Sick Cichlid: any idea what this is?

I was doing a water change yesterday on my cichlid tank (75g, with 5 African cichlids, not 100% sure of specific fish names) and I noticed this little guy. I quickly got him out and placed him in a hospital tank.

Before I did my water change the parameters in the 75g were:
Temp: 80 F (26.6 C)
pH: 8.2
Ammonia: 0ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: ~20ppm

Any idea what this is so I can begin to treat him? He’s eating normally but is glass surfing a lot.

Does it look fuzzy. Could be fungus.

Deanasue said:

Does it look fuzzy. Could be fungus.

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No, it doesn’t look fuzzy. It kind of looks like the top layer of “skin” was removed. The outer edges are a little jagged so I can see where the idea it’s fuzzy comes from though in the picture.

I would say it’s an injury then. Do a 50% water change every day for a week. Add some aquarium salt at 1 tablespoon per gallon of dechlorinated water. Mix the salt to dissolve first before adding to tank so it doesn’t sting the fish. Each time you do a 50% water change, add 50% (1/2 tablespoon per gallon) of dissolved salt back in. The salt is an astringent that will fight bacteria.

Deanasue said:

I would say it’s an injury then. Do a 50% water change every day for a week. Add some aquarium salt at 1 tablespoon per gallon of dechlorinated water. Mix the salt to dissolve first before adding to tank so it doesn’t sting the fish. Each time you do a 50% water change, add 50% (1/2 tablespoon per gallon) of dissolved salt back in. The salt is an astringent that will fight bacteria.

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salt is the miracle cure lol thanks for your quick responses!

Salt is an astringent that helps fight bacterial infections. It also reduces stress .