Sick Rusty

so i have noticed over the last few days one of my rusty's hanging out by himself

eating but grabbing some food then going back to his corner. then i noticed last night

that his mouth is all white. so i put him in a QT tank this morning with some pimafix.

i checked the parameters of the main tank and all readings are 0 with nitrates less

than 5ppm. all the other fish seem healthy and are very active. i have been watching

the tank very closely for the last week or 2 and i have not noticed any sort of fighting

or chasing with any of the fish. he was in a tank with 4 of each of the following:
yellow labs
rustys
red zebras
afra chimate

should add pimafix also?

when should i try to feed him as i do not want to foul the QT tank water as i cannot do a water

change for 7 days? i do not want to fast an unhealthy fish.

any tip suggestions would be greatly appreciated

thanks

Paul

Is it white from liplocking with other fish or is it more like a white growth? It's pretty common for cichlids to be white around the lips from sparring with each other. Sounds to me like he might have gotten into a fight and got his butt kicked. That would explain both the white lips and hiding out in a corner. The great news is it's still eating

As long as the fish is eating you probably got nothing to worry about. As Mike are saying it´s normal for mbuna to be white around the mouth because of fighting. I think almost all my demasoni and maingano have those fight injuries.

here is the best pic i could get. i noticed this on his body last night.
his mouth has seemed to get better and he would not turn around to take a pic.
its seems like a a scratch of some sort and does not look like anything is growing,
its not fuzzy or anything... ignore the marks by his head its a scratch on the tank

my biggest concern right now is that he is the only one who hasnt really grown

the other rusty's are almost double his size. maybe hes a runt? i know he is eating

b.c i have watched him eat everyday

It sounds and looks like aggression to me as well. Mine get the marks on the sides and the white lips. I posted a video a while back of a little skirmish between two males. http://www.riftlakecichlids.com/t949-rusties-video-iodotropheus-sprengerae

He could be a runt -- I've had the occasional fish that stays much smaller than the others the same age. Are you sure it's a male?

Also, I see no reason to hold off on water changes. If the fish is in a small tank, I'd do them every day.

RIP,,, my poor rusty didnt make it... he died last night. by the time i got home
more than half of his body turned all white.

Dang, sorry to hear that

Sorry you lost your fish.