Electric yellow lab

[lssmargaretis]

So, I'm a new cichlid owner, I recently got a beautiful male eyl with some nice bright colors and even a nice bright eggspot! He's a beautiful specimen, and I also got a smaller female. I should have gotten more females but it was rather hard to tell the difference because they were all so small. Well I have both cichlids in a 55 gallon long tank, the male is about 2 inches the female i would say is about a half inch smaller, well I just noticed the female has these two white bumps on her "nose" just under her eyes that kinda look like nostrils....but i'm scared that she has like ick or something but I'm just not sure what it is. I love these two fish and although i'm a new owner i did alot of research on how to care for them and thought I was prepared, so I would really like to know what I should do. I know that she's just a fish but its still a life and it still matters....she's also been itching on the ornaments as well which i know is a sign of ich...but it just doesnt look like ich i've seen before...I dont wanna just go all crazy with the chemicals and stress her out...what do I do!!!?!?! I don't have another aquarium to quarantine her from my other fish (I also have some guppies that do rather well with the cichlids suprisingly)...what do I do!!!?!?!

heres my female (pointed downward) and male cichlids

[nikelodeon79]

I can't see anything on the picture but there are several things that will become an issue.

Two is NEVER a good number with African mbuna. Provided your tank is large enough, you should have at least 5-6 labs. These fish get quite large and a 55g is the minimum size I'd keep them in.

They might be doing okay with your guppies now, but once they reach maturity, your guppies are dead.

Since you don't have another aquarium, I'd recommend returning the cichlids and stocking with something more appropriate to a community aquarium.

[sheamurai]

I can't see anything on the female either - ich is characterised by white specks that kinda look like salt, so I doubt very much that the lumps are ich.

You do need to decide what fish you want to keep - the guppies won't last long in the tank with yellow labs, altho they are pretty mellow for mbuna. The other thing too, if you don't get 4-5 more females, the male will likely kill the female as well, just from 24 hour pestering, once they reach maturity.

You either want to bring back the cichlids, or remove the guppies - or watch the guppies disappear one by one as the cichlids get older.

[escamosa]

I'm not 100% sure on what those white bumps could be, but if she's rubbing against the things in your tank, it could very well be from that. I have Yellow Labs too and I don't think I've ever seen any of the ones I have or had with white bumps on thier nose. I'm guessing that the reason that she's scratching is stress related. As sheamurai said, it's not the most comfortable arrangement for that species of fish.

[Old Marine]

Yellow labs and Guppys spell major Disater for your Guppys eventually. as for your original question, Can you post a better picture? i am not seeing the spot either.

[DeadSulphurhead]

Are the bumps parallel on both sides? Or identical in size and appearance, and symmetrical? If so, I wouldn't worry. Ich is usually first visible on or around all fins. Although it is very possible to first notice it on the head, just unlikely. If an additional spot shows up elsewhere, then I'd suspect ich.
If you have aeration creating tiny bubbles, a lot of the time bubbles stick to the scales, making it look like ich.

I also advise you to change the set up... Guppies and labs are a horrible combination. You won't wake up to them missing, more likely, you'd wake up to half eaten carcasses.
Your yellows are still young and have minimal aggression. I thought mine were the more peaceful fish, until they reached about 3". I immediately had to add 5 more females because the male got nasty with the other 2, bit one of their eyes out. Wouldn't even let them out of a cave to swim.
That's when I first started with cichlids. Live and learn, except you have us to help:)

1 eye is still kicking 2 years later.


I should mention this was a 90g tank this happened in, so a good amount of space/hiding spots. Still couldn't avoid the males aggression