hole in the head ? german rams...

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H

haysanatar

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
May 20, 2008
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Tennessee
I went to feed my fish today..
and I noticed that one of my German rams (my favorite.. my first ram the most colorful best marked dominate male of course)
had what looked like a pimple a bump right above his right eye..
I'm about 80% sure its hole in the head..
luckily I caught it early (I think??)
its not a hole yet. its just a bump on the head.
and I know it happened in the last 28 hours or so.

as of now I have him moved into a 5 gallon with some salt perfect water protein rich food and I'm gonna slowly raise the temp till I can get some meds for him

does this sound like hole in the head.
and am I doing the right thing.

I know its supposed to hit larger cichlids..
and rams aren't large ...
but could it be?
is it?
if not what else could it be.

it should be noted that just this last week I dropped my tank from 84 to 78 (over the course of a few days)
planted some new plants (which stirred up a bit o dirt)
and put in a carbon filter (I usually don't use carbon)
and I've got a 30 count thing of worms and threw them in the tank for my ropes. (possible parasites?)
 
if any one could help me out with this it'd be just swell :)
hopefully before I go to work tomorrow.
 
take out the carbon as some studies believe it may be linked to HITH. you dont need carbon. carbon will be detrimental to your plants anyway.
what are you feeding the rams?
how many water changes per week are you doing and how much water (% please)?
what do these worms look like and how big?

also photos would be more helpful than any description.
the main causes for HITH appear to be poor diet coupled with poor or a slack maintenance schedule. i have noticed that it seems more of a problem in countries that use feeder fish as in 19 years of fishkeeping i had never heard come across HITH until i came onto american dominated forums like this a couple of years back.

oh and give people more than 16 minutes to reply, they will get to you.
 
can't find my camera.
and they/re mid sized red worms.
I do anywhere from 30-50% water changes every week and a half or so.
and I feed them a mixture of flake cichlid, staple mini pelets, shrimp pellets, and tetra color granules.
I do throw in feeder guppies from time to time though.
I'll see if I can get a pic of it by tonight.
thanks for the help.
 
forget the feeders as your fish take pellets ok. they offer very little in nutrition anyway. feeders are only good for fish that refuse dead/pellet food and for owners who have a major god complex IMO.
their diet is very varied from the prepared foods you mentioned and this will be enough.
what do you mean by "mid sized" worms?
are they closer to brown/dark red (burgendy) or are they bright (blood) red?

look here and see if it looks like any of the nematodes on the page : http://www.aquarium-pond-answers.com/2007/03/trematodes-and-nematodes-in-fish.html
 
total miss communication...
I've been feeding my rope fish earthworms black trout worms.
ha they don't have worms THAT I"VE SEEN
 
well what should I do I separated him added salt and raised temp...
 
i think thats about all you can do for HITH. make sure water quality is excellent and give nothing but quality prepared foods. if its HITH it should get better but it can take weeks to repair.
if it doesnt start to get better after a week or 2 then a pic will be needed to give a firm diagnosis. i am pretty sure that HITH does not start with a bump as its the sensory pits eroding but clean water, good food and isolation can only help.
maybe try some anti-bacterial and anti fungal meds like melafix and pimafix to ensure that any possible infection does not get a chance to go further. these 2 can be mixed so you get both meds in at the same time.
as its a bump it could be as simple as a scrape thats a little swollen.
 
i hope so my males do go at it from time to time.
but.. this one is the alpha
 
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