djvant Posted June 13, 2010 Report Share Posted June 13, 2010 My Severums look like they are getting hole in the head. Ive read on the net that a good diet can help prevent hole in the head in them. I am currently feeding them spiralena pellets and nova stick m and nova rift. Is there anything in particular i can feed them or do to help stop hole in the head developing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted June 13, 2010 Report Share Posted June 13, 2010 good thread on it here viewtopic.php?f=25&t=36651&p=403396&hilit=treating+hole+in+the+head#p403396 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaNs Posted June 13, 2010 Report Share Posted June 13, 2010 You using tap water supply? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishplants Posted June 14, 2010 Report Share Posted June 14, 2010 My Severums look like they are getting hole in the head. Ive read on the net that a good diet can help prevent hole in the head in them. I am currently feeding them spiralena pellets and nova stick m and nova rift. Is there anything in particular i can feed them or do to help stop hole in the head developing? Hi djvant, I have read the same, and (in my limited experience) I believe in it. As with all things though, it is not the only factor that can prevent or cause hole-in-the-head (HITH). If you have managed to sort through the thread posted by livingart, and ignored the argument about Metronidazole, you will realise that overally quality of life plays a big part in this affliction - ie water parameters, temperature, food and generally, stress. HITH, or head and lateral line erosion (HLLE) is caused by the fish dissolving tissue along the lateral line in times of nutritional deficiency - this can be caused by the above life quality issues and/or parasite/protozoa. Hex is often blamed solely for this issue, hence the use of Metro, but this is often just the catalyst or even non-existent. I have seen Discus that are fed only blood worms and freeze dried tubifex develop HITH due to a lack of nutritional balance. I have treated recently an adult Brown Discus for HITH, with Metronidazole, successfully. To be honest though, I believe her issues were actually caused by a bad diet and the stress of her transport bag leaking between AKLD and CHCH. Once I trained her to eat food other than bloodworms, the 1.5mm long hole has almost completely gone, she is fatter, and just looks happier. good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted June 14, 2010 Report Share Posted June 14, 2010 Alot of it comes down to lack of minerals or trace elements in the water too so adding some sort of trace might help? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted June 14, 2010 Report Share Posted June 14, 2010 hans had a mineral mix available awhile back, you could try PMing him to see if he has any left Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwiplymouth Posted June 14, 2010 Report Share Posted June 14, 2010 I agree with what the others have said but I would add a calcuim rich diet to the list as well as ensuring the water contains mineral salts. Check out Aquadur plus This is from the petmart web site 724900 JBL AQUADUR PLUS 250G * Introduces 70 salts (no NaCl = common salt) into soft water or water that has accumulated as a result of osmosis. Stabilises the pH by introducing carbonate-hardness-producing substances. * Prevents and heals the hole in the head disease caused by mineral deficiencies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer Posted June 14, 2010 Report Share Posted June 14, 2010 Actually, that is an excellent point. Fish generally ingest calcium as needed from the water. In marine fishes, there is an abundance of calcium but in freshwater fishes, there may be comparatively little calcium in the water and as such, the fish could be reduced to mobilising bodily stores from the bones and scales. Around a third of a fish's body calcium stores is found in the scales and calcium is mobilised from the scales in priority to that from the bones. This is especially true for females that are developing eggs. The result is thin weakened scales (among other things). The point is, I wonder if weakened scales might be a contributing factor to HITH. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwiplymouth Posted June 14, 2010 Report Share Posted June 14, 2010 The attached link is a "must read" for info on HITH http://www.worldcichlids.com/diseases/Adamhith.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oO SKIPPY Oo Posted June 14, 2010 Report Share Posted June 14, 2010 I recently (6-7 months ago) had hole in the head with one of my green severums (about 5 small holes about 2mm in size) - i started doing 2x weekly 40% water changes to get really clean water, and checked all water params - i bought GH and KH tests to check hardness as well as some people said this could be an issue. i found my hardness levels were on the low side of this websites values http://www.aquariumlife.net/profiles/south-american-cichlids/green-severum/100020.asp so i bought some JBL AquaDur Plus from http://www.petmart.co.nz/cart_search.html?Search=aquadur&x=0&y=0 - i up'd the hardness about 2 degrees and after about 2 months i found that the HITH had cleared up 100%. hope that helps Skip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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