CICHLIDS

By: Gatekeeper

I am not an expert on cichlid diseases. My philosophy is: do lots of water changes and avoid getting diseases, then you won't have to treat them. There are myriad additives and medicines available in fish stores and I am not qualified to recommend one over the other. Fortunately, many of the more common cichlids are very hardy and seldom get diseases, particularly Central American cichlids.

Most diseases can be traced to dirty water, rotting food or unhealthy feeder fish. The latter is a particular cause for concern because many people are under the impression that large cichlids need to be fed goldfish. This isn't true. Many large cichlids are herbivores (plant-eaters), though they will eat goldfish given the chance. The trouble with goldfish is that they often carry and trasnmit Ich. Ich is a parasite that can be found in goldfish stock tanks in even the finest aquarium shops. It doesn't seem to bother the goldfish nearly as much as it bothers everything else.

A classic scenario (this has happend to me personally on two occasions): you buy some feeder goldfish from a reputable fish store, you feed your pike cichlids and they eat ravenously. Pikes, even little ones, can easily eat 3 or 4 goldfish at a feeding. A couple of days later your pikes look a little droopy and then the next day they are coated with Ich. You quickly treat the water but often the pikes die anyway.

What does Ich look like: Ich looks like a fine dusting of sugar covering all or part of the fish. The first day it may be just a few dozen spots, the next day, there are thousands of spots. It is often most visible on the fins. Ich is not one or two little white bumps on a fish: that is likely something else.

Here is a picture of an orange pike cichlid, approximately 6 inches long, with an advanced case of Ich. This fish died the next day. It got Ich from eating feeder goldfish.

What is Ich?: The white sugar-grains are the cysts -- protective cases for the parasite. Medicines cannot harm the cysts. But, sooner or later the cyst opens and out pops the free-living parasite. The free-living organism is vulnerable to medicines.

How to cure Ich: The key to treating Ich is to act quickly, i.e. the minute you see it. If you wait a day or two, the game is often over. To do this, it is generally a good idea to keep a bottle of Ich medicine around the house. There are various brands of Ich medicine, and basically they all require you to treat the tank daily with a number of drops of the liquid medicine. You must treat the tank everyday for the whole period suggested on the bottle. This is often for a week. The treatment works because everyday some of the cysts are hatching, and you can kill that days parasites with the medicine. The life cycle of ich is about a week (faster if the water is warmer) so if you treat for a week, all the cysts will have hatched and the parasites killed. This is also why many people recommend increasing the water temperature.

As the days pass, your fish gets worse and worse and likely won't feed. It becomes a race to see if you can kill the Ich, before the ich kills your fish. As I said at the start, the key is to be prepared and act quickly at the first signs of Ich.

If you notice any of the following symptoms, or if you have recently stressed them in any way such as changing tankmates, tank setups, shipping, etc., keep a close watch on your fish and decide whether or not you should treat: 

• hanging back, looking listless, or hiding
• spitting out food or not taking any at all (this could also be the case if you have a female holding eggs, though generally she will eat as well as she can)
• labored breathing
• darkening of color
• tipping or swaying 

NOTE: These are the typical signs I see in bloating fish. They could also mean a number of other things and it takes some time to be able to immediately recognize when the fish needs treatment. 

How to Treat 

Day 1 

• remove the carbon or any filter resins
• do a 30-40% water change taking care not to stress the fish
• fill an 8oz. jar or glass bottle with tank water and drop 1 table of Clout per 10 gallons of tank water. Round up if you have a 45, 55, etc.
• shake well and pour in the mixture bit by bit over a half and hour or so as it can be very strong - this is important! 

Day 2 

• repeat Day 1 instructions exactly 

Day 3 

• repeat Day 1 instructions exactly 

This should be enough of a treatment if the inflammation is not severe. Do a final water change 24 hours after the last treatment. If the fish has not resumed eating, treat for a full five days, though often three is enough. In some cases it is necessary to do another treatment after doing the initial five day one. If you don't see improvement after the first 3-5 days, take two days off continuing water changes and then start over again with a three day treatment.