Poorly Bumblebee Cichlid (pseudotropheus Crabro)

[Nikon3000]

Hi All, i'm new to this forum, so firstly, Hi to all!
More importantly though, I have a poorly fish that I do not want to lose. She's been like it on and off for a while now, at first I thouht she was being bullied so I put her in my hospital tank and she seemed to recover a bit, but now she is looking worse than ever.

She's usually very dark in colour, has a very sunken belly, which I'm thinking is an Internal bacteria problem, but she also has a drooping bottom lip that seems to be always open, that has now developed a white lump on it, she swims upside down on her side and somtimes just lays there looking dead.. Also there seems to be a nasty looking white patch by there bottom fin She also usually hangs out near the top of the tank..

All the other fish seem fine, and the water conditions are good, with regular changes. I usualy feed them a combination of Nutrafin Max cichlid spirulina sticks, JBL NovaRift sinking sticks and Hikari Cichlid - Cichlid Excel.

I have attempted to attach a couple of photos (sorry they not the best, but the little blighter wouldn't stay still! )

Please, if anyone could help diagnose the problem(s) and how to remedy them I'd be very grateful. As i said, i don't want to lose her. She's been with us for a long time!

 

[WILDER]

Can you post water stats please in ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and ph.
White on the fish does it look fluffy in appearance, or bleaching beneath the skin.l
Sunken in belly can be bacterial to internal parasites, fish tb.
Check the anus of the fish to see if it look enlarged or red and inflamed.
What does it look like when the fish goes to the toilet.
The lump is it hard of soft like filled with fluid. Once fish swim upside down there rarely make it.
Open mouth can mean there something lodged in the mouth, or a sore or ulcer in the mouth.

Just going to leave a tb link, need to rule it out
[URL="http/www.torrens.org.uk/NatHist/Aqua/disease/tb.html"]http/www.torrens.org.uk/NatHist/Aqua/disease/tb.html[/URL]

 

[Nikon3000]

Thanks for your reply,
Ok, the water conditions

Ammonia: 0 ppm
Nitrite : 0 ppm
Nitrate :0 - 5ppm
PH: 7.4

The white lump on his lip looks similar to a cist, but hard to say if it's hard or fluid filled, i've added another pic of it. The open drooping mouth, is strange,makes her look like shes has a stroke.

The white on his skin (by the fin) is difficult to tell, it doen't look like it's below the skin, but doesn't really look fluffly either, just like a white patch.

The fish anus, doesn't look enlarged or inflamed, but does have a very slight pink colouration, the poo seems pretty normal, light brown, worm like. I fed her some Mysis today and she couldn't eat enough of them, she was rushing around all over the place gobbling them up

She doesn't swim upside down all the time, just occasionally, and sometime on her side.. but she has been swimming normally all day in the hospital tank.

I had read to try metronidazole, but living in the UK I can't find it anywhere!

I read through that link, sounds horrible! She only has a couple of the symptons, so lets hope it's not tb!

 

[WILDER]

I would take the bacterial route, but lfs meds might not do much. Anti internal bacteria med by interpet.
You really need antibiotics in issolation, which are only available in the uk through a vet.

metronidazole is only available I think through a vet in the uk.