HELP!! SICK FISH : (

Question
We have a 55 gallon African Cichlid tank consisting of mostly mbuna.  Our tank seems to be infected with something.  Most of the fish have BIG open sores on their sides.  We have had this tank for about a year now so we know the sores are not from them picking at each other.  Some fish are much worse than others.  Many of them have lots of missing scales.  It looks like it could be a bacteria that is eating away at their sides.  Some appear to have white around their lips (lip fungus?).  We did some melafix for a week, and nothing was cured.  We just started with the quickcure last night.  We did a 25% water change (and added salt) after finishing with the melafix.  We feed them omega one cichlid flakes and HBH supersoft frozen food alternative with Krill. We have had 3 fish die over the past couple of weeks.  We are very upset about this whole thing and are willing to try anything to get our healthy tank back again!

Answer
Hi Erin;

Quick Cure would only help if they have parasites, which I don't think they have. Ulcers and white on the lips are usually caused by a bacterial infection. Do another 25% water change and vacuum the gravel. Also remove any carbon from your filter and treat with Maracyn AND Maracyn-Two. Follow the directions on the labels. I don't normally recommend using traditional medicines but I don't think your fish are going to get better without hitting this hard and fast. The tank will get an ugly foaminess to it but the fish need the medicine. Do a daily 25% water change during the treatment to boost the fishes' immune systems. Do it right before the medicine treatment for that day. These medications are decayed and useless once they've been in the water for so many hours so don't worry that you are removing something they need. Once the treatment is over you can add fresh carbon to the filter and continue to make frequent water changes to get the residue out of there.

Melafix really can't treat an existing infection. Keep using the Melafix though because it helps heal wounds and regenerate damaged tissue. It's a good support product.

The next step is to find out why they got sick. Before adding medicine, get a water test done. Don't let the fish store tell you your water is "okay" or "off a little". We need actual numbers. Let me know what they are as soon as you can. It would also be helpful to know how often you make water changes, how many fish and how big they are, water temperature, etc.

I hope they feel better soon...

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins