Flower horn

[Libbyloo1002]

Hi , my flowerhorns bump on his head has shrunk and he has small white things like white gravel on his head , also down his backbone his skin looks raw can anyone help

 

[Slaphppy7]

Welcome to TFF

Pics of the fish would certainly help

 

[Libbyloo1002]

Ok I'll go take a fish pic now

 

[Libbyloo1002]

Just took these ones , I don't think he's very well

 

[Libbyloo1002]

Sorry about the glass as he flipped when I took pics n splashed right down tank

 

[Slaphppy7]

That looks bad....what size tank is this? How long has it been set up? Is it cycled?

@Colin_T , have a look

 

[Libbyloo1002]

That looks bad....what size tank is this? How long has it been set up? Is it cycled?

@Colin_T , have a look

It's a 240litre and has been set up for at least 2 yrs . He had hole in the head last year but it healed up with Octozin I bought . Jasper is 3yrs old now . And also he's in the tank on his own ..

 

[Libbyloo1002]

It's a 240litre and has been set up for at least 2 yrs . He had hole in the head last year but it healed up with Octozin I bought . Jasper is 3yrs old now . And also he's in the tank on his own ..

His tank is cleaned every 2 weeks and water tested for pH. I've just cleaned today and his pH was really low but added bicarb and brought it back up to 7 n a half

 

[emeraldking]

Hi and welcome to TFF...
You could post a topic about your problem in the Tropical Fish Emergencies section.

 

[Colin_T]

cant tell anything from those pictures.

 

[Essjay]

You could post a topic about your problem in the Tropical Fish Emergencies section.

I have moved this thread to Tropical Fish Emergencies.

 

[foxgirl158]

His tank is cleaned every 2 weeks and water tested for pH. I've just cleaned today and his pH was really low but added bicarb and brought it back up to 7 n a half

Do you test anything other than pH? Ammonia, nitrite, nitrate for example?
If so, those results would help.
ETA: Can we get a picture of the whole tank as well please?

 

[Libbyloo1002]

I have moved this thread to Tropical Fish Emergencies.

Thank you . I'll get some clearer photos in morning ,

Do you test anything other than pH? Ammonia, nitrite, nitrate for example?
If so, those results would help.
ETA: Can we get a picture of the whole tank as well please?

Yes nitrates were a bit high test that with the dip sticks . Here are some pics . Any help would be muchly appreciated .Jasper is a good fish although he bites .

 

[Libbyloo1002]

Sorry I posted multiple photos of the same but just learned how to do it on here . Oopsie

 

[Colin_T]

Hi , my flowerhorns bump on his head has shrunk and he has small white things like white gravel on his head , also down his backbone his skin looks raw can anyone help

New pics don't really offer much either

But white things coming out of a cichlid's head are usually caused by hexamita (hole in the head disease). This is normally found in dirty tanks with a lot of rotting gunk in the gravel and filter.

It starts out with the fish developing little white bumps that look like pimples. After a few days they start to look like small white worms coming out of the head. Then the white stuff goes and the fish has holes/ pits in the head.

To prevent this disease, all cichlid tanks should get a big (75%) water change at least once a week. The substrate should be gravel cleaned whenever you do a water change. Filters should be cleaned at least once a month. Nitrates need to be kept under 20ppm at all times.

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Treatment involves cleaning up the tank, filter and gravel, and adding some salt. If salt doesn't fix it, then you need Metronidazole. However, salt will normally cure most cases if caught early and the tank is cleaned.

Wipe the inside of the glass down with a clean fish sponge. This removes the biofilm on the glass and the biofilm will contain lots of harmful bacteria, fungus, protozoans and various other microscopic life forms.

Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day for a week. The water changes and gravel cleaning will reduce the number of disease organisms in the water and provide a cleaner environment for the fish to recover in. It also removes a lot of the gunk and this means any medication can work on treating the fish instead of being wasted killing the pathogens in the gunk.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank.

Clean the filter if it hasn't been done in the last 2 weeks. However, if the filter is less than 6 weeks old, do not clean it. Wash the filter materials/ media in a bucket of tank water and re-use the media. Tip the bucket of dirty water on the garden/ lawn. Cleaning the filter means less gunk and cleaner water with fewer pathogens.

Add some salt, (see directions below).

Increase surface turbulence/ aeration to maximise the dissolved oxygen in the water.

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SALT
You can add rock salt (often sold as aquarium salt) or swimming pool salt to the aquarium at the dose rate of 2 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres (5 gallons).

Keep the salt level like this for at least 2 weeks but no longer than 4 weeks otherwise kidney damage can occur. Kidney damage is more likely to occur in fish from soft water (tetras, Corydoras, angelfish, Bettas & gouramis, loaches) that are exposed to high levels of salt for an extended period of time, and is not an issue with livebearers, rainbowfish or other salt tolerant species.

The salt will not affect the beneficial filter bacteria, fish, plants, shrimp or snails.

After you use salt and the fish have recovered, you do a 10% water change each day for a week using only fresh water that has been dechlorinated. Then do a 20% water change each day for a week. Then you can do bigger water changes after that. This dilutes the salt out of the tank slowly so it doesn't harm the fish.

If you do water changes while using salt, you need to treat the new water with salt before adding it to the tank. This will keep the salt level stable in the tank and minimise stress on the fish.

When you first add salt, add the salt to a small bucket of tank water and dissolve the salt. Then slowly pour the salt water into the tank near the filter outlet. Add the salt over a couple of minutes.