My fish looks like it has a hole. Help

[Emeryrivkha]

I live in FL. We lost power in hurricane Irma after we got it back I noticed one of my red eye tetra looked like it lost a scale, (I did a water change) as the days passed it now looks like a hole, and I also noticed one of the fins underneath looks to be 1/2 the length of the other, ( I did a 50% water change yesterday). before I changed the water the pH was approximately 7.8, ammonia 0, nitrite o, nitrate 10 (with API liquid tests), and the tempature is 78F. The aquarium has been set up for almost 2 year. It's a 10 gal tank with 3 red eye tetra. It has a tetra whisper 20i filter and an air pump in it. (I will be changing the filter soon) please help it looks like it hurts but the fish is acting normal except she does swim slightly tilted to the side with the shorter fin.

 

[Cup o' Joe]

First of all your tank parameters sound fine although I would caution against doing 50% water changes as that can cause a lot of stress for your fish. Generally from what I've heard if you have to make a big change back to back 25% changes are better, and you should never go above 50% in a short amount of time.

Is the fish eating regularly? Does it have abnormal fecal matter? I'm not an expert (hopefully one will get to you soon!) so I can't speak authoritatively on what might be causing it. My guess is hole-in-head but the symptoms don't match the description completely so I'm hesitant to say that. My suggestion is to go ahead and start treating with some sort of preventative generic medication like API General Cure or Tetra LifeGuard unless you get a reply soon from someone who knows more about fish diseases. Good luck with that! I'm glad your home is mostly OK after Irma.

 

[SeanTrollope]

no wait dont just go ahead and start medicating.

secondly the 50 % water changes are to large. especially since the water parameters are OK. i would also suggest that 20-25% would be less stressful while still being ample.

 

[Emeryrivkha]

My fishes appetite is normal and her head doesn't seam to have any abnormalities of it helps here's a picture of what it looked like when I first noticed.

 

[Cup o' Joe]

I will have to respectfully disagree with Sean on this one. General medications like ones I just listed have no known harmful side effects for tetras. Some people even use them as a preventative when adding new fish to aquariums (the manufacturer even suggests it). In this case where your fish has, if not some more serious disease, at least what appears to be an open wound, it's beneficial to have some generic medicine to prevent any new infections from occurring.

If the fish is eating regularly and exhibiting no other symptoms, I don't think it's hole-in-head. Hexamita is far more debilitating. Is it possible that the other fish caused the injury? Are there any sharp objects in the tank that it could've caught on? I find it unlikely that one of the others caused it but I'm just trying to cover all the bases here.

Also, on a side note, how old are your fish? I've heard that these things can just randomly occur for older fish, perhaps merely as a result of aging or vitamin deficiencies.

Anyway, if you can't find any other reasons my suggestion is to just carefully observe for any worsening signs. If your budget permits consider getting something like what I suggested to prevent any infections. I got Tetra LifeGuard for just $10 off Amazon with Prime, treated my 16 Gallon 3 times with generally decent results.

 

[Emeryrivkha]

Would seachem's paraguard work do you think that's to strong?

 

[SeanTrollope]

the strength can be reduced just by adding less.

 

[SeanTrollope]

I will have to respectfully disagree with Sean on this one. General medications like ones I just listed have no known harmful side effects for tetras. Some people even use them as a preventative when adding new fish to aquariums (the manufacturer even suggests it). In this case where your fish has, if not some more serious disease, at least what appears to be an open wound, it's beneficial to have some generic medicine to prevent any new infections from occurring

fair enough i understand. yes these medications do help. the reason i try and avoid adding things to my fish tank is because these sort of things always have side effects.