cockatoo cichlid illness

Question
QUESTION: Hi,
We have a small tan (25l) which currently houses  3 minnows and 3 cichlids (1 male and 2 female) Until recently it also included 4 guppies, but they all appeared to get ill and died. The minnows and male cichlid have been in the tank for about 3 months, and show no visible signs of being ill. We got the 2 female cichlids as company for the male 2 weeks ago. One of them has become bloated and is swimming near the top of the tank at a 45 degree angle. She is breathing very quickly also. We have just done a water change as the KH was slightly high. The guppies appeared to have similar symptoms, they swam near the top of the tank, but became very thin and almost banana shaped. There was 2 weeks with no other fish getting ill before we introduced the female cichlid.
We have tried to do research about what could be wrong with the cichlid - swim bladder? Also when we got it, there was a long 'poo' hanging out - could this be a parasite or worm and not a poo?
We can attach a photo if you think that ay help.

Thankyou in advance

Seren

ANSWER: Hi Seren,
 Having a long "poo" hanging out is actually a good thing, provided it is brown. That shows the fish is eating and digesting well.  If it is white, that is very bad and indicates an intestinal infection.

 It sounds like it is very possible that the male cichlid is attacking the other fish in the tank.  Is this happening?

-- Ron
  rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
  Cichlid Research Home Page <http://cichlidresearch.com>


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thnks for replying.
We hve since seen poo which is  greyish colour - definately not brown like the males. We hve seen no evidence of the male attacking any fish

Thanks

Answer
Hi Seren,
  Grey should be okay. White is a problem.  

  Sometimes it is very difficult to see that one fish is attacking another because they often behave quite differently when people are around.  

-- Ron
   rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
   Cichlid Research Home Page <http://cichlidresearch.com>