My Haplochromis compressiceps is bugging out!

GThiele113

AH. I've had him for about a week in my 125 and he stay at the very top of the tank with HALF HIS BODY OUT OF THE WATER! Hes about 6in long and 3inch tall. He keeps about an inch of his body out of water. And he jumps so much and splashes water everywhere. His color seems a bit dull. He doesn't look the same as when I bought him.

My tank contains
1 Green Spotted Puffer
1 Flounder
2 Albino clawed Frogs
2 Angel fish
1 Black Ghost Knife
2 Albino Oscars
1 Green Terror
1 Iridescent Shark
4 Powder Blue Gouramis
2 Platinum Gouramis
2 Blue Gouramis
2 Paradise Gouramis
1 Whip Tail Pleco
1 Armored Catfish
2 Red hook Silver Dollars
4 Pictus Catfish
2 Clown Loachs
1 Lace Cat
1 Electric Blue Cichlid
1 Blue Dolphin Cichlid
1 Haplochromis Compressicep Cichlid
1 Red Empress Cichlid
1 Electric Yellow Lab Cichlid
1 red devil Cichlid

There seems to be plenty of room but this jumpings starting to upset me big time. He jumps about once every 5 mins! Im going to have to exchange him if this keeps up. :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil:
Im fuming, hes jumping as i post this somtimes he jumps so hard i can hear him hit the canopy. please help advice

Falina

Ok, you're really overstocked. Not necessarily the cause of the problem but it's something that needs adressing.

What are your water parameters? in such an overstocked tank they are going to be very difficult to keep on top of. Bad water quality could lead to stress on the fish - possiby why he is trying to get out?

there are also a lot of quite territorial fish in there that could be agressive with him. I know nothing about this fish in particuar but i think they too could be quite agressive, leading to territory issues and general nipping, bullying etc.

The colour duling could be to do with stress from other fish, bad water quality issues, anything that causes him not to be too happy.

GThiele113

Yes I understand, most fish in here are still babies except for about 4 6" fish that I have. I make up for it with 300 gallons worth of filtration and water changes. Water params will be checked tommorow morning

GThiele113

Ok the parameters are
Amonia: 0-.25 ppm
nitrite: 0-.50 ppm
nitrate: 1-2 ppm
PH: 7.4

Hes still doing the whole staying at the top. somtimes when hes foced to swim down it looks like hes struggling. Also there is a open wound on his face, probally from hitting the sides of the tank. There is stringy whit stuff coming off of it. He has lost all of his colors. thats about a $60.00 that i never get to see and when i see him i get annoyed

willow

hi
is there any chance you could seperate him ?
your water quality is an issue,and it will probably start to effect the other fish if it hasn't already.

Lindsey88

Sorry about this...Just wondering does your LFS have a return policy. I know my local petsmart gives you 14 days and if the fish dies within that time they will replace it.

Falina

even as babies you are still really overstocked and your water quality is suffering for it. I would definitely return about half of the fish. There will be a lot of agression issues as the fish mature as well which is another reasn why I personally would return so many.

i recommend a 50% water change just now and smaller 20% water changes every day or so until you can get your water parameters sorted. you should'n't have any amonia or nitrite as these are both toxic to fish and can kill them quickly. Your nitrate is very low. How long have you had the tank set up/ It doesn't seem to have completed the cycle, or perhaps you have added a lot of fish lately that has started another cycle?

Lupin

What brand of test kit are you using? Is it liquid or test strips?

Your list is composed of an odd mix of fish. Some will need rehoming. I will try to comment later if possible.:)

Lupin

1 Green Spotted Puffer-I believe this one is a brackish water species.
1 Flounder-No comment and never kept them.
2 Albino clawed Frogs-Predatory. Care must be taken when selecting tankmates.
2 Angel fish-What size are they now?
1 Black Ghost Knife-A 125g is fine for one however select tankmates carefully.
2 Albino Oscars-One Oscar needs a 75g minimum by itself. Heavy waste producer so filtration must be maximized. These are also piscivores so select tankmates carefully.
1 Green Terror-Aggressive. Select tankmates carefully.
1 Iridescent Shark-Grows to 4-5 feet. This is Pangasiodon hypophthalmus I believe which is the largest ID shark.
4 Powder Blue Gouramis-Best kept in a planted tank with other small community fish.
2 Platinum Gouramis-Any pictures of these fish?
2 Blue Gouramis-Semi-aggressive and have the tendency to bully smaller tankmates.
2 Paradise Gouramis-Semi-aggressive. Same as blue gouramis.
1 Whip Tail Pleco-What species is this? This is better off with small community fish, not with large and aggressive tankmates.
1 Armored Catfish-What species is this?
2 Red hook Silver Dollars-Plenty of space is required. A 125g is fine.
4 Pictus Catfish-A 125g is fine. If you want these, you may have to reduce your number of bottom dwellers.
2 Clown Loachs-Should be kept in 3 minimum. These are sociable fish to start with and having the potential to grow to 12 inches, always maximize feeding and water change schedule.
1 Lace Cat-What species is this?
1 red devil Cichlid-Another aggressive fish. Select tankmates carefully.
These are Lake Malawi cichlids and best kept by themselves. Don't try mixing them with other species. These could become your biggest issue aside from other cichlids due to temperament and compatibility issues.

GThiele113

Alright.
Returning fish is out of the question.
Water change has been done.

I understand the whole problem with the overstocking but there really isnt aggression between the fishes

I asked about the Haplochromis not about the overstocking problem. Please help me with that, and ill work on the overstocking problem