Endli shaking off slime coat

[Awesome one]

Hi all
I apologise for the long post in advance.

Anyone had an experience like this? Every few days or so he'll swim quickly to the surface and literally cover the tank in slime coat.
Nitrates are kept below 20 all the time via 10x p/h turnover and 50 % water change with prime every 3/4 days.
Hes 13" and other than this appears active and healthy.
Balanced diet of frozen and pellets
No cats or plecs sucking on him and no aggression towards him that he's bothered about (small jd and a black diamond that nip him when he bulldozers them, but he doesn't even flinch)
Has a couple of caves he chills in
Lights are on 10 hours a day
Shares a 300l (75g) grow out with:
15" ornate
12" RCK
12" Rope x2
10" jaguar
10" mbu
9" bala X2
9" Chalceus
8" Odoe
6" Black diamond cichlid
5" Vittatus tiger
5" Mala Wolf
4" JD
A few assorted gourami I inherited.

I know it's overstocked but it's been built up gradually and extra cannister filters have been added accordingly. They're all due to move into their new 660l this weekend but i won't move him if he needs treatment.

Local LFS haven't got a clue so any ideas or similar experiences/solutions appreciated

 

[predatorkeeper87]

right off the bat I'm saying its a water quality issue or aggression if he's shedding slimecoat. too many big fish with tempers in a small space.

 

[predatorkeeper87]

also...that new tank is not going to be enough space either in my opinion, if that jag, wolf, tiger or a combo of those 3 start to get aggressive, its lights out for 99.9% of that tank in no time flat.

 

[DMD123]

That is a lot of fish for such a small tank, cant see how the water could be good with a 50% every 3 or 4 day. Even daily changes of 50% are probably not enough. While the bigger tank will be better you are still going into it way overstocked. I would seriously rehome some of the ultra large growing monsters since housing them will be the most difficult. A mbu will need a huge tank and so will a royal clown knife just as an example.

 

[predatorkeeper87]

That is a lot of fish for such a small tank, cant see how the water could be good with a 50% every 3 or 4 day. Even daily changes of 50% are probably not enough. While the bigger tank will be better you are still going into it way overstocked. I would seriously rehome some of the ultra large growing monsters since housing them will be the most difficult. A mbu will need a huge tank and so will a royal clown knife just as an example.

+1. I'd rehome everything but the polys and the odoe for the new tank.

 

[Awesome one]

Thanks for the reply. I thought that too as they're the obvious conclusions but it's definitely not the water...well at least not ph,ammonia,nitrite or nitrate. I use purigen in one of the canisters on top of using prime and I'm not slack on the required water changes either. I have moderately hard water but that's not supposed to be an issue for a bichir right?
Aggression wise they're monitored quite a lot as the missus is preggers so at home Alot and the tanks in our living room. The flare ups that do happen tend to be cichlids being cichlids and don't involve him at all.
Hopefully your right though and it's just space but it's something he's always done in the 6 months I've had him only back then he was smaller so when it happened it was less noticeable. Also i doubt it was down to space then as they were all smaller and there was way less fish in there.

I'm told on here that he's a CB semi short body so I'm wondering is it an inherited defect or maybe an infection that he's carrying?

 

[Awesome one]

That is a lot of fish for such a small tank, cant see how the water could be good with a 50% every 3 or 4 day. Even daily changes of 50% are probably not enough. While the bigger tank will be better you are still going into it way overstocked. I would seriously rehome some of the ultra large growing monsters since housing them will be the most difficult. A mbu will need a huge tank and so will a royal clown knife just as an example.

The water changes are carried out without fail no matter how knackered I am and are some times done everyother day if any foods left over etc. I'm also running 3000l p/h (manufacturer quoted so closer to 2000l p/h) filtration with purigen)
The gouramis, balas and Black diamond aren't going into the 600l either.
The 600 is essentially another grow out until later this year when they're going into a 2 400l.
The idea behind the overstocking si to grow them all out together so hopefully I can keep them for life

 

[jaws7777]

Cichlids being cichlids turns into cichlids beating on other fish when the lights are out and no one is in the room

 

[moe214]

That is a lot of fish for such a small tank, cant see how the water could be good with a 50% every 3 or 4 day. Even daily changes of 50% are probably not enough. While the bigger tank will be better you are still going into it way overstocked. I would seriously rehome some of the ultra large growing monsters since housing them will be the most difficult. A mbu will need a huge tank and so will a royal clown knife just as an example.

+1. The atf is gonna need atleast an 8x3 in the future and will probably be more comfortable with flow where as the others won't. Next I'd say get rid of is the mbu and knife as well. And get rid of two cichlids, so no problems arise. An angry fish sometimes attack anything around. Which includes fish it may not have shown aggression to before.

 

[DMD123]

2400l may sound like a big tank but a mbu alone is a huge waste producer. I have a buddy who had a large one (28") and compared it to a small dog taking a crap in the tank.