Hello... I have a 55 gal. tank that I recently purchased moving up from an old 30 gal. and I have about 14 African Cichlids... some that were born in my old tank. When I first set up this tank all went really well and the fish were doing amazing... and with little maintenance. I have two large filters running in the tank... one is a Aqua Clear 70 and I also have a Fluval pumping water through. The water stays relatively clear for the most part but I had an episode a couple of days ago that I cannot seem to get past. I noticed all of the fish at the top of the tank laboring to breath and actually gasping for air from the outside. My biggest and oldest fish actually passed away and the water started to get really dingey... I had been rinsing the elements in the Aqua Clear once every few weeks but never touched the Fluval container (at the advise of the pet store manager)... when the tank went south I decided to pull the fluval apart and found it to be a total mess... the slime buildup was really bad and I rinsed everything out. You should also know that I do a 25% water change every 2 to 3 weeks. This time I changed 50% of the water and completely cleaned out the Fluval... I also vacuumed the gravel and got a whole lotta crap out of there. The tank now looks awesome but the fish still seem to be laboring to breath and the ammonia level is off the chart. A couple of the bigger fish are still hovering at the top trying to breath but the rest look okay. I do have a couple of Pleckos in there that also keep bursting up to the top for air. I would love any advise on what to do from here... I just spent a whole bunch of money on this nice new tank and I would really like to see my fist living healthy and happy.


Thanks in advance for your help...

Brian

Hi, I have a few ideas of what might be going on but I need a little more info.
When you switched tanks, was the filtering system that you mentioned above new as well?
What are your levels reading now,
Ammonia is off the chart, so if you could give me:
PH
Gh ppm
Kh ppm
Nitrite ppm
Nitrate ppm

Do you have a good source of air being supplied to the water?
If you do not have visible bubbles being created by an air diffuser or filters, drop your water level 2 inches
So that the water flowing from the filters back into the tank create bubbles.
If there is a high amount of pollutants in the water, the fish will need more oxygen.
The high pollutant level and low oxygen will cause labored breathing and surface gulping.

I believe all your frustrations right now started with "the new tank syndrome"
On top of that,
The extra cleaning washed away the beneficial bacteria, thus leaving you with an uncycled aquarium
That can not convert the fish waste into a non toxic from.

Since you have a stocked aquarium, with what sounds like a damaged nitrogen cycle (the aquarium cycle)
You may like to look into a product made by Nutrafin called Cycle.
This product is an excellent choice for restoring the aquarium cycle fast and it reduces fish loss in cases like yours.

Just hang in there, the problem is solvable. I'll be waiting for your response.

You can read about the aquarium cycle here if you do not understand the process.

Hello Kae... Thank you so much for the info... I actually spent a little time and read up on what it is to have the tank cycle... I realize now what happened... The Fluval box that I have running was overwhealmed with sludge and waste and it was pumping bad water back into the tank... then when I completely cleaned it out I had to wait for the tank to cycle again. Now all is well and ammonia is down... water is crystal clear and fish are much happier! I need to tend to the tank a little more often and now know what to do when cleaning. Luckily my fish are very tough African Cichlids so they held up pretty well... I only lost one and the rest seem to be fine... Although, I am noticing that they are still not eating much... will it take some time for them to build an appetite again?

Anyway... thank you very much for your help.

Brian

You're welcome Brian.
The appetite of your fish should pick up as the tank
Stabilizes.
One thing to be cautious of since their not eating good is disease.
Like you said, they are very hardy fish and can withstand a lot.
Since you lost a fish, it would just be something to look out for so that you can catch it and treat for it before it's to late.
Great job on taking the time to read about the cycle!!
You're a good fish keeper:D

Nutrifin cycle is awesome. I have cichlids and like to use Sludge Destroyer by api. And I do 20% water change once a week. Smaller frequent ones are much better than one big one =) Also look into Amquel it removes everything you could possibly be worried about without messing with the beneficial bacteria.