Lost 5 Cichlids In Past 7 Days... Need Help...

[breavery]

quick breakdown... I have a 55 gallon of african cichlids... in the past week I've lost 5 fish ... none showing any symptoms except for some mild ich... seriously only about one grain on each fish... death was quick for them.. I would notice the grain, go to bed and they'd be dead in the morning... now I have one that is showing alot of symptoms... some sores, some white spots.... is this still ich??? He's dying slowly, may euthanize him with clove oil, although I've never done it before and am not looking forward to it.. but he is in horrible shape...
See attached pic.. is this ich?? or have I been treating for the wrong thing!!??
1. Water parameters. (ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, PH, temp', Hardness etc)
all are good, except ph... can't seem to keep it high enough for the cichlid, even with using the african cichlid water conditioner... using test strips though, will be investing in a better kit soon.
2. A full description of the fishes symptoms.
others had a "grain of salt" on head, thought to be ich, treated for ich but this one showing more bad symptoms..
3. How often you do water changes and how much.
20% every week
4. Any chemicals and treatments you add to the water.
tap water conditioner for water changes, cycle for water changes, and African Cichlid "NATURAL TRACE" conditioner
5. What tank mates are in the tank.
African Cichlids and one pleco.
6. Tank size.
55 gallon
7. Finally Have you recently added any new fish?
no, fish are all from month of November 2010! deaths only started last week!?

 

[KittyKat]

That is most definitely not ich!

It looks becterial, but could be some sort of lateral line erosion disease or an odd form of hole in the head.. but can't really tell from the photo.

 

[breavery]

Could it be flukes? I've never dealt with that before so I don't know what it actually looks like... what I find odd is that at the base of the white stuff the skin is very red... the white stuff was not there this morning... this appeared in the matter of about 7 hours?! He did have one "grain" spot near his head this morning when I left but when I got home he's covered with 3-4 spots of white with what looks like sores underneath the white... waiting for camera battery to charge to take a clearer pic but now another one of my cichlids is literally rolling around on the bottom of the tank... he has the white stuff on his gills.. which is why I started thinking fluke?! I now only have one cichlid left that is not showing any symptoms so I moved him right out of the big tank... along with my big pleco... the sick fish is in an isolation tank... so now my 55 gallon is sitting empty for fear of something in the water/rocks?! the last one that is showing symptoms was fine this morning.. he was actually being his usual aggressive self, chasing the 7" pleco around... and all of a sudden, he's on the bottom?! I am going to go buy a better test kit, I'm thinking these strip things aren't working ... my water must be messed up for them to be affected that quickly?! ARGH...

That is most definitely not ich!

It looks becterial, but could be some sort of lateral line erosion disease or an odd form of hole in the head.. but can't really tell from the photo.

 

[myrtle]

I can't offer any help but definitely ditch the strips and get a test kit based on liquid reagents.
Good luck!

 

[KittyKat]

Flukes is unlikely. Maybe columnaris?

Large water changes should help, regardless of what it is.. I am sure someone will come along, shortly, who will be able to give better advice.

 

[breavery]

Flukes is unlikely. Maybe columnaris?

Large water changes should help, regardless of what it is.. I am sure someone will come along, shortly, who will be able to give better advice.

I just looked up columnaris... sounds like it alot... the big thing is that I turned my temp up because it is supposed to shorten the stage for the ich.. and it says columnaris thrives in warmer temps so basically I helped the darn thing wipe out my tank As I read more about it I found out that it can also affect their gills with no real external sores ... when my big guy died yesterday, it was very quick and he had no sores but afterwards I saw how bad his gills were inside.. he died with his gills almost sticking straight out/open. Unfortunately, Daisy, the one in the pic is still holding on, her mouth now looks bloody she's in very very bad shape... she is trying to keep off the bottom but is just thrashing around with her nose in the air right now.. I've never euthanized a fish before.... is using clove oil to put her asleep then putting her in the freezer the best way?!
Thank you for any and all help... I will do a big water change and try to save my last cichlid and my pleco... I think it may be too late for Daisy and Groucho.

 

[KittyKat]

Clove oil.

 

[rhyukinfin]

quick breakdown... I have a 55 gallon of african cichlids... in the past week I've lost 5 fish ... none showing any symptoms except for some mild ich... seriously only about one grain on each fish... death was quick for them.. I would notice the grain, go to bed and they'd be dead in the morning... now I have one that is showing alot of symptoms... some sores, some white spots.... is this still ich??? He's dying slowly, may euthanize him with clove oil, although I've never done it before and am not looking forward to it.. but he is in horrible shape...
See attached pic.. is this ich?? or have I been treating for the wrong thing!!??
1. Water parameters. (ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, PH, temp', Hardness etc)
all are good, except ph... can't seem to keep it high enough for the cichlid, even with using the african cichlid water conditioner... using test strips though, will be investing in a better kit soon.
2. A full description of the fishes symptoms.
others had a "grain of salt" on head, thought to be ich, treated for ich but this one showing more bad symptoms..
3. How often you do water changes and how much.
20% every week
4. Any chemicals and treatments you add to the water.
tap water conditioner for water changes, cycle for water changes, and African Cichlid "NATURAL TRACE" conditioner
5. What tank mates are in the tank.
African Cichlids and one pleco. . Tank size.
55 gallon
7. Finally Have you recently added any new fish?
no, fish are all from month of November 2010! deaths only started last week!? View attachment 62716

BREAVERY HERE IS A LINK HOPE IT CAN HELP http/happycichlids.com/