Hole in the head??

[bnhouse]

Hey guys,

Am new to dwarf cichlids and just got this apisto today when I saw what looked like an injury on his head? Does this look like Hole in the Head or just a scrape? Cheers

 

[MacZ]

Sorry, impossible to tell. The picture is too blurry and marking the spot never really helps, as it takes away the contrast.

Please take a better picture and copy and fill out the emergency template.

Template for disease/parasite/death cases

This template contains the most important questions to be answered when dealing with sick or dead fish to find causes and advise on treatments. Please copy and paste into a new thread and answer the questions as precise as possible. Water parameters should be given in numbers. "Fine" or "good"...

apistogramma.com

 

[bnhouse]

Sorry, impossible to tell. The picture is too blurry and marking the spot never really helps, as it takes away the contrast.

Please take a better picture and copy and fill out the emergency template.

Template for disease/parasite/death cases

This template contains the most important questions to be answered when dealing with sick or dead fish to find causes and advise on treatments. Please copy and paste into a new thread and answer the questions as precise as possible. Water parameters should be given in numbers. "Fine" or "good"...

apistogramma.com

Hey mate sorry I didn’t include it. I must add the abnormal nitrite reading would be due to me having just removed the sponge filter from the tank.

Which animal is affected? Species, sex, age? (If age unknown: How long have you had the fish?) Apistogramma Trifasciata and I have had it just today

What are the symptoms? Any changes in look, behaviour, bearing, buoyancy, fecies?
No behavioural symptoms just the physical sign
How long has the problem been going on? (Timeline?)
Just today

What's the full stocking list?
Hengeli Rasbora, corydoras sodalis, starlight pleco, Pygmy corys and the apisto

Any changes in the behaviour of the other fish?
No

What size is the tank? (Preferrably dimensions, not volume!)
70L

How long is the tank running?
About a year and a half

Have there been any changes in the past 2 months? New animals, plants, decoration?
New plants and removal of the sponge filter

What food are the fish fed? How much, how often?
Once a day with various hikari dry foods as well as blood worms/ white worms

What is the temperature?
27 degrees celcius

What are the water parameters? (Please note all known tank and source water parameters in numbers! Not "good", "optimal" or "perfect"!)
pH: 7.4
GH: NA
KH: NA
EC/TDS: NA
NO3: 40ppm
NO2: 0.5ppm
NH3/4: 0ppm

What test kit did you use? (liquid, strips, store service?)
Liquid

Are you using water conditioners or any other additives? (e.g. dechlorinators, humic/blackwater extracts, fertilizers)
Prime as a dechlorinator

What filter are you using? (Canister, sponge, internal, mattenfilter?)
Internal

What's the maintenance regimen? (Waterchange volume and frequency, thorough cleaning of filters/substrate?)

Water change once a week about 40% and can’t clean substrate due to heavily planted floor

Have there been any chemicals used around the tank? (Cleaning agents, room sprays, wall paint, adhesives...)

No

Are there any unknown animals in the tank?
No

If so, what meds have been used? (Timeline!)
NA

 

[MacZ]

If you only got the fish today nothing is of importance, really. Most likely it's an injury from being netted at the store. Keep a keen eye on it.

Why did you remove the filter?

Otherwise: Temperature and Nitrates are uncomfortably high and you are probably overstocked in more than one sense (numbers and space requirements of the species you've got.)
At least the pleco and the Corydoras sodalis should be moved to a bigger tank.

can’t clean substrate due to heavily planted floor

What exactly do you mean? Too densely plated so you can't reach the bottom or do you have a floor covering plant?
If the latter you are depriving Corydoras and Apistogramma of reaching the substrate (hopefully sand), which is an essential for these fish. They require fine sand for their main mode of feeding wihich is chewing (Apistogramma) and digging (Corydoras) in the sand for food particles and small invertebrates.

 

[bnhouse]

If you only got the fish today nothing is of importance, really. Most likely it's an injury from being netted at the store. Keep a keen eye on it.

Why did you remove the filter?

Otherwise: Temperature and Nitrates are uncomfortably high and you are probably overstocked in more than one sense (numbers and space requirements of the species you've got.)
At least the pleco and the Corydoras sodalis should be moved to a bigger tank.


What exactly do you mean? Too densely plated so you can't reach the bottom or do you have a floor covering plant?
If the latter you are depriving Corydoras and Apistogramma of reaching the substrate (hopefully sand), which is an essential for these fish. They require fine sand for their main mode of feeding wihich is chewing (Apistogramma) and digging (Corydoras) in the sand for food particles and small invertebrates.

Thank you for the fast replies,

Removed the sponge filter as a friend needed it for a quarantine tank. Am planning on rehoming the Corys asap to deal with stocking. Only a small part of the floor is covered with a carpet so the Cory’s and apisto can definitely reach the food and the substrate is a small pebble they can dig through. just for reference what does hole in the head look like?

Cheers

 

[MacZ]

Stock reorganisation: Good decision, necessary.
Ideal grain size for the substrate is under 1mm, preferably even under 0.5mm.
Look closely at any fishes head. You will see small holes, socalled sensory pits. The fish have sensory cells there. When they get Spironucleus (the stuff that causes HITH), the pits erode, and become bigger, causing open wounds. These get infected secondarily by bacteria. That looks loke white dots on the head and along the lateral line organ.