Beani HITH?

[Stampion]

So I pick up 4 beani at airport,none of them were healthy all died within 4 weeks.They never ate that I saw at least ,had what were like holes in there heads chalk it up to shipping I thought.So I buy 8 more from another source smaller about 2 inches.I raised temp and heavily salted the tank before new arrivals.Few large water changes and lowered temp to 76 water parameters perfect except my ph tap it’s 7.3 my tank raises to 8.3 overnight?They reside in a heavily caved 125 checked all the rock and gravel with a drop of vinegar to be sure it wasn’t raising the ph.They eat very well and are fed nls thera a+ And veggie flakes also have done a 3 day feed of hex shield they all ate well.Now I think my dominant fish is getting holes in his head.Ive had them 3 weeks what can do?I do 25 gallon water changes every 3 days ,almost all fins and scales are intact they get along kinda no one fish is a target.Picture is of first batch

 

[Stampion]

View attachment 1309266 So I pick up 4 beani at airport,none of them were healthy all died within 4 weeks.They never ate that I saw at least ,had what were like holes in there heads chalk it up to shipping I thought.So I buy 8 more from another source smaller about 2 inches.I raised temp and heavily salted the tank before new arrivals.Few large water changes and lowered temp to 76 water parameters perfect except my ph tap it’s 7.3 my tank raises to 8.3 overnight?They reside in a heavily caved 125 checked all the rock and gravel with a drop of vinegar to be sure it wasn’t raising the ph.They eat very well and are fed nls thera a+ And veggie flakes also have done a 3 day feed of hex shield they all ate well.Now I think my dominant fish is getting holes in his head.Ive had them 3 weeks what can do?I do 25 gallon water changes every 3 days ,almost all fins and scales are intact they get along kinda no one fish is a target.Picture is of first batch

Start maybe of same thing ? This the new batch dominant fish

 

[tlindsey]

Start maybe of same thing ? This the new batch dominant fishView attachment 1309269

dan518
duanes

 

[Toiletcar]

The best thing to do now is water changes. Keep the temp at 76, and no need to lower the ph. 8 would be ok. It’s hard to tell if it’s HITH w/ those pics. The last pic, the fish looks healthy to me.
I think RD would know how to treat if HITH. Search in the disease section.

 

[duanes]

Beani are the northern most endemic cichlid found on the Pacific coast of Mexico.
The first group I acquired was an adult trio that died during an August heat wave, where my tanks water hit temps in the high of the mid 80s, from a bacterial infection. No other cichlids died during that time.
I then then picked up a group of 8 young beani, and put them in a tank without heaters, and room temp, temps hovering from 68-72'F. Within two months the most alpha of the pair were spawning. All did well, for as long as I kept them in those lower temps.

My take is that in the northern areas of Mexico where they live, are from cool waters sourced in the mountains of Sinaloa and are "not" constantly warm, and nights are also cool, keeping the average temp a little lower than I might keep other more southerly species of Central Americans.
I also put a coupe beani in my outdoor pond in Milwaukee where summer temps easily dropped into the 50sF, and they did well.
Below is one I pulled out in October, water was cold.

I also believe heat tends makes many bacteria more virulent, so raising temps can often be counter productive when treating bacteria diseases.

 

[Stampion]

The wet spot is where I got the 8 smaller fish kept them at 76,and COA where I got my first ones said there’s are kept in the 80’s.And I know my pictures are bad at best but under the eye and on the top of the head I see small holes Developing.My problem with ph is with every water change there’s big rapid swings doesn’t that have a negative effect on fish.So should I lower temp?Dont want to lose another batch of these

 

[duanes]

Since HITH is bacterial, I would not raise the temp, I would however gradually let it drop. Sure you raise temp for ick, because it hastens the life cycle and then easy to kill, but bacteria reproduce exponentially as temp rises, becoming a bigger and bigger problem.
Beani are riverine, so I doubt an average pH swing will be lethal, but I would imagine the natural waters are fairly high in pH that side of the mountains, as it is from California, south into there west of the Andes in S America..
What is the extent of the pH swing between water changes?
Does it drop and become acidic rapidly between water changes?
What is your water change schedule and volume?
What kind of "other' parameter readings are you getting?(Hardness, alkalinity)
What is the alkalinity of your tap water?

 

[Stampion]

I haven’t raised temp with fish in tank,I have been doing 25% water changes every other day,0 ammonia,0 nitrite,almost no nitrate.ph is 7.1 out of the tap with water change tank drops to 7.3,4 then within 12 hours it’s back up to 8.1.I’m guessing I run a couple aeration sticks causing the ph to rise.There the only fish in tank That’s been up for a few years had to move festae pair to bigger tank.Filtered with a fx6 and a eheim 2216.So u think I should lower tank temp slowly to the low 70’s?thanks for the help

 

[duanes]

Sounds like there is a lot if dissolved gas in the tap water (mostly CO2), that quickly dissipate, bringing pH up to 8.1 (which I consider perfect for beani).
And if it were me, low to mid 70sF are where I would keep the water temp.

 

[Stampion]

I’m not really concerned about the 8.1,what my concern is the fluctuations in ph when doing every other day water changes.I drip acclimated them because of differences in ph.What part does ph levels play in the stress on fish?