hole in the head

well lads iv notice 2 off my discus have hole in the head iv 1 full grown an 2 jiveys now my problem is this iv treated the tank with spirohexol for 7 full days with very little full an the hole have heat over great an are fully closed now an im back on track iv be buying my water from my lfs shop for about 3 months now an i think im gettin there with the water issue an iv see ah pair off discus spawing in the lfs so put deposit down for they iv 164 ltr or 42 gallon tank will i have to move the 3 i hav or could i keep the smaller ones an let the big ones go or let the lot go an start again???an will the hole in the head stay in the tank???

any idears lads...

The aetiology of Hole in the Head is not as simple as it "going from the tank".

It is primarily due to the way in which the discus are kept (eg food and water conditions), and then has secondary things kick in. Effectively, by using the medications you've tackled the secondary problems of it but not the primary causes.

I assume that you are buing RO water??........if so, are you then re-generating it for use in the tank by adding the appropriate additives?

Food?? what are they being fed?

ian

hi ian

the hole in the head is from me fucking round with the water an basicly not noing what i was at but thinking im gettin there now an how important water really is now iv be buyin the water 3 4 months now ro water an no iv not being re.generating.dont no what at is some help there be great to.. the discus are on a deit off beef heart the good one bloodworm. krill. discus mix and brinre one in the morning one the evening mix it up so there never get the same if ye get me

Eugene,
The recommened treatment for Discus Hole in the head is..
1) Do a 35% water change (use R/O water for changes) and wipe down all sides of the aquarium.
2) Treat with Aquatic salt.
3) Treat with a course of water life Octozin.

www.waterlife.co.uk/seaquariums/octozin.htm

Greg

Waterlife Octozin is a medication that I would recommend to anyone (especially if you have Discus) as it is a rather good anti-bacterial agent as well as having effects on flagellates.

It will not cure Hole-in-the-Head, but it will deal with the secondary problems caused by the initial cause.

Water way too low in certain electroplytes (eg using overly "pure" water or RO in the case of Discus) plus a diet lacking a good range of vitamins or contra-indicatory to those vitamins are the causes of hole in the head.
General balance of the diet is important to make sure that the gut function is not compromised.

I've never had hole-in-the-head in my fish, but have done autopsies on many fish that have.....and all tended to have the same history.

The problems can be aggrevated by having dirty water (increased chance of bacterial infection in open skin), or having a gut worm or other gut parasite infection.
It is very difficult to remove those parasites from the water (they are natural to the fish gut), but if conditions are not right then those parasites can get to a pathogenic state.

What should be done is to ascertain if aggrevating factors are not at play......this would include a simple swab of their faeces and put under a microscope to look for, in particular, Hexamita or Spironucleus, or Capillaria worm. Whilst they do not cause the problem, they can aggrevate it or become secondary problems in hole-in-the-head.

ian

well just what to get back to were i am im use ro water the holes in the discus head have closed so im after treatment now but is this hole in the head going to come back and water changes are only ro water the last 3.4 months how meny fully growing discus can i keep safe an if i keep the smaller discus could it be passed on...and ian do i need to buy vitamins for the water before chances....