Weak cichlid

Question
Hi,I have a gray-red flowerhorn,about 3 years old. It is the only fish in our tank(don't know exact tank dimensions yet,I'll find out soon) we have two big filters and feed it live goldfish. Two months ago, she (I think its a she) developed some white cloudiness in the right eye, the local fish experts could not do much,they said its a common condition,and my fish lost the eye. Since then, she has not been well at all, her appetite comes and goes, she doesn't play in the tank, she stands vertical with her head nearly breaking the surface of the water. We changed the water very often and treated with tetracyclin. For several days she was dull and did not eat at all, the goldfish just kept swimming in the tank till we took them out. Two days ago I saw some white clouding on the iris of the other eye and changed the water (90%) and treated with amoxiccilin. She was hungry and ate enthusiastically. Today I notice that she is just standing vertical, still, and has 3-4 small, bump like things located on the upper fin, on the side of the body behind the fin and also under the gills, before the fin. I think there is also a small one on the fin itself. The bumps all seem to be on the same side of the body. The two bigger bumps look oval in shape,and it looks like the outline of the bump is fuzzy, I'm sorry I cannot explain better..the body bump is a bit discoloured (yellow) and resenbles a scar. The fin bump is tiny, circular and resembles a pimple. I have seen pics of Flexibacter infection on the internet and I don't think thats what this is..but I'm no expert..I managed to feel the bump on the dorsal fin, its solid, raised and feels like a growth. The eye has a bit of cloudiness in the black pupil. I have not tried feeding today. I hope you can help me, as I am terribly worried that she will lose her other eye as well and never be normal again..It's seems like forever since she was active and happy..I'll be waiting eagerly to hear from you, and thank you so much for your help !!
Regards,
Divya

Answer
Hi Divya;

Since the water change helped and your fish became much better afterward, I suspect a water quality problem. Without knowing what size the tank is, what kind of filter system you have, how often you normally change water and how much, etc, I really can't say. Make more water changes, even a daily 25% would not be too much. Fresh clean water is often the best medicine. It boosts the immune system of your fish as it removes toxins from the water.

It's also very possible the live feeders introduced disease into your tank. I am against feeding live feeders because of that. They are not kept in healthy conditions before you buy them so they often carry disease to our healthy pet fish. They are also so stressed as they are being transported to your fish store that they have very little nutritional value left in them. They are starved and sick. It is much healthier to feed a good quality pelleted diet and supplement with gel-based and frozen foods.

She may need medication but without knowing what is wrong I really can't say. My first instinct would be to use an antibiotic but there is too much I don't know about your fish and tank setup to be sure it's a good recommendation. Large fish often require injected antibiotics or medicated food because adding medicine to the water isn't effective in such large body mass fish. It's up to you if you want to try something like that. I would suggest seeing a veterinarian if there is one that treats fish in your area.

I hope she recovers okay...

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins