is african cichlid shedding normal?

[KitchenPro]

Hi all, I just got two African Cichlids yesterday and I'm a bit concerned about something I noticed in the tank. The store tested the water and said it was fine for new fish, but I didn't get the exact parameters. The fish seem fine, eating and exploring normally. There's this white stuff in the tank that looks like shed skin - is that normal? The fish themselves look fine, no peeled or torn spots or anything.

[coltin]

I'm pretty sure fish don't just shed skin like that. Can you post a picture of the tank and the white stuff you're seeing? That way we can get a better idea of what's going on.

[KitchenPro]

The fish look the same as when I brought them home from the store. Initially, one was a bit aggressive towards the other, but after finding their own little hiding spots, they seem to be coexisting just fine.

[coltin]

The fish appears to resemble a young severum with a possible case of velvet. I'm wondering, is the species supposed to have those small gold spots on it? From what I can see, aside from the gold dust, which might be velvet but hopefully is just its natural coloration, the fish seems fine.

It's worth noting that fish do have a thin, clear layer of slime or mucous coating their bodies, but they don't usually shed this in large pieces like what's visible in the photo. Could there be something else in the tank that might have released mucous into the water, like a snail perhaps?

[KitchenPro]

The spots are probably just from the light, I don't think it's anything serious like a disease. Honestly, I'm not really sure what species the fish is since my dad was the one who got it from the store. I was looking at pictures online and I thought it might be a Buttikoferi Cichlid, but I'm not totally sure. As for the stuff in the tank, there's a tiny ghost shrimp, but it's way too small to have made something that big, right?

[coltin]

coltin said:

What's the size of the fish? It seems a bit off for a Buttikoferi, usually they're longer in the body but I guess it's possible if it's still small. If it's under an inch, maybe, but it looks too rounded, more like a discus.

If it is a Buttikoferi, just a heads up, they can get pretty big and feisty.

[KitchenPro]

I took another look, and I'm pretty sure it's a green severum. It's gonna get huge, like up to 12 inches long. Since my tank's only 30 gallons, I might upgrade to a 60-gallon once it reaches 7 or 8 inches - don't want it to get too cramped in there.

[coltin]

I've never come across a severum that reached 12 inches in length, personally the largest I've seen is around 6-7 inches, still a bigger tank will be necessary in the future.