shrinking kok

[blue2023]

I've had my flowerhorn over two years and beeb in the hobby almost 18 years.My flower horn has bladder problems and would'nt eat a few months ago but epson salt and meds fixed it.He started eating a little bit but his head is really small and he does'nt eat out of my hand.He must be eating because he's alive but everything is the same for two years.83 degrees clean water everyday i take 3 gallos out.He'sa 75 gallon alone with sand ,no decorations.This is him on the right before.

 

[Innesfan]

Quite a heading on this thread...

You mention changing 3 gallons a day. How big is the tank?

 

[GaryE]

We get the odd posting on flowerhorns here, and the questions are usually about the 'kok'.

Growing out a bulbous head on a hybrid fish that's kept in a large bare tank is not a shared experience with most people in the hobby. The flowerhorn fans I meet are passionate about their fish, and value them highly, but it's a corner of the hobby that rarely steps outside of its own circle. That focus on one body part is very special compared to how most of deal with our fish.

I hope there are some flowerhorn people to help here. Most join, show photos of their fish, discuss high prices and then vanish as they came. I think you need a flowerhorn expert for that query, just as we need a sense of humour about the thread title.

 

[Gertrudae]

i take 3 gallos out.He'sa 75 gallon

That's nothing. Change 50% every other day.

The poor thing looks really bad.

I would try bathing it in salt water for 30 seconds. Use pure salt without additives or salt for saltwater aquariums.

Edit - catappa leaves!

 

[blue2023]

That's nothing. Change 50% every other day.

The poor thing looks really bad.

I would try bathing it in salt water for 30 seconds. Use pure salt without additives or salt for saltwater aquariums.

Edit - catappa leaves!

changing 37 gallons every other day is crazy.

 

[Gertrudae]

It looks like your fish has an infection. To reduce the bacterial count in the water, you need to change a large amount of water. I didn't say you should change 37 gallons, but 50%. Put it in a quarantine tank.

 

[blue2023]

Quite a heading on this thread...

You mention changing 3 gallons a day. How big is the tank?

75

 

[blue2023]

changing 37 gallons every other day is crazy.

I had him in a 30 gallon for a week with melaflix and didn't feed for four days .I put the fish in the 75 and they didn't have any problems so I don't know what's going on.I'll do a 50%water change but he was in a quarantine for a week so I have my doubts..

 

[GaryE]

He/she does look really bad. And that is probably a water change issue, built up and leading to an internal infection.

If you have to change 35 gallons every couple of days for a few weeks, that's the price of saving the fish. It may be too far gone. You wouldn't have to continue at that rate. If you have 75 gallons, and if the fish recovers, you could do 30 gallons weekly then, if the fish is alone in the 75. It could actually become well enough to be able to build up its fat reserves and have a bulbous head again. Right now, I'll wager that whatever is hitting it is is making it use all its resources to stay alive.

If you have a standard flowerhorn set up, then its a bare tank with no gravel or plants. The nitrogen cycle in such tanks is weak, and that pushes extra work onto the fishkeeper. Flowerhorns are big fish, and big waste producers. You can see 3 gallons a day isn't cutting it from looking at your fish. You're doing about 20 gallons a week, and look at the fish. It needs help beyond that.

I'd consider getting a python water change system to make it easier. With buckets, you and your flowerhorn won't be friends for long, although you'll have great upper body strength. Big fish are work.

I'd also explore using some salt, although I don't know your water or what concentrations would be best. Melafix is weak stuff, and the skin of the fish looks irritated. A short salt treatment might help. Check online for dosages.

 

[connorlindeman]

Heading had me confused.

 

[GaryE]

Heading had me confused.

My mind is pure, so it just made me laugh. But I can see how others could take it.

 

[connorlindeman]

My mind is pure, so it just made me laugh. But I can see how others could take it.

GaryE =

 

[blue2023]

He/she does look really bad. And that is probably a water change issue, built up and leading to an internal infection.

If you have to change 35 gallons every couple of days for a few weeks, that's the price of saving the fish. It may be too far gone. You wouldn't have to continue at that rate. If you have 75 gallons, and if the fish recovers, you could do 30 gallons weekly then, if the fish is alone in the 75. It could actually become well enough to be able to build up its fat reserves and have a bulbous head again. Right now, I'll wager that whatever is hitting it is is making it use all its resources to stay alive.

If you have a standard flowerhorn set up, then its a bare tank with no gravel or plants. The nitrogen cycle in such tanks is weak, and that pushes extra work onto the fishkeeper. Flowerhorns are big fish, and big waste producers. You can see 3 gallons a day isn't cutting it from looking at your fish. You're doing about 20 gallons a week, and look at the fish. It needs help beyond that.

I'd consider getting a python water change system to make it easier. With buckets, you and your flowerhorn won't be friends for long, although you'll have great upper body strength. Big fish are work.

I'd also explore using some salt, although I don't know your water or what concentrations would be best. Melafix is weak stuff, and the skin of the fish looks irritated. A short salt treatment might help. Check online for dosages.

my water is well water and very hard.I just took out 40 gallons and i have coral sand.I used epson salt a week ago and thats when i noticed his slime coat was coming off.I put 4 teaspoons in 75 gallon.imaffraid to give him a 15 min.He still acts the same and does'nt seem sick but something is going on.How can i treat him with meds when it's a guessing game not being a vet.

 

[GaryE]

That's the hardest thing. Even if you do a hobbyist level study of diseases (and I've kept fish for 59 years now) you can't pin down most internal problems. And guessing, and choosing the wrong med can kill the fish.

It's a position of weakness.

We can control water quality, and sometimes, it works. Water changes can let a fish get back on its... fins?
The fish looks patchy in the photos, almost like he's dominated or lost a fight. THat's why I thought of salt. It is a skin irritant that makes the fish produce skin slime to protect itself. That extra slime/immune response can dislodge some common parasites, and can help the fish with its balance and swimming.

I keep smaller softwater fish in planted tanks, and haven't had to use salt for a very long time. That's why I'm not suggesting a dosage and hoping you can get that on a flowerhorn site, or from someone here who keeps larger cichlids in bare tanks.

 

[Magnum Man]

do flower horns like hard water??? if you are using crushed coral on the bottom, that is likely going to raise the hardness ( calcium level ) and maybe you have soft well water, and did that on purpose, but my well water is rock hard ...