Something with my male festae that is. It seems to have larger holes where its senseory holes are supposed to be. They noticable larger than his other brothers and sisters. He also seems to ocasianaly have a red/clear poop. Water parameters are good, change 50% or more water every week, and he is on a hikari base with occasional treat(bloodworms, beefheart, earthworms, shrimp, freezedried krill). He is the dominant male of the tank and seems to be eating and swimming fine. Any ideas?
something doesnt look right
- Thread starter tk750s
- Start date
i saw white stringy poop out of a couple of them which leads me to believe it coulkd be a parasite. I bought some jungle parasite clear which ive had good results from in the past. I dont know what could be causing the small holes in the head though?
Jungle Parasite Clear would be good. It sounds like Hole In The Head but it's hard to tell without pics. What are your nitrates? I'm assuming ammonia & nitrites are always zero. How big of tank and how many fish are in it?
it could be hole in the head or another flagellate disease. i dont know if i spelled that right but theres parasites living in the oscar stomachs which usually the fish's immune system can take care of, but if it gets stressed or the water is not great sometimes the immune system slows down and the parasites cause hole in the head or discolored feces. ive had oscars with it that looked and acted completely healthy too. there is medication for it though
Diet seems okay to me. Does it still eat well? White poo doesn't always mean it's internal parasites. If you are still concerned, stick to praziquantel as it is a mild treatment. Please post pics of the affected areas.
i used some jungle clear parasite, and it seemed to get their divestive system back in track, not much clear poop anymore. not sure what to do about the festaes head though. do you think it might be genetic? It seems the holes are where his sensory holes are but much larger than the other fish. He is the dominant fish in the tank so he gets the most food and is probably the least stressed.
You never said what your nitrates are. High nitrates for long periods of time can cause HITH. They're best kept as far under 20 ppm as possible. Parasite Clear will take care of any possible parasites but not Hole In The Head. You need clean water for that.
i think i am going to put him in a quarantine tank and treat with melifix. Is there any procedure i should follow (ie more water changes) or just use the directions on the lable?