Hi! First time posting on this forum.
About a month ago I bought a group of 24 juvenile Tropheus Illangi. It is my first group of Tropheus, or african cichlids for that matter, but I have experience with south american cichlids. Since the fish were first introduced to my tank they have occasionally shown signs of discomfort. When watching the fish I saw many of them flashing or rubbing against the glass or rock and sometimes jerkingly swiming backwards as if something was stuck on them. As it did not happen too often and all fish were eating and otherwise displaying normal, active behavior I fended it off as just them adjusting to the new water conditions. Fast forward to today the flashing and scratching continues but in addition three of the fish show white, fuzzy markings on the dorsal fin and two of these fish seems to have them on some of the scales on the side of their bodies aswell. The fish still dispaly otherwise normal behaivor (eating well, proper excrements and active), except some might be a little bit darker in color.
The fish are fed Tropical Spirulina Super Forte three times a day and presoaked Hikari Cichlid Excel every other day. They live in a 4 foot 80 gallon tank which I do 25% water changes on twice a week. Due to pH-swings and low buffering capabilities of my tap water I add epsom salt and bicarbonate to the water and store it in a 80 gallon barrel for at least tow days before water change. My tap is at around 3dKH, 3dGH and 7.5 pH. After additives it stays at around 14 dKH, 14 dGH and a little over 8 pH.
The other water parameters are 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite and 10-20 nitrate. The filter has been runing for a year and a half on a healthy tank and was switched to the new fish after a cleaning in in aquarium water without any downtime. So there should not be any problmes with nitrogen compounds.
According to the what I have found online the most likely cause of the problem is either external parasites or fungi. The markings on the body could also potentially be due to aggression. If medication will be needed I is worth mentioning that I live in Sweden and most treatments you might be familiar with is not readily available here. The brands I can have delivered to me without mayor delay is primarly Waterlife, Sera, JBL and eSHa.
If any further information or more pictures are needed, please tell me.
Any advice or help in identifying the underlying problem is highly appreciated.
About a month ago I bought a group of 24 juvenile Tropheus Illangi. It is my first group of Tropheus, or african cichlids for that matter, but I have experience with south american cichlids. Since the fish were first introduced to my tank they have occasionally shown signs of discomfort. When watching the fish I saw many of them flashing or rubbing against the glass or rock and sometimes jerkingly swiming backwards as if something was stuck on them. As it did not happen too often and all fish were eating and otherwise displaying normal, active behavior I fended it off as just them adjusting to the new water conditions. Fast forward to today the flashing and scratching continues but in addition three of the fish show white, fuzzy markings on the dorsal fin and two of these fish seems to have them on some of the scales on the side of their bodies aswell. The fish still dispaly otherwise normal behaivor (eating well, proper excrements and active), except some might be a little bit darker in color.
The fish are fed Tropical Spirulina Super Forte three times a day and presoaked Hikari Cichlid Excel every other day. They live in a 4 foot 80 gallon tank which I do 25% water changes on twice a week. Due to pH-swings and low buffering capabilities of my tap water I add epsom salt and bicarbonate to the water and store it in a 80 gallon barrel for at least tow days before water change. My tap is at around 3dKH, 3dGH and 7.5 pH. After additives it stays at around 14 dKH, 14 dGH and a little over 8 pH.
The other water parameters are 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite and 10-20 nitrate. The filter has been runing for a year and a half on a healthy tank and was switched to the new fish after a cleaning in in aquarium water without any downtime. So there should not be any problmes with nitrogen compounds.
According to the what I have found online the most likely cause of the problem is either external parasites or fungi. The markings on the body could also potentially be due to aggression. If medication will be needed I is worth mentioning that I live in Sweden and most treatments you might be familiar with is not readily available here. The brands I can have delivered to me without mayor delay is primarly Waterlife, Sera, JBL and eSHa.
If any further information or more pictures are needed, please tell me.
Any advice or help in identifying the underlying problem is highly appreciated.
