[Desperado13]

Hello. 45 gallon tank set up for about 6 months. Have 4 SA cichlids. Just noticed one is ill with frayed fins and lethargy. I cannot spot obvious ich. Other fish are perfectly fine. Please see photos. Any help is appreciated. Thank you.

 

[fishboy75]

It looks like he was beat up pretty bad and could also have a fungal or bacterial infection from his injuries. You should remove the fish to a clean, cycled hospital tank as the first step. Sometimes just clean water and a stress free environment is all you need. You should test your water and post the parameters here and also list the specific fish and sizes they are for any follow up questions. Thats obviously a convict. If you happen to have a breeding pair of them in a 45 you won't be able to keep anything else in with them. Maybe some target fish like Giant Danios but thats about it. Good luck!

 

[Desperado13]

Thanks for your help. We have not seen obvious aggression other than minimal chasing. We do, however have both a male and female convict (I believe the sick one is the female). We did not know that at the time when they were small. We also have one female gold severum and one male green severum. Each fish is about 3 inches in length. All fish purchased at the same time. We do 1/4 - 1/2 water changes about every 2 weeks. Tests all good. Will post details shortly.

 

[mpbro]

I'm seeing apparently very similar problems with a blue peacock cichlid. Frayed fins, body sores, swimming vertically near the back of the tank.

 

[james1983]

Looks beat up. hiding behind the filter tube is a sign of someone picking on it. A 45 doesnt really give them much room to get away from an aggressor.