How can i help my brothers mixed chiclid tank.

loachlover

I know alot about fish but there is one section that i have yet to touch on-cichlids. I know they range in size and color and that they tend to be agressive. My little brother(11) has had a 55gal tank for 3 years now and i have always been concerned about the fish he has in it. I do not live with him(i live with my mom) so i cant always watch what he does with it. He has had the fallowing fish in it for a year now and i know they dont belong. 1 female blue johanni, 1 male kennyi,1white convict and one blood parrot. The fishes conditions are as fallows.
Johanni- the only fish that doesnt care about the kennyi, it like to burriw out caves.
Kennyi- rules the tank with an iron fin
convict- is not fond of the kennyi and is constantly bullied. He lost his tail before but i heal him up.(fin rot)
Parrot- Bad shape. He had finrot(fixed),A hole in his side(curdesy of a green terror my brother had added, i returned it), It currently has sever amonia burns on its fins and a white scar from the GT. It always hide in the cornner and floats head down(swimbladder?).
Like i said, i have zero experience with these fish. I have add some more caves and plants to break up territories. The kenyyi now has its half and the others have theirs. The parrot comes out of his corrner and hangs with the convict. My sibling is what would be said "spoiled" he got the tank after begging/crying and has no intrest in it or the fish. None of my family does, they wont let me return the fish or buy more to help it either. They think its just fine.Ignorence is bliss. If i cant return anything then how can i atleast make it more comfertable for them.

Kirsten Soules

Cichlids are a hard fish to take care of and it all depends on how aggresive each fish is. Most cichlids tend to like places to hide like caves or plants. When my parents owned a large ciclid tank a couple years ago we used lava rocks to create hiding places. So possible hiding more hiding places would help with the convict. I wouldn't worry to much about the parrot because our current jack dempshy does that as well and it's not swim bladder, it's more likely just the personality of the fish. How often is the tank cleaned do you know?

catdawg426

I think the problem is where your fish are from. Blue Johannis and Kenyis are from Lake Malawi, Africa, while the Convict and Parrot are from South America. These fish require different water parameters, and the wrong water parameters will stress the fish out, making them more aggressive. Do you know the pH and hardness of the tank?

loachlover

Unfortunatley no. I figured he had mixed south americans and africans. The newest issue is that his heater is going nuts. It jumped to 88 and hour ago and i am slowly lowering it down i hope. I am aimin for 80-82. i add a bubble wand to up the oxy. i am going to consult with my parents and grandfather tomarrow about scraoing the tank, returning the fish and selling everything else to me.
Also i have quieted the agression down to almost zero. the kennyi has his own territory as does the johanni. the convict and parrot seem to like eachother alot. the johanni doesnt bother the parrot and convict when they swim in his area but he chase the kennyi out. This gives the two a nice safe place. The parameters were my biggest concern.

catdawg426

sounds good to me. I would by the Johanni off of you if I lived in Florida

loachlover

actually they live in NY im visiting. If i can return the kennyi, what would be the proper stock for the other fish. I know the parrot needs a much bigger tank and some friends but he is so beat up no store would take him. THe convicts need a group of 3? and from what i hear its 1male johanni and 2 female. This is all asuming i can regain control of his tank.

catdawg426

I don't know too much about new world + american cichlids, but I know with african cichlids you want to overstock a little to spread out the aggression. I'm guessing you are leaning toward a new world/american tank since you are getting rid of the kenyi. I am planning on 15 africans in my 50 gallon, so probably around 15 fish would be good. I would get 2 more convicts, try to get them all female, it'l keep the aggression down. Then I would get 2 more groups of 4 (either 1 male 3 females or all females) of different Central American cichlids. These could be rainbows, acaras, ect. Again, this info is not guaranteed, I don't know much about this type of cichilds.
Good luck!

loachlover

as i said ill be doing this over the summer,i can ride my bike then. The major problem is that he doesnt clean his tank often. It isnt dirty muchwich is surprising but its my grandfathers old tank and appaerntly there is a homemade pvc under gravel filter in it, requires clean out every 6 months? I trust my grandfather so i cleaned it out when ever i come down(minimum every 5 months so it works out). I am trying to get him into the water change system. My grandfather and me are working on a schem as well. As soon as i can do anything with the fish i am returning the kennyi and buying 2 female johanni. The parrot will live the rest of his life in the tank(he seems healthy but is still old and beat). I am also thinking i might return the convict as well. This is going to be a project that will take a few years.