Who Gives A Fish Forums

I was doing a routine water change on my 75g cichlid tank yesterday, and I came across this little guy. Got him out and isolated him in a hospital tank right away.

Prior to the water change, my tank parameters were:
Temp - 80 F (26.6 C)
pH - 8.2
Ammonia - 0ppm
Nitrite - 0ppm
Nitrate - around 20ppm

Anybody have an idea what's going on with this guy so I can start treating him? He's still eating fine, but he's glass surfing a lot, which is worrying me.

Could be a fungus issue, does it have a fuzzy appearance.

I'm inclined to think it's an injury. Considering the parameters you've got, I'd recommend doing 50% water changes daily for the next week. Adding some aquarium salt could be beneficial - 1 tablespoon per gallon of dechlorinated water should do the trick. Just make sure to dissolve the salt first before adding it to the tank. When you do your daily water changes, add 50% of the dissolved salt back in, so that's 1/2 tablespoon per gallon. The salt has astringent properties that'll help combat any bacteria.

Aquarium salt is pretty awesome, it's an astringent that fights bacteria. It also helps reduce stress on the fish, which is a big plus.