sick cichlid - PLEASE HELP!

Question
Hi Megan,
I have a 55 gal. tank with about 20 mixed cichlids (jack dempseys, texas pearl, cobalt blue, electric yellows, convicts,etc..)I have had them for several months
and the tank had been healthy and thriving. I had not added any other fish (but I did add a decor rock)and a couple of weeks ago I noticed two fish acting strange. The texas pearl and the kenyi were not eating, nor were they swimming
much, and they were also hiding allot. I checked my water levels and found my ph was low. I started doing more frequent water changes and adding ph slowly as I
cont. to check the levels and bring the ph back. The texas pearl responded well
and since then has stopped hiding and his appetite has returned and I think he's back to normal, but the kenyi kept getting worse. He started loosing his yellow color becoming very pale, never eating, and always hiding. Soon after another cichlid began having the same symptoms - I asked my local pet store what I should do - they recommended I treat for ick - I followed their recomendations, but the other cichlid (the last one to become sick) died very soon after
displaying symptoms (2 days) - The kenyi held on over two weeks, but recently died also. I am already upset for loosing both fish because I had them for over 3 months, but now I am really getting upset because I am noticing the same
symptoms on my cobalt blue, which is the first cichlid I brought about 6 months ago and he is one of my more expensive fish. He is not eating, he does not hide,
but he stays in one spot shimmying. I want to do whatever I can to save him, but I don't even know what killed the other two fish. PLEASE HELP!

Answer
That is not ich. That guy recommended Ich to get you out of his face. It sounds more like Hexamita but I need you to answer some questions:
Is the feces white and slimy?
Eyes blacken?

Note: Discus and other large cichlids are especially prone to Hexamita.

If it is Hexamita, it is treatable with something that has Metronidazole in it.