Any explanation for this?

[Andrew_B]

Hah, oh no - Not disagreeing with you!

Best bet would be to do a decent size water change, and borrow established media from someone here and toss it in a high flow HOB for a couple days and just power through the cycle. Well, assuming cycling is the issue. What is your filtration? Aggression could be an issue why their up in the corner like that. Malawis are usually more peaceful when overstocked and it's harder to have territories. Powerheads can help too.. make the fish fight the current instead of eachother

[cichlidomaha]

If you know someone with an exsisting tank that is fully cycled and been set up for awhile. Get some filter material, or squeeze there filter material out into your tank to add bacteria to help speed up the cycling process. When you added fish to begin with, you should have added one or two, and then after about 10 days added a few more, then around week three you would have done your first water change about 25 - 35% percent. Then 50% weekly there after. You added way too many fish to start with. How big and what type of filter are you using on this tank? It also looks as though from your pictures most of you fish are fairly large, that is a lot of waste in a 40 gal un cycled tank.. You should have no more then 8 full grown malawi cichlids in a 40 gal tank in my opinion. Any more you are overloading the tank and the filters capacity.I went back and looked at your initial posting, those fish look to be adult peacocks which means, they could be in the 5 inch range, if that is the case. any more then 5 fish along with the catfish you are way over the fish capacity for that tank..

Tom

[moganman]

Just redo the scape. Move the rock pile away from the middle. Then do a water change so all of the fish will be stressed at the same time.

[NDsuperduty]

Any explanation for this?

I did a 10-20% water change then had to leave the house to get my kid. While I was out I got a better test kit.

These are test results about an hour after small water change

Test strip:
Nitrite 5-10(hard to tell)
Nitrate 0-20

Test tube tests:
Ammonia - about 1.0ppm
Nitrite - 5.0ppm(could be higher but chart only goes to 5
Nitrate - 10ppm

[NDsuperduty]

Any explanation for this?

In reply to the filtration questions I have a pro clear 125 wet dry running this tank. It should be moving 400-500gph which should be more than enough for an overstocked 40g. I had the same filter and a small Eheim 2215(or17) running my 125 a few years ago with more and bigger fish and had no issue. The problem is that i didn't let the tank cycle long enough before adding the second group of fish yesterday. The tank seemed fine with the first batch of fish i put in.

[allysangels]

amquel will lower nitrites without screwing up cycle.

[wesleydnunder]

Your fish were at the top because nitrite inhibits the blood's ability to carry oxygen. The fish feel like they're not getting enough oxygen so the natural response is to go to the surface where the water has more oxygen. I'd do enough of a water change to get the nitrates down to 2ppm or less and add 1 tsp per gallon of salt to the tank over the next day. Add salt at that level with your new water when you change it to maintain the 1 tsp per gallon. The chloride will help offset the nitrite which is causing what's known as Brown Blood syndrome.

Mark

[Sea-agg09]

I'm really tired and didn't really bother to read the whole thing...

If they are gasping at the surface ... it's nitrate/nitrite/ammonia (high levels of any create the same symptom), and you need to do a water change.

If they are just hanging out together at the top, it's aggression. I notice the scape doesn't have too many hiding places. When you add new fish they have to establish a pecking order. Until that happens, it's all hell. Turn the lights off (calms them down), and add some things for them to hide in. Put the slate at angles or add some tubes or something. After a week or so they will have everything sorted out and all goes back to normal.

[fshfrk]

Call john at HAW and have him bring home a bottle of Seachem stability http://www.seachem.com/Products/prod...Stability.html. He lives in Kingwood or Humble and you could meet him and pick it up. you will not find it on the Northside as far as I know. this stuff works. Good luck

[NDsuperduty]

Any explanation for this?

Well I did another water change tonight. The fish seem to be much better, staying near bottom rather than the top. By pure luck I found my old 2215 in the garage so I hooked that on the tank too. This will also help with setting up the large tank I'm putting in my store because I can pull the 2215 and take it to the store.

I'm going to test the water in the morning and go from there.

[NDsuperduty]

Any explanation for this?

Btw, thanks for all the suggestions.

[NDsuperduty]

Any explanation for this?

Update: got all the levels stable. I believe it was a combination of too many fish at one time and didn't let the tank cycle enough. I lost one Malawi but not sure if that was a chemical issue or from aggression. I went ahead and rescaped the tank. Many people said there wasn't enough bidding places, does this look better?

[imagirlgeek]

Thanks for the update! I'm glad to hear you've got it all worked out and stable. Their colors look great, and I like the scape. The fish will let you know if it works for them.

[NDsuperduty]

Any explanation for this?

Figured I would continue questions in this thread rather than start a new one.

I've noticed that there is some aggression going on between the 3 predominantly blue Malawi, with one of them taking the brunt of it all to the point that I'm fairly certain he will not make it....but I'm gonna try. He has very little visible damaged but appears extremely stressed/tired. The bottom of his body is pal in color or white, breathing heavier than other fish, and almost seems to have no energy(almost floating rather than swimming). I just separated him in a containment net.

He is my dilemma, I leave tomorrow for a funeral in Colorado and will not be back til Tuesday. I have all necessary thing to setup a quarantine tank but it's not currently runnig, or I can leave him in the net cage inside the main tank. My sister will be at my house and would be able to remove the fish from the main tank if he goes belly up.

Is one method considered better than the other to help a sick fish?