I would appreciate some advice from some knowledgeable cichlid keepers

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Cant tell without a pic, but areas that are discoloured are often caused by damage to the central nervous system, and are often on the face/head as most nerves are concentrated there. It is often caused by a fungal infection, but can be other things - tumour, etc.

But really cant say without a pic.
 
I got some video up:

[YT]<object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/w2pkt2T1xlQ&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/w2pkt2T1xlQ&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>[/YT]

I got some video of him after the salt bath. Apparently, the stuff that looked like a beard to me was like necrotic tissue sloughing off. It cleared up after the salt bath. It's still discolored however. i added a little bit of salt to the tank and left him in there. He's acting normal for the most part now.
 
It looks like just some pre-spawining fighting bruises. Just keep the water clean, temp high and some salt in the tank.
 
MonsterFishKeepers.com