texas cichlid

[charlie12]

hello. i’ve just noticed this discolouration on my texas cichlid. occasionally he will shimmy and flash as if it is irritating him. it does not look like itch, and ive ruled out other common diseases. except for this he’s acting normal. any help is appreciated.

 

[itiwhetu]

Looks like a war wound, who else is in the tank.

 

[charlie12]

just him and a bristlenose catfish, i’ve had both for months and i’ve never witnessed any fighting. they usually get along really well.

 

[itiwhetu]

Looks like a war wound, who else is in the tank.

Strange

 

[Guyb93]

I also would of said war wound . It’s not horrible I’d just keep an eye on it

 

[Colin_T]

Maybe it got caught on something in the tank.

After the tank lights go out, shine a torch on the fish and see if it has a yellow or gold sheen, that would be velvet.

In the mean time, do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day for a week. This will dilute any disease organisms in the water and provide a cleaner tank for the fish to heal.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.

Clean the filter if it hasn't been done in the last 2 weeks. However, if the filter is less than 6 weeks old, do not clean it. Wash the filter materials/ media in a bucket of tank water and re-use them. Tip the bucket of dirty water on the garden/ lawn. Cleaning the filter means less gunk and cleaner water with fewer pathogens.