Hole in the head on geos and sevs ?

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Matt S

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Feb 7, 2012
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Do sevs and geos have visible sensory pits that run up there head and around there eyes ? The fish range from 3 to 12.5 inches so either all my fish are developing hole in the head and I couldn't see how or its just sensory pits I tried getting pics but you can't see it threw the phone on my camera
They are feed NLS as stable and bloodworms and brine shrimp every third day
75 percent water change every other day
Tanks running on 2 fx5's it's 180 gallons


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My experience keeping many cichlids over the year is that only soft water fish are susceptable to HITH desease. I had Geo surinamsis, Geo jerupari, Discus and Angel fish infected with HITH but never once with my African and CA cichlids that thrive in hard water. I have never kept Oscar, but heard that Oscar, another soft water fish from Amazon, is highly vulnerable to HITH.

You haven't mentioned what pH and hardness you are keeping your fish. If your source water is hard, even frequent water change may not revert the HITH symptoms.
 
My ph is at a stable 6.8 I could check the water again but I kept oscars for years in the same conditions and not once did they ever have hith that's why I don't understand is it possible that it is just sensory pits ?


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I've never been able to see sensory pits on the faces on my Geos (I've kept winemilleri, brachybranchus, orange heads, and parnaibae) but I can sometimes see them on my severums. I notice it the most when the severums are exhibiting darker color, like during spawning or when they're in defensive mode. They will show very tiny pinhole marks up the snout and on the top of the eye. These marks are always present and they never expand into anything worse, so I'm assuming it isn't HITH. I've seen it from 2" fry right up to adults.

I've always read that if the dots are symmetrical then it's not HITH but rather sensory pits. I don't know if this is true or not.
 
My tap water has GH around 5, which is close to Lake Malawi GH of between 6 to 10. In comparison to Amazon Basin water where Geophagus and Discus fish came from, the GH there is < 1. All my Geo species came up with HITH, despite I do 75% water change every other week. When the fish is small, the HITH is not noticeable at all. But as the fish grow large, the pits on the head get bigger and more obvious. It was so gross at one point that my Geo Surimnesis looks like a swimming and eating skull. In order to keep these fish healthy, you have to mix in with reverse osmosis water.
 
ryansmith83 said:
I've never been able to see sensory pits on the faces on my Geos (I've kept winemilleri, brachybranchus, orange heads, and parnaibae) but I can sometimes see them on my severums. I notice it the most when the severums are exhibiting darker color, like during spawning or when they're in defensive mode. They will show very tiny pinhole marks up the snout and on the top of the eye. These marks are always present and they never expand into anything worse, so I'm assuming it isn't HITH. I've seen it from 2" fry right up to adults.

I've always read that if the dots are symmetrical then it's not HITH but rather sensory pits. I don't know if this is true or not.
Click to expand...

You described it perfectly like little pin holes and they don't get bigger if noticed it like 3 months ago and it's still present but hasn't expanded
If it was HITH it would have expanded by now correct ?


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