2 deaths per quarter?

[ziggyboy]

OK so I've had my 6x2x2 Malawi tank for a year now. I've done fishless cycling when I started out and since then I probably get about 2 deaths every 3 months.

Is this death rate normal? Or do most people careful about their tanks get absolutely no deaths at all? Are my deaths then caused mostly by aggression?

I started out doing fortnightly 30% changes, now I do about 20% weekly. My water parameters have always been good. My Nitrate reading has consistently been below 10ppm even before water changes. I've got 2 1600lph canister filters and one overhead trickle filter (good for bio filtration). While I do weekly changes, I only clean filters monthly.

So for people who are generally consistent with their tank upkeep, do you absolutely get zero deaths every year?

[ziggyboy]

Almost forgot, I have always kept about 25-30 fish at any time. It's an estimate as I don't know the exact number.

[Kamz]

Which species do you have - size?

malawi is a big lake - but I'm guessing mbuna - ?

What's the male to female ratio ?

What's the aquascape ? Rocks - driftwood -

[Kamz]

Depending on the species of fish kept you can have fish die constantly due to fighting - stress - overcrowding - not enough territories - wasting

You can also have a community cichlid tank where all fish live together and have their own territories - and can breed peacefully and look after their young -

It all depends on your choice of fish - m/f ratio and aquascaping

[ziggyboy]

My tank is mostly mbuna with some haps/peacocks. I know many don't approve of this, but my issue has mainly been mbuna deaths. The biggest bully seems to be a male lombardoi (no female but he's very territorial). The next in line aggressor seems to be a hongi. Again, they don't seem to bother the peacocks much, just other mbunas.

[ziggyboy]

But I haven't really seen excessive aggression. They only seem to chase a few fish every so often then go back to their rocks. I haven't seen anyone being relentlessly bullied (or maybe I'm not paying attention enough )

[DFishkeeper]

If you're not seeing much aggression and losing fish one at a time, it may possibly be due to parasites like gill flukes or others which can start as minor infestations and gradually build into heavier infestations that can kill off fish one by one. Heavier infestations will usually affect sick or stressed fish first :

http://www.theaquariumwiki.com/Gill_or_Skin_flukes

Get in the habit of observing your fish and looking for abnormal behaviour like excessive gill movements, coughing actions, flashing/rubbing against rocks, hanging near surface agitation where there is more oxygen, lethargy or sitting on the bottom with gills closed, changes in colouration (paler colouration), eating behaviour.....

If their behaviour is normal and there is no sign of illness or parasites, then may well be aggression. Hongi and Lombardoi males are known for it

Cheers, Doug

[luis]

I wouldn't consider that normal but I guess it depends on the tank. It's easy to miss aggression, though: the signs of it are easy to see but you may never witness the aggression itself. Are there no clues as to the cause of death on the fish's bodies?

[luis]

Also how hands on are you? I have had to pull out fish that would have been killed if left in the main tank or if I had not noticed signs of aggression.

As Doug says above get into the habit of checking up on them. I find that the easiest time to do this is while feeding.

[LithoMan]

6x2x2 I would have 50 fish

less aggression

heaps of hiding spots

and good water changes

[Spiesie]

^^^ Agreed with most comments above

One thing I noticed you saying was "I only clean filters monthly."

- Do you clean all your filters including the canisters at the same time?

- How do you clean them?

Cheers

[ziggyboy]

I had another death today. Last one was 2 weeks ago. That brings it to 3 since the new year.

To the poster above, I clean all my filters together. I normally wash (shake off the crap from) the media using old aquarium water in a bucket and replace the foam. I obviously don't wash it with tap water if that's what you're trying to get at. I also periodically test water quality and I'm always 0 Ammonia and Nitrites and below 10ppm Nitrates.

I took the Lombardoi out and will observe them (anyone in Canberra want him?). Trade with a peacock or hap....

[Ducksta]

I think you are over-cleaning your filters.

Your trickle/biofilter I would be aiming for never cleaning the active media. (So, maybe get a sheet of wool laid on top, and just squeeze that out every month.)

The cannisters I would be aiming at only cleaning every 6 months or so. And alternate them. ie. clean #1 in March and September and #2 in June and December.
How long can they run without a visible drop in pumping power? Work it around that. So maybe it becomes 4 months or whatever.

[ziggyboy]

I've made a decision to remove most of my mbunas and either sell or trade them. TBH I'm more partial to my peacocks and dolphins anyway. I'll eventually migrate them to a 4 foot tank and use my 6x2x2 for an American cichlid tank

[ziggyboy]

I think you are over-cleaning your filters.

Your trickle/biofilter I would be aiming for never cleaning the active media. (So, maybe get a sheet of wool laid on top, and just squeeze that out every month.)

The cannisters I would be aiming at only cleaning every 6 months or so. And alternate them. ie. clean #1 in March and September and #2 in June and December.

How long can they run without a visible drop in pumping power? Work it around that. So maybe it becomes 4 months or whatever.

Hmmm ok i'll give this one a try, but shouldn't be the cause for my deaths though right?

[Spiesie]

Ducksta is spot on

My train of thought exactly. I think what is happening is you are loosing too much beneficial bacteria because you are cleaning all your filters at the same time.

This means that your tank goes through "mini-cycles" and in turn little nitrate spikes (which is off course deadly to an extent).

Perhaps when you are doing the tests it is when a fish dies? This would be too late as the spike has past and the damage was done.

I think the schedule Ducksta suggested is good. But in my case, I would only swap the fine wool once every month or two and will only clean the canister if the flow is not as strong as it should be (every 6-12months).

A good idea is to only clean one tray at a time as well.

Keep us up to date

[ziggyboy]

That or my Lombardoi and/or Auratus is kicking everyone's buM!

Will probably get rid of them to be safe. Do LFS's generally take in giveaways???

[luis]

Some do, you might even get store credit. I would call first to check.

There is also Gumtree and Petlink.

[DFishkeeper]

You didn't say you had a male auratus in there. Pound for pound, they have got to be in the running for the meanest, toughest fish there is without big long sharp teeth.