Any explanation for this?

[NDsuperduty]

Yesterday we finished stocking the 40g Peacock tank in my living room. Everything seemed good last night and this morning half the fish are hanging out at the top right corner of the tank. Non of the fish did this before adding the new guys yesterday. I have not tested the water but I know the filtration can handle the load and the fish don't appear to be breathing hard.

[HERM]

They are making a plan on how to get that shot of Crown . LOL

[HERM]

You may have a bully , have you noticed any aggression ?

[cichlidomaha]

How long had this tank been set up prior to adding fish? How many fish in the tank, what size are they, did you add them all at once, and was the tank established by adding a few fish at a time over a period of several weeks? Also what is your feeding Frequency and how often and what % do you do when you do water changes?

Tom

[NDsuperduty]

Any explanation for this?

Tank is fairly new. Ran just water with start right for 3-4 weeks. Then we added 5 peacocks and 4 upside down cats. 2 weeks later(yesterday) we added another 5 peacocks. Water changes are around 20-30%. I normally feed once a day at night, but yesterday I feed before I added new fish and then again late in the evening.

There is some aggression but since I change the rocks and added new fish I was thinking they may just be setting their own territory.

[barrettsline]

A nitrate spike when adding to many fish can and will cause fish to run to the surface of an aquarium.

[NDsuperduty]

Any explanation for this?

Out of the 10 cichlids, 2 are actually Haps not Peacocks. Its a male and female. The male seems a little aggressive but nothing crazy.

I will do a water change and see of that helps anything.

[NDsuperduty]

Any explanation for this?

Just used a test strip on the water. The Nitrates are low, but Nitrites showed to be way high

[barrettsline]

Any explanation for this?

Sorry meant to type nitrites as well and didn't. Water change will help and just watch your levels for the next few days.

[SunnyHouTX]

Looks like an aggression issue to me, like one of the alpha males is chasing everybody away. Especially in a 40 gallon tank.

[Andrew_B]

Well if your nitrites are real high and nitrates are low, your tank was never fully cycled. Eventually nitrites will drop, then you'll get nitrates in your tank which then need a water change to drop them. I would do real light feeding, and hold off on water changes until you start seeing your nitrates rise. Doing water changes now will just stall the process. Malawis are hardy, so they'll be fine most likely

[imagirlgeek]

Nitrites are VERY poisonous. High nitrites are worse than high ammonia or high nitrates. If it were me, I'd do a water change to get those nitrites as low as possible. 0 is what you want. It will be a hassle, because it will disrupt the cycling of the tank and you will have to get through the Nitrite peak at some point.

I know this information is counter to what others have said here, and i guess it will all depend on how high the Nitrite reading is. Like Andrew_B said, Malawis are pretty hardy, but I just wanted to add what I know about Nitrites.

What are the readings exactly?

[Andrew_B]

I just figure that the nitrite part of the bio cycle is normally really quick (1-2 days) and to just get it over with instead of dragging it out longer. I guess an actual number would be better to decide what to do

[imagirlgeek]

I just figure that the nitrite part of the bio cycle is normally really quick (1-2 days) and to just get it over with instead of dragging it out longer. I guess an actual number would be better to decide what to do

Absolutely. I don't think any of the suggestions were wrong. I just had a different point of view. And that's the beauty of a forum...lots of brains with lots of different experiences sharing information to come to a solution.

With them having a Nitrate reading and a Nitrite reading, they likely are at the tail end of the cycle. And I probably should have been more clear...I wouldn't do a major water change....just enough to get the Nitrites down to a level that isn't stressing the fish.

[mnemenoi]

I have had some success in speeding the cycle with some Cycle or Stability. Generally I would suggest waiting it out, but with a stocked tank and high Nitrites it might be worth adding the stability to introduce some very effective Nitrifying bacteria to take advantage of the excess Nitrite and hasten your cycle faster. I 2nd Imagirlgeek's opinion that Nitrites are very dangerous, especially in high Ph tanks and can be deadly very quickly. I'd suggest a WC at the very least even if it does forestall the cycle a bit.