Big dovii and hole in the head

[mto]

I have a very fine specimen of a wolf cichlid. He is very close to 20in at this point and all seams well with him. I have taken great care of the fish I keep his tank clean and diversify his food. Thankfully he eats the big pellets, cubes of blood worms, jumbo shrimp you find in the grocery store and occasionally night crawlers or a frozen mouse. However someone noticed recently that he may be getting hole in the head. I removed the charcoal filters and put some stress zym and anti-clarion stuff in the tank. I am not for sure if it is hole in the head because it does not seam to be getting worse or better. Is this something that big fish normally get and should I be worried about it at all? Any advise?

This fish is absolutely psychotic and much much more intelligent then I have ever expected. Thankfully I have him weened off of feeders so he is slightly more docile. It has gotten to the point I had to remove the lids because he was beating them so hard I was worried he was going to shatter them. This fish is quite powerful as well with his fangs I am sure he would rip plenty of flesh from my fingers if he ever got to them. And how he torques his body when he bites makes me think he could dislocate a finger if not break it as well. I tried the ping pong ball thing but within 20 minutes I found them half way across the room and water all over the floor. Although he gets the walls and floors wet no matter what. I noticed he is clever enough to know the difference between my syphon and flesh. He eye balls my hand and just waits for me to accidentally get my hand close to the water, smart fish. When someone puts a hand to the tank of course he attacks but he hits so hard it you can feel it through the floor like someone stomped from another room. My syphon is pretty hard plastic but his bite is strong enough there are scratches all over it. My old syphon was a little softer and he was shredding it apart. A few years ago my pleco died a couple years ago so I went out got about a 7in pleco. Thinking that was large enough to survive well the next day I woke to the pleco hanging half out of the cichlids mouth. The dovii’s jaws must dislocate like a snake or something like that because it looked like his head was twice the normal size (I do have pics if you wish). He is in a 120 with large gravel not a fancy set up at all. Not like I could do anything cool, the fish would destroy it.

Some pictures of him.
http://gallery.me.com/jacobsommer#100356

A video of the thing attacking a LASER.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gp3atN-JDI8

 

[NWatson]

 

[Ang]

Funny video.

I cant see the gallery though and so i cant assess whether it is actually HITH

But HITH has many theorized causes.

Diet,
Water quality
Charcoal
Stray Voltage
The parasite Hexamita

HITH doesnt heal quickly. So if you noticed it and tried to treat it, dont expect results too quickly. It takes a long time to heal. Sometimes, it scars them for life and the pit might be "healed", but you still see the scar.

That tank looks pretty small for him btw, you may want to upgrade to avoid such frequent water changes.

By keeping his tank clean, explain this more.
Water change schedule,
what all the parameters are at.
what temp you keep the water
do you regularily check water parameters for sudden changes?


You could also go further and check the tank for stray voltage.

You can also get some Metronidazole and treat for possible Hexamita.

 

[mto]

What do you mean by stray voltage? Wouldn't that kill a fish? How do you check that?

 

[Ang]

Most tanks have it actually. Stray voltage from heaters, filters, light fixtures. If the water itself isnt grounded, there are stray volts going through the water. It doesnt electrocute the fish, but its theorized that the stray voltage plays havoc with their sensory pits and lateral lines.

You detect it using a volt/amp meter. I believe its the Positive end goes in the water and the grounding end goes in the ground plug of a 3 prong outlet. (or ground it somehow)

Then it will show you how many volts/amps are going through the water.
Its kind of hard to believe just how many there are.
For fish suseptable to HITH like Oscars, i need all the help i can get.

So i bought a Ground Probe. It just plugs into a grounded outlet and the metal part suctions inside the tank.

 

[mto]

No that current build up makes sense, I took studied electrical engineering for a bit. It’s just something that never occurred to me. I wonder if the electro magnetics in the pumps contribute to any static build up. I almost feel bad for the fish now.
As far as his diet goes do you think I should add anything else or modify it any way?
I just want to try and keep him as healthy as I can. After about 9 years he is almost part of the family as corny as that sounds.
Oh and I got the gravel in the back of a Lowes so it defiantly not aquarium grade. Is something like that known to continuously cloud the tank up?
Thanks for all your help!

 

[D-Train]

Check your water parameters just before one of your routine water changes. Adjust your schedule to those numbers. If thats a 20" fish than it produces a lot of waste for that small tank and you might need to be doing more frequent water changes.

 

[D-Train]

yep.

 

[rED O]

Check your water parameters just before one of your routine water changes. Adjust your schedule to those numbers. If thats a 20" fish than it produces a lot of waste for that small tank and you might need to be doing more frequent water changes.

 

[Ang]

No that current build up makes sense, I took studied electrical engineering for a bit. It’s just something that never occurred to me. I wonder if the electro magnetics in the pumps contribute to any static build up. I almost feel bad for the fish now.
As far as his diet goes do you think I should add anything else or modify it any way?
I just want to try and keep him as healthy as I can. After about 9 years he is almost part of the family as corny as that sounds.
Oh and I got the gravel in the back of a Lowes so it defiantly not aquarium grade. Is something like that known to continuously cloud the tank up?
Thanks for all your help!

doesnt sound corny. I love my Oscar. I've had him 5 years.

If you really want him to live as long as possible, its water changes that are key. No less than 25% each week. More if he eats more, or if you feed him something messy.

His diet sounds fine. Supplementing with meal worms, earthworms, crickets. That stuff is great for them.
You can even buy Vita-Chem which is a liquid vitamin supplement you can soak his pellets in before you feed him.

Also, the gravel. I dont know, but if you've had it 9 years, i doubt its a problem. However, if you arent sure, you can look into sand substrate like I have. I use pool filter sand. You can actually get it from Leslie's pool supply or something like it. Just ask for pool filter sand. Its like $9 for a 50 lb bag or some rediclous cheep amount.

I will never go back to gravel after pool filter sand. Its heavy enough to hoover with your siphon, but you dont risk your fish choking if they accidentaly inhale some while attacking their food or whatever. Plus it looks way better, doesnt make so much noise when they dig through it.. It just is better.
It also does not affect PH at all. Just rinse in a bucket, then add to tank.


Water changes. without fail.
vitamin supplement. Especially since he's getting up there in age.
maybe a substrate change - if only for looks LOL
and you could get a ground probe just for peace of mind.

If you still notice holes developing, try Metronidazole for possible Hexamita. A parasite that causes HITH. Usually its not the case, but if you have fed him feeders at any point in time, he could have gotten it.


Just be thorough, and up those water changes.
Dont forget to rinse out the sponges in your filters. Dirty clogged filters cant clean the water.
(just make sure to rinse filters with tank water, no tap water)


I'm just listing everything i can think of.