WHAT HAPPENED TO MY FISH!? back fin is paralyzed? please help!

**cgronko** · 06-16-2008, 04:40 AM

Hey,
I have absolutly no idea what has happened to my fish. So i had about 16 cichlids in a 85 gallon tank, mostly all electric blue ahlis. I have had them for about 3 months and they are all about 3inches or smaller. They are all very healthy and eating like crazy. But i had to use that tank to hold some other bigger fish for a day. I had bought a 55 gallon used tank and had it sitting around so i decieded i would set it up for the day for my 16 cichlids and then i was going to use it for other fish after i moved the cichlids back into the 85. So i filled the 55 gallon the night before and declorinated it. I had 2 brand new ati hydro sponge filters that i put into the tank. Then i took all the gravel out of the 85 and put it into the 55. It was alot of gravel and was hoping it would cycle the 55. So i put the cichlids in the 55 for a day and the next day i went to take them out and put them in the 85 again and half the fish look like they are about to die! They are swimming facing upward and it seems like they cant use there back fins or the back of their bodies to swim. They are just sitting in one of the fake fancy plants i have towards the top of the water. The other half of the fish are completly fine. I dont know what to do and have no idea what possible went wrong! has anyone ever heard of this before? I tested the water and it was perfect, no amonnia, nitrite or nitrate. Could there possible have been something in the brand new sponge filters? I am pretty sure the person i got the tank from did not use anything toxic to clean the tank, and i rinsed it before i filled it. Has anyone ever heard of anything like this? Has anyone ever seen a fish that doesnt use its back fin to swim? Does anyone know how to fix the problem? none of them have died yet but it sure looks like they will. Someone please help!

**MeganL3985** · 06-16-2008, 04:43 AM

Hows the airflow?

**cgronko** · 06-16-2008, 04:49 AM

I just have the two foam filters hooked up to aerators

**Kyle** · 06-16-2008, 05:02 AM

Adding the gravel doesnt really help with your cycle. Plus even a fast cycle could take a week or two, with all the new filters and water it is probably starting another cycle and stressing the fish. Maybe someone can confirm this?

**Billythefish** · 06-16-2008, 05:23 AM

I'd add some salt to the water malawi cichlids (imo) frive in brackish water, id' go for a marine salt.

**cgronko** · 06-16-2008, 05:38 AM

Yeah i added salt thats the only thing i could think of doing, Even if it didnt cycle there would be no way that the ammonia, nitrate or nitrite could have spiked in 24 hours. And i had only fed them once while they were in there. I just have no clue what would make a fish act like this.

**cgronko** · 06-16-2008, 05:39 AM

hopefully they are still alive tomorrow and improving, ill give an update tomorrow. wish them luck.

**Lady Hobbs** · 06-16-2008, 05:47 AM

Originally Posted by BowlerGT

Adding the gravel doesnt really help with your cycle. Plus even a fast cycle could take a week or two, with all the new filters and water it is probably starting another cycle and stressing the fish. Maybe someone can confirm this?

Bowler, the fastest way to cycle is with a seasoned filter and transferring the gravel. The substrate holds a ton of bacteria.

I'm thinking along the lines of what Megan mentioned. You might not have had enough oxygen in your tank.

**cgronko** · 06-16-2008, 05:58 AM

what are the signs of not enough oxygen? Ive seen pet stores with this same set up with two sponge filters and nothing more in a tank but again the bubbles from mine are huge and float to the top right away, i should probably add an airstone to the sponge filters. Well i put them back in to my other tank and there is tons of aeration and filtration so do you think they will improve?

**kaybee** · 06-16-2008, 05:58 AM

Hard to say for sure, but my take on it is that perhaps the fish weren't acclimated to the water of the 55gal (based on the info provided thus far).

Adverse reactions can occur if there were significant water parameter differences between the two tanks, especially if the small cichlids were just netted and relocated in the new tank.

Differences in temperature, pH, alkalinity and even nitrates can affect and even shock fish (and typically the weaker fish will be the first to show signs of this). Acclimating the fish is an effective measure to avoid/prevent this from occuring (or at least comparing parameters, if they're identical or close enough, there's usually no problem).

What to do at this point, hard to say.