I have a venustus cichlid, He's NOT looking well at all... i have a 75 gal. tank.. 6 cichlids... i put them in a 10 gallon since i was redecorating the tank for change of surroundings... I acclimated the fish and i observed them for a long time making sure they were doing good in there only temporarily... So i let them be in there for less then 24 hours, all seemed fine... i came back form work and found one my yellow labdidochromis or "electric yellow" fish all bitten up on the fins and looked a little sluggish... i just put him back in the main tank hes doing good! alot better ! And will wait for his fins to get better before throwing back the other fishes into the tank so he can get use to his new surrounding :\

!!!!!!! THE MAIN PROBLEM the venustus i have may have been Bitten up as well!!! but he's in worst shape then the yellow labidochromis , Hes upside down! he's not swimming at all! and his fins are barely functioning, when i flip him right side up and tilt him slightly, he tries to regain his balance, his fins are ALL bitten up! barely has any intact "in-between fins" by his gills, it's all spread out and thin, I think his "swimming bladder" is not functioning properly either and is the main problem. Also you should know that where the body of the fish meets the fins is slightly red! along any fins areas on the body.....I NEED HELP PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i love that fish he is so adorable to watch!!!!! he loves sprinting, swimming in the stream of the powerhead. My other fishes don't rarely do that :(

OK No One reply ... My Venus fish Died,The labidochromis Is recovering, and who knows what will happen to the other 4, their still in the 10 gallon... i Put the yellow back int the big tank since they picked at it until he looks better and get use to his new surroundings so he can hide out easier once i throw the others back in...I am leaving the Auratus out Hes WAY too mean to everything and everyone!

If the fish is upside down it probably won't make it unfortunately. I would add something to help the slim coat if possible, maybe salt at freshwater tank levels. I'd probably use some Melafix as this helps the fish fight infection with so much open skin. Keep them away from the other fish and as comfortable as possible, well aerate the tank by cauing water movement and disturbing the surface but keep the current down enough to not wear them out, and hope for the best. Whatever is going to happen you will know soon. Good luck.

I am so sorry to hear about your fish! :-(

Unless you are taking out a LOT of water (I mean almost all of it) you can redecorate with the fish in. I have added and removed substrates before with them in. I have noticed my African cichlids actually have fun when I do. They can be a pest trying to "help" me LOL

I will work on one side at a time, that way they can hide out and watch on the other side. If I take out all the rocks to clean, I will leave one little cave for the most timid ones to hide in. When I do take the rocks out I leave it like that for about a hour (no rocks, water down by 50%) because they LOVE to play in the bare sand! They will dig and dig, its hilarious to watch!

Unfortunately I think what happened is you had 6 very aggressive fish in a tiny space. Even half an hour can cause trouble like what you experienced.

I hope your Electric Yellow is doing much better!