Electric Blue Ram - looks like fungus or hole in the head

[jonnyuk]

hi all, i'm having issues with my male ram, it looks like it has a fungus on the side of its head, by it's eye. I thought it was the start of hole in the head but i'm just not sure what it is now.
i bought a pair 1 and half weeks ago (from pets@home, i know but i could tell in the tank they where a pair and given how hard they are to find i thought why not, they also looked healthy, as did the rest of the fish in the tank). Both rams are eating well, eating a selection of frozen food out of a pipet.
the male has lost colour, half way up the body but is carrying good weight and general is swimming fine, fins look fine etc.

I'm on my last day of treating with esha 2000 and esha hex (at the time thought it was hith and a secondary fungus). i'm also using esha optima in the food.

i do two water changes a week, my nitrates are a little high at 15ppm, my temp is a little low at 24c, it's a heavily planted tank so my kh and ph are about right for rams.

*edit*, the pics are taken yesterday, since then the white fluff hanging off has gone
thanks

 

[jonnyuk]

just fed him again, generally seems ok but i am noticing one gill is sticking out further and seems more gill movement, any help greatly appreciated as i think he is still more than savable if i treat him right, quickly
thanks

 

[Guyb93]

hexamitiasis and hole in the head disease most commonly affect perciform fish, particularly cichlid fish.

 

[jonnyuk]

thats what led to believe it was, but unless its an early stage it's not really leaving a hole, it still has the white fungus looking stuff, and the protruding gill worries me

 

[Guyb93]

I dunno mate first thing that came to mind being a cichlid is hole in head , don’t know how to treat it I’m sure other member can give you better answers

 

[Stefan3289]

That to me does not look like hole in the head personally. Maybe @Wills @PheonixKingZ or @Deanasue might know. I feel like there was a recent post similar to this

 

[Stefan3289]

Have you seen the other fish bully him (biting mostly) I know in my SA cichlid tank someone’s the severums get a bit mean toward the acara and one of them has a missing blur patch. If he did get biten, it could be an open sore that got infected.

 

[jonnyuk]

no bully, they are a pair, even take it turns at feeding time. i have some corry's in the tank but they are the only fish

 

[FishGuest5123]

Do you live in the US?

 

[jonnyuk]

nope, the UK. I have ordered on the bay API's general cure as that has the antibiotics in it, in the UK we can't get hold of anything like that apart from the Vets, who will want to see the fish which is a non starter

 

[Wills]

It looks like fungus rather than hole in the head. I’ve never seen dwarfs with hole in the head to be fair. I’d treat it with lots of water changes and a mix of melfix and primafix

 

[FishGuest5123]

That looks like an injury. He either ran into something (or got knocked into something) Or got hs head stuck in something. If you live in the US, I would order some Seachem Kanaplex just to prevent infection from setting in. If not, then daily 70% water changes along with dissolved aquarium salt. First day, add 1 tablespoon per every 5 gallons of water. After that, 3/4 tablespoon of aquarium salt dissolved after each 70% water change. Do this for 10 days. Keep water very clean!

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

nope, the UK. I have ordered on the bay API's general cure as that has the antibiotics in it, in the UK we can't get hold of anything like that apart from the Vets, who will want to see the fish which is a non starter

We can get eSHa-2000 in the UK, good for bacterial and fungal infections, which could help if it's an injury with a secondary fungal or bacteria infection, or potentially help if it's something else. It can affect your nitrifying bateria though, caused a mini cycle when I used it, but if you know and you're prepared and ready to do water tests and water changes, it doesn't take long to get back on track. Mini cycle lasted like 2 days for me.

Just a suggestion, especially if the API is being sent from the states, and you can get hold of eSHa-2000 faster.

 

[jonnyuk]

currently treating with esha 2000 and esha hexamita, on my last of the 3 day treatment. i plan a two big water changes tomorrow (on in the morning, one in the afternoon), then i'm open to suggestions on treatment, could i use the salt treatment with another esha 2000 treatment?
i also have corry's, can they take then dosage of salt?

 

[PheonixKingZ]

I agree with some of the above... it just looks like a skin injury to me.

Large daily water changes will help that heal fast.