Flowerhorn bruise spreading fast

[icedmilk001]

hi, my flowerhorns is currently having a pretty bad bruise from its kok, it was there this afternoon at the size of about a fingernail, but after a few hours, it spread a lot and now it’s across its head
it’s around 3-4 years old and his two blood parrot fishes died recently, how do i stop the bruising?

 

[BlueJungle]

Hi,

can you post a picture of the fish showing the affected area?
What size tank is it in?
How long ago did the parrots die?
Did you add anything new to the tank before the parrots became sick?

 

[icedmilk001]

the parrots died a month and 2 weeks ago, i havent added anything into the tank, the tank is 120L

 

[Essjay]

the tank is 120L

120 litres or a long 120 gallon?

 

[icedmilk001]

pretty sure it’s 120 litre, why does the tank size matter? the bruise has gotten even worse now

 

[Essjay]

I don't know much about flowerhorns but one of the things I know is that they need big tanks - 400 litres is the minimum recommended size.
Could your fish have caught itself on some decor?

 

[Slaphppy7]

The tank size

pretty sure it’s 120 litre, why does the tank size matter? the bruise has gotten even worse now

Tank size matters, because these fish can grow to more than a foot in length...your tank is only about 32 gallons...these fish need 70 gallons, absolute minimum..if the "bruise" is an injury, it likely happened because the tank is too small, and the fish rammed into something and injured itself...

 

[BlueJungle]

I think as the others have said, tank size matters a lot. The flowerhorn looks to be in quite a poor condition, and this will not be helping anything heal.

Have you checked the water parameters at all? I would think with such a messy fish in such a small tank these would be off. Poor water quality can cause all sorts of problems, including suppressing the immune system of fish, as well as delaying healing.

 

[kribensis12]

I agree with the others. I want to be clear: People are not trying to ruffle your feathers to be a "jerk". Keeping fish is more than having something pretty to look at - it's about the care and wellbeing of the fish. A Flowerhorn should never (unless very small) be in a tank that small. That's not a jerk comment, that's the truth of what type of care that fish needs.

It is plausible that the tank size may have contributed to how this injury occurred and as your water parameters are likely less than ideal, may also be contributing to the worsening / delay of healing. Clean water will do more than most over the counter medications for this fish to heal.

If you are truly interested in caring for this fish, you'll need to do the following:

1. Upgrade your tank. This fish (to me, but maybe not others) appears stunted already. A larger tank will have a directly beneficial affect on the fish.
2. Provider us with your water parameters: Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, pH
3. Provide us with your stocking: Are there other fish? What kind?
4. Provide us with the decor choices - what kind of decorations do you have?

 

[icedmilk001]

I don't know much about flowerhorns but one of the things I know is that they need big tanks - 400 litres is the minimum recommended size.
Could your fish have caught itself on some decor?

maybe, but its on both sides and i cant really see any wounds

 

[Essjay]

In humans there doesn't need to be a wound for there to be a bruise, just a coloured patch of skin. I wondered if the fish had banged itself on something which caused a bruise.

 

[Slaphppy7]

I don't think it's a bruise...

@Colin_T

 

[icedmilk001]

In humans there doesn't need to be a wound for there to be a bruise, just a coloured patch of skin. I wondered if the fish had banged itself on something which caused a bruise.

i found the problem
i grabbed a chair and sat at the tank for an hour or so, and apparently the algivore has been sucking on the flowerhorn and that caused the bruising
i have put a divider between the two and i hope this would fix the problem
i will also get a few water quality tests to check if there are underlying problems
thanks for your help

 

[Slaphppy7]

Geez, how awful...poor fish...I didn't realize there was another fish in the tank...common pleco? SAE? CAE?

 

[icedmilk001]

Geez, how awful...poor fish...I didn't realize there was another fish in the tank...common pleco? SAE? CAE?

yeah it’s a common pleco, sorry i forgot to mention it, i never would have thought that the algivore was gnawing at my flowerhorn, poor fish