Losing skin

My tanks seems to have taken a turn for the worse over the past week or so. On the weekend I did a 50% water change, scrubbed all the stuff I could scrub, did a thorough algae-scrape on the glass and squeezed out the filter to get any solids and hopefully make it do a better job.

I previously had a few feeder fish that appear to have been a little more aggressive than those I've had before, as both Juju and Aztec have nibbled gills (ie. the feathery bits are shorter and appear bitten off, not the actual branches). Of course I've taken those fish out now.

My main concern is that Juju appears to be shedding skin; it's peeling off in places (mostly around his belly and under his jaw). The veins in his tail have also been quite visible over the past few days, maybe a week, leading me to believe he's not happy.

I've tested pH and ammonia and they're fine, temperature's slightly higher than normal - but never higher than 20 degrees. The only recent change in the tank has been the removal of dying plants, but that was a few weeks ago and I don't see how that could still be affecting the water quality, considering I do a water change every week.

I'm really worried about Juju (Aztec is not losing skin, but I think wildtype skin is hardier than leucistic skin) - what could it be?

Um, please? I'm really worried, can't anybody help me?

My best guess would be that any ammonia/nitrite spikes you had when the plants died burned some of his skin and caused minor tissue damage. The flaking you see now would be the damaged skin shedding off normally, same as when you get a burn and the blister eventually sheds to expose the new skin... I'm sorry it's not much, but that's my best guess!

Aximander had some flaky shedding skin that showed up a few days after I brought her home, and it's cleared up now. I attributed that to poor water quality at the store, hopefully it's the same with Juju!

The same thing happened to one of my axies. The bad water quality from the pet shop caused her skin to shed. After about 3 days it cleared up.

It could be from your 50% water change also.

Hopefully Juju gets better soon.

Why would it be from the water change, Amanda?

Ok, well Juju seems to be healing - the skin is still flaking off a little, but much less now.

However, now both the axies are floating.

I'm at a complete loss as to what's going on. Should I do a complete tank clean out and start again?

Well, step one would be to do a complete water test. This should clear up any questions regarding water quality. As for the floating, I'd lower the water level to a point where they are able to put their feet on something. Generally, floating will pass, as it usually means that they have gas (or need to burp).