parasite i think

Question
Hey Ron
Recently i have noticed a change in the behaviour of my jewel cichlid. its lost alot of colour and isnt too active right now and it keeps twitching its head from side to side in the corner of the tank. What made me think its a parasite is the enlargement of its anus and something protruding from it. I have a 10 gallon tank and I do regular water changes and all the rest of it. What treatment would you recommend?
Any help would by muchly appreciated
julius

Answer
Hi Julius,
  I would keep up with the regular weekly 25% partial water changes.  I am not a big advocate of dumping medications in a tank, particularly when we don't know exactly what is wrong. Many fish medicines are very strong and can easily do more harm than good.

  Has it changed any today?

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