Is It Hole In The Head Discus Emergency

[Nickelback]

The other half has a discus in with other discus and fish and they are very old fish probably near the end of their life as I think discus only live 5-7 years from what I have been told.These would all be close to that age and one particular one in the tank looks as though he has several holes in his head making us think he has hole in the head.The others are all fine and no signs of any holes.Well for starters should we seperate the discus from his mates could they get it too.Is there any other thing it could be?If we seperate him would he be alright by himself or would he stress?It is so sad to see as all the fish have been doing so well but we do notice that a couple of the discus are starting to get what looks like cataracts in their eyes.Is this just from old age? I'm a bit worried about seperating the discus from the others as If he is on his way out he probably would prefere to be with his mates then all alone.Is there any treatment that may help him/her to make him/her better?Well thanks fro reading hope someone has answers.

 

[Liam]

To the best of my understanding, hole in the head is not a disease, it has more to do with environmental conditions and vitamin deficiency. Usually the holes are above the eye at first. They then extend to the lateral line. I just checked this up in a book I have (not that that means its right) and they say that adding vitamin rich foods and some green foods spinach cucumber etc can reverse the condition, not using carbon in the filter much is also advised. There used to be some debate about the causes of the condition maybe there still is but there is no need to quarantine the fish. The holes themselves in the early stages are not a huge problem for the fish, but the holes are open to bacterial infection if they get bigger.
I don’t know anything about the cataracts, sounds like the fish have had a good life so maybe its just age.
My two pence, hope it helps

 

[annka5]

I'm not sure that 5 years is that great an age for a discus - I've always heard up to 10, nearer 8 is more realistic, so likely worth treating them rather than putting it down to age. I've had mine about a year now, so I can only go on what I've read /heard!
Hole-in-the-head can also be caused by hexamita, other symptoms are white stringy poop. and lack of appetite. It could be that - are there any other symptoms? If it is that, it's probably best to treat the whole tank rather than just the poorly one; however I would wait until you're sure as I think hex treatment can be a bit harsh on the fish.
I've also heard, like Liam, that errosion of the little pores on the head can be caused by using carbon in the filter (I don't understand this one myself, perhaps leaching of some mineral from the water by the carbon?) or diet. If there are no other symptoms and the fish seems perfectly happy, I'd prefer to remove the carbon (if you use it) keep a really good regime of water changes, and try to improve the diet as much as you can, as Liam suggested above. The cloudyness of the eyes would to me suggest it is more likely to be diet /environment.
Anyhow, good luck with them.

 

[Nickelback]

I'm not sure that 5 years is that great an age for a discus - I've always heard up to 10, nearer 8 is more realistic, so likely worth treating them rather than putting it down to age. I've had mine about a year now, so I can only go on what I've read /heard!
Hole-in-the-head can also be caused by hexamita, other symptoms are white stringy poop. and lack of appetite. It could be that - are there any other symptoms? If it is that, it's probably best to treat the whole tank rather than just the poorly one; however I would wait until you're sure as I think hex treatment can be a bit harsh on the fish.
I've also heard, like Liam, that errosion of the little pores on the head can be caused by using carbon in the filter (I don't understand this one myself, perhaps leaching of some mineral from the water by the carbon?) or diet. If there are no other symptoms and the fish seems perfectly happy, I'd prefer to remove the carbon (if you use it) keep a really good regime of water changes, and try to improve the diet as much as you can, as Liam suggested above. The cloudyness of the eyes would to me suggest it is more likely to be diet /environment.
Anyhow, good luck with them.

Hi guys sorry for the slow reply have been dying with the flu.Well thanks sooooo much for your help Well the discus has a very good appettite still and the holes themselves seem to be quite big like say just smaller than a pea size.We actually seperated him/her and put in hospital tank but want to get the poor thing back with it's mates cause it must be lonely.It still eats well like I say even on it's own and to me doesn't appear to be really stressed so Im just unsure what to do.Sounds like the advice including moving the carbon are excellent ideas and Im just wondering if we should move it back with it's mates now.We actually feed them flakes,pellets,bloodworm,liveblackworm,brineshrimp,discus dinner and granules etc all on a regular basis so I'm hoping the nutrition is ok what we give them.Well thanks again for the replies And I'm happier to know that they live longer than I first thought.