# Looks like skin is shedding



## ljrswanson (Oct 4, 2009)

I am having an issue with one of my cichlids, sorry I do not know the name or species. I am a new aquarium owner and have not familiarized myself with the names as of yet. I have had the tank set up for about two months now.

The levels of the tank are as follows: PH-8, Ammonia-0, Nitrite-0, Nitrate 15(water change due tomorrow 10/17/2009), and the temperature is about 81 degrees fahrenheit. The tank is a 55 gallon tank, that has 14 various cichlids.

About three weeks ago we bought six small cichlis, one to two inches from the pet store. Two weeks ago we bought three bigger cichlids from a specialty store. The day after that, my father-in-law gave us five more. And lastly about a week and a half ago, I bought an albino cichlid from Pet-Co. In the tank there are also two tetras, two cray-fish, and two other fish that were bought when we initially set up the tank.

Probably way too much info, but i need to find out what is wrong with this fish!

All of the fish seemed to get along well, not much chasing, nipping or any of that. The only other thing that I can think of was, there was one other fish given to me by my in-law that had most of his tail gone, so I put him into a quarantine tank and gave him Melafix. After about two days it looked like he was starting to die, going vertical, and I panicked and put him back into the main tank. I was worried that the smaller tank hadn't been cycled. He has since died and has been pulled from the tank.

I really havent found much about this online and would really like some help. It looks like he is shedding or getting scaled or something strange like that.

Thanks for any help given.

I have photos, but cant add them for some reason


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## Robin (Sep 18, 2002)

Hi,

How long has the fish had this symptom? Any other symptoms? Such as not eating, hiding, flashing, gasping, hanging/hiding at the top? Can you see any kind of coating on the fish's skin? Try shining a flashlight on the fish from different angles to determine if there is a rust or gray colored talc-like coating on the fish. 
How do the fish's fins and tail look? All there? Any white or gray fuzzy growth on the fish?

Sorry for all the questions but the one symptom you mentioned, shedding skin, can be caused by a number of things. This fish should be removed to a hospital tank right away. You can instantly cycle the hospital tank by taking a small amount of the media from your main tank's filter and putting it in the hospital tank's filter.If that's not possible then you can do daily partial water changes on the hospital tank. Make sure you're using a good quality declorinator.

Robin

And after this problem is figured out you do need to id the species you're keeping. STocking a cichlid tank so that the fish will be compatible takes careful research and much trial and error. They may be getting alone fine now but I garuntee you it won't remain that way. But don't despair, there are plenty of people here who will not only help you ID your fish but also help make any necessary stocking changes.


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