Festae problems! Help!

[Teke left]

So I'm growing out a group of fester & today as I'm checking them out one looks sick! & another is starting to look the same as this one .. I haven't really noticed it because they are so Timid that they don't come out while the light is on so the light rarely comes on usually just the blue light ,, maybe that's why I'm just noticing .. idk .. but it looks like the scales are broken around his face & eyelids almost like it's down to raw meat .. then on the other hand i can't tell if it's just transparent right there & it just looks like that .. but pretty sure that's not the case .. there usually always dull looking but I write that off to the lights never being on & when I cut it on they're usually always sleep .. they are more active a night .. so help me!!! All input will be appreciated!

 

[Rsc89]

Im no expert but it looks like some sort of hith, looks like its face is eroding. How often do you do water changes? Could be bacterial also.

 

[Teke left]

Yea thanks but after the lights had been on awhile it went back to looking normal .. but has anyone else experienced that with their cichlids before?

 

[Empyreal]

Looks like really bad hith, this looks like something that would have taken months...

 

[Rsc89]

Take another pic of the "normal"

 

[Twonvito]

So I'm growing out a group of fester & today as I'm checking them out one looks sick! & another is starting to look the same as this one .. I haven't really noticed it because they are so Timid that they don't come out while the light is on so the light rarely comes on usually just the blue light ,, maybe that's why I'm just noticing .. idk .. but it looks like the scales are broken around his face & eyelids almost like it's down to raw meat .. then on the other hand i can't tell if it's just transparent right there & it just looks like that .. but pretty sure that's not the case .. there usually always dull looking but I write that off to the lights never being on & when I cut it on they're usually always sleep .. they are more active a night .. so help me!!! All input will be appreciated!

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Looks like a mask.. lol all seriousness you may need to treat them. You can start by removing the media in your filter. Then try adding some salt, with a little rise in temperature. What is the the current temperature in you tank? How often do you do water changes? How long you had him? Hith is a possibility.

 

[cichlidfish]

Definitely looks like a bad case of HITH.
IME salt is not effective enough. Best bet is water changes and use Metronidazole. Follow the instructions.

 

[Teke left]

So I check agin this morning & I must've been looking at the wrong fish because it's definitely not back to normal .. I've had them maybe 8 months & I haven't went over 2 weeks without a wc so I'm sure water quality isn't the issue ... for about 2 months I changed like every 3 days trying to get faster growth .. I lost that dedication.. I checked my water & I've lost my sheet I only checked nitrates & nitrites they seem normal .. though I can't find the sheet I'm sure they are under 40 ppm & FYI cell camera doesn't show the color correctly it's not as dark as it appears on the pic

 

[predatorkeeper87]

your nitrates are 20+ easily, maybe not quite 40 but getting there. More water changes.

I don't know much about location of festae but I'm assuming like a lot of the SA cichlids they aren't real big fans of nitrates or hard water.

Up your water change game again, add salt, start dozing food with metro and keep an eye on the fish.

What size tank is this/how big are the fish/are there any more in the tank? Two weeks without a water change is hard on fish, especially young ones.

 

[Twonvito]

What kind of filter are you running and what size is the tank ? Your doing alot of water changes and stressing the fish out at the same time this illness is taking effect.