hole in head problems (seemed like the best forum since i only seen cichlids have it)

S

syddakyd

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Jan 7, 2006
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they say feeder fish is the main cause of Hole in head but i have 2 parrot cichlids. one i had for 6 years....i was in 10th grade when i got it and i graduated in 03.

anyways, its diet is mainly prepared foods but a large variety. freeze dried krill/plankton....flakes, hikari cichlid pellets, algae wafers...etc.

sometimes cooked shrimp or other things.


anyways...for the past 2 months i noticed it started happening and now it is worse. i have a python so i do water changes and have alot of water movement.

the only fish in that tank are 2 parrots and an african knife. the parrots bodies are the size of a hand (minus the fingers) and the tank is a 40 breeder. they have plenty of room so i know they aren't overstocked.


wtf do i do
 
I've read it can be caused by high nitrates, so I agree, params might tell you something
 
i only change the water if it looks slightly cloudy. other then that i just top off. i vacuum out the poop and stuff with my python though.. i do changes about once overy 1-2 months. that seems like very little but i have not that much of a bioload in the tank plus like i said i got the filters and powerheads.
 
also i forgot to mention i had fish for so long and never had this problem before. can its age be playing a role in this?
 
nitrates may have built up, and might be ots thats brought on hith, 1-2 months for a water change is a long time even with a low bioload, especially if its not planted
 
I agree. Even low bioload tanks need to be at least monitored for build ups of nitrates and 1-2 months without a water change will certainly result in too much. All fish poop and all that waste releases ammonia, which progresses through the nitrogen cycle. The only way to rid of nitrates (minus plants) is by changing out the water.

High levels are dangerous...do you have a test kit?

Also, did you cycle??? That is very important.
 
yea i cycled and they have been in this tank for about 6 months.


yea i guess i should stay on top of those water changes but now that i think about it, i used to have alot of plants in the tank but i took them out and put them in the 30tall b/c i wanted to have a full planted tank.

i had sand in the 40g with the parrots. it keeps plants anchored with large fish but at the same time it was a pain. right now the tank is "barebottom" with just a thin (say 1 mm) layer of sand for aesthetics. there is a piece of driftwood and two rocks.


maybe i can just get some java fern and tie it to the wood.
 
The filters wont remove nitrate the only way to remove it is via water changes and plants

Plants would be good, but I'd definitely step up the water changes to pretty frequent to try and get their conditions better, and then you can maybe ease up to a little less frequent

I'd also start testing nitrate, so you can know for sure what's going on in your tank
 
Again...do you have a test kit? I cannot stress enough how important it is to monitor water parameters (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, ect...) especially if you have an illness in the tank.

I hope I am not sounding too pushy but it really is important.
 
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