haha im glad it worked out for you two... try feeding the guppies crushed cichlid gold or nls prior to feeding your bass... it will help health and color
Alot of that can be avoided if your tank is 87 degrees. Ick and things like that dont do well in warm water. The warmer water will not only kill off parasites, it will keep your cichlas metabolism racing and make them grow at the correct rate.