What is this? (Pictures)

[BarnacleBoy]

My friend has an african cichlid tank. 55 gallon. 0ppm ammonia, 0ppm nitrite, 30ppm nitrate. 20 gallon sump filter. Fully cycled. Last water change was about a week and a half ago. Treated the water with prime before putting it in as usual.

Overnight, all of her fish except one died. It was very random. The night before, they were a little more lethargic than usual but we didnt worry. She took the surviving fish out and put him in a sick tank to inspect him. He has these Mark's on his face. Is it hole in the head or maybe ick? Or what? We aren't experts.

She tested the PH level after taking him out and realized it was low... 7.6-7.8

 

[tlindsey]

My friend has an african cichlid tank. 55 gallon. 0ppm ammonia, 0ppm nitrite, 30ppm nitrate. 20 gallon sump filter. Fully cycled. Last water change was about a week and a half ago. Treated the water with prime before putting it in as usual.

Overnight, all of her fish except one died. It was very random. The night before, they were a little more lethargic than usual but we didnt worry. She took the surviving fish out and put him in a sick tank to inspect him. He has these Mark's on his face. Is it hole in the head or maybe ick? Or what? We aren't experts.

She tested the PH level after taking him out and realized it was low... 7.6-7.8

View attachment 1344960 View attachment 1344961

Never seen that on a African Cichlid it looks like HITH disease.
Most SA fish species are susceptible to HITH if water is to hard and high Nitrate. Proper water change schedule must stay consistent. It's possible it was a large difference in the PH at time of the water change.

 

[BarnacleBoy]

Never seen that on a African Cichlid it looks like HITH disease.
Most SA fish species are susceptible to HITH if water is to hard and high Nitrate. Proper water change schedule must stay consistent. It's possible it was a large difference in the PH at time of the water change.

How should we treat this?

 

[tlindsey]

How should we treat this?

You will have to maintain a strict maintenance schedule and keep water parameters stable. When the Nitrate was tested were the bottles shaken hard for about a minute? If not you will get a false reading.

 

[kno4te]

Never seen that on a African Cichlid it looks like HITH disease.
Most SA fish species are susceptible to HITH if water is to hard and high Nitrate. Proper water change schedule must stay consistent. It's possible it was a large difference in the PH at time of the water change.

Would agreed with tlindsey.

 

[duanes]

I agree with the above, the tank needs a much high water change routine to keep bacterial counts down, and to get nitrates down under 20ppm, nitrates in the rift lake are well under 10ppm.
A pH of the mid to upper 7s pH is not bad.
What is the tanks water temp?
The normal temps at depth in the African rift lakes are in the mid 70s, if the water temp in the tank is in the 80s (even low 80s) this can promote unwanted bacterial growth, and cause stress for many cichlids, especially those from those very stable lake environments.