest New to fish Posted April 11, 2006 Report Share Posted April 11, 2006 I will change the water taday and test it too. thank you for the help and the food ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest New to fish Posted April 13, 2006 Report Share Posted April 13, 2006 I got my water tessted today and the guy said nothing was wrong with it. I looked really long at my cichlid today an d discovered he WAS EATING. He definatley was not eating for a while though. I also bought some new spirulina algea flakes that probably started him eating. Thnks for all the help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vapor Posted April 13, 2006 Report Share Posted April 13, 2006 Happy to hear that he is doing ok -ham- . We are always here to help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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