convict with head growth. pic

david yurik

AC Members
Mar 18, 2011
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brunswick, OH 20 miles south of cleveland
Real Name
david yurik
sorry about the bad phone pic. a friend has a convict with this growth on its head. any ideas??? its a few years old or more and has been healthy its whole life. this head growth showed up about 2 months ago. i can't tell you anything about the water parameters but just from evaporation the 55 gallon is changed about 10% weekly.
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If the only water "changed" is water added to make up for evaporation... that could be a big part of his problem. If you just top off what has evaporated - you end up with a build up of minerals, since they do not evaporate. Also you are not removing any of the wastes, so that builds up too.
 
It looks like a parasitic infection of some sort. Jungle Parasite cure is a good choice. Convicts are pretty hardy, but difficult water conditions will overcome even them. Wren is right about the water change, even though the water has evaporated, it has left waste products behind when it does so. These wastes are what build up and can cause health problems for the fish. To change the water you'll need to actually remove part of the water in the tank and then replace it with new dechlorinated water. At this point, since the fish has been living in these conditions for a while, it has adjusted to the level of dissolved solids in the water and will need time to adapt back to a healthier water quality. I recommend doing 10% weekly water changes (remove 10% of the water then fill the tank) for the next three to four weeks, then increase to 15-20% once per week. That way the fish's osmotic balance isn't tanken for a ride, and it won't be shocked by a sudden change.

Hope this helps!
 
i asked him about regular water changes and testing his parameters but i don't think i swayed any opinions. thanks for the advice on the jungle parasite cure. i will relay the info and again stress the importance of regular water changes instead of just replacing evaporated water.
 
You're in the right place on this one.....It's basically Hole in the Head which is a telltale sign of poor water quality in larger cichlids. A metrondiazole treatment may work as well, but Jungle Parasite Cure contains metrondiazole anyways. Good luck with your friend.
 
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