Turquoise rainbow fish with hole in the head?

[Maryjaeee]

Hello all I have been trying to treat my rainbow fish for a few weeks now but with no real improvements. I gave her a few salt baths with API aquarium salt & have been treating for hole in the head with metroplex . I’ve been dosing the tank for 3 treatments now and been feeding food mixed with focus & metroplex as well but I’m worried it might be too late I was a little worried with the salt baths, since I couldn’t find too much info for that being a good treatment for hole in the head. This started a month ago and just looked like a big pimple on her nose I figured was from an accidental injury but is obviously something much worse. Is there anything else I should try? I increased the water temp to 83 a week ago as well

 

[Colin_T]

I need clear pictures of the fish to see the issue.

What sort of filter is on the tank?
How often and how do you clean the filter?

How often do you do water changes and how much do you change?
Do you gravel clean the substrate when you do a water change?
Do you dechlorinate the new water before adding it to the aquarium?

What is the GH (general hardness), KH (carbonate hardness) and pH of your water supply?
This information can usually be obtained from your water supply company's website (Water Analysis Report) or by telephoning them. If they can't help you, take a glass full of tap water to the local pet shop and get them to test it for you. Write the results down (in numbers) when they do the tests. And ask them what the results are in (eg: ppm, dGH, or something else).

Most rainbowfish have fewer health issues when kept in water with a GH around 200ppm, and a pH above 7.0.

What do you feed the fish?

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It's not hole in the head disease. That is a disease that primarily infects cichlids kept in dirty tanks and is caused by a parasite called Hexamita. Metronidazole kills Hexamita.

A lot of rainbowfish carry Fish Tuberculosis (Fish TB) and this can start out as a white pimple that turns into an ulcer after a few days. The ulcer gets worse and eventually the fish die. There is no treatment for Fish TB. Ulcers can sometimes be treated with medicated food (antibiotics in fish food).

It might not be TB and could be just a sore and malnutrition. Rainbowfish need lots of plant matter in their diet and at least half of their diet should be plant based.

Salt baths don't do anything except stress the fish out. If you want to add salt, add it to the tank for a couple of weeks. If you give a fish a salt bath, you treat the parasites on the fish but don't do anything to the parasites in the main tank. So when you put the fish back in the main tank, it simply gets reinfected. If there are diseases in the main tank, you need to treat the main tank.

 

[GaryE]

I agree with Colin. It is not hole in the head.

Personally, I would euthanize the fish because the odds of it being Mycobacter (fish tb) are high. It looks like it, though the photos are grainy. Here in Canada, almost all of the lacustris rainbows I see in stores are already showing symptoms. It seems to hit that species extra hard, though I have no data to back that up.

Myco can resist bleach. No antibiotic gets it. But when the sore opens,or the fish dies, it spreads quickly.

 

[Maryjaeee]

Oh no. I didn’t think it was hole in the head either that’s just the only issue I could really think of. I knew I should of reached out here in the beginning.. I have had these 3 rainbows for 3 years. I clean my tank at least 1x a month and I have a FX4 for the filter. I just cleaned the filter last month as well. I noticed the white spot.. and it’s just gotten worse. She’s still just as spunky & has a healthy diet. If you couldn’t see the hole you would think she was fine. It’s getting larger tho.. I do have clove oil. Is there really no other options ? I’m so glad I only did the salt bath twice. Thank you both for your help I really appreciate it .

 

[Maryjaeee]

I do have a Sengal bichir in there that I started feeding minnows to again because all rest of the fish would eat his food. I ended up losing a bloody heart tetra to ich and I believe I seen this rainbow eat a smaller minnow. That’s the only thing that makes sense.. I have never had issues feeding minnows in the past just never really liked it. I won’t be doin that anymore .

 

[GaryE]

If it's fish tb, and only a lab could confirm that, 3 years is about right. The fish can fight it by encysting it, but eventually, it breaks out. It could well have carried the disease since before you bought it.
The danger is that if the cyst bursts or if the fish dies, then your other fish, which may be controlling it too, will be overwhelmed by a rush of fatal bacteria. It takes a lot of energy for the fish to hold it back, and a dead fish can create a fatal epidemic.
A rainbow that could live 12 years without tb may get 3 or 4 years with it. It isn't a disease that hits a tank and kills fast in the normal run of things. As in humans, tb is a chronic wasting disease.
Don't handle the fish with open cuts or rashes on your hands, as it can affect humans in very rare cases. Usually, a person has to be ill already or immune compromised for it to cause skin sores.
One thing - I have never seen it on the head of a fish. The sore on the fish is usually squarish around the edges, but the disease presents in so many forms some aquarists like to pretend it's mythical. It isn't.

 

[Maryjaeee]

I need clear pictures of the fish to see the issue.

What sort of filter is on the tank?
How often and how do you clean the filter?

How often do you do water changes and how much do you change?
Do you gravel clean the substrate when you do a water change?
Do you dechlorinate the new water before adding it to the aquarium?

What is the GH (general hardness), KH (carbonate hardness) and pH of your water supply?
This information can usually be obtained from your water supply company's website (Water Analysis Report) or by telephoning them. If they can't help you, take a glass full of tap water to the local pet shop and get them to test it for you. Write the results down (in numbers) when they do the tests. And ask them what the results are in (eg: ppm, dGH, or something else).

Most rainbowfish have fewer health issues when kept in water with a GH around 200ppm, and a pH above 7.0.

What do you feed the fish?

---------------------

It's not hole in the head disease. That is a disease that primarily infects cichlids kept in dirty tanks and is caused by a parasite called Hexamita. Metronidazole kills Hexamita.

A lot of rainbowfish carry Fish Tuberculosis (Fish TB) and this can start out as a white pimple that turns into an ulcer after a few days. The ulcer gets worse and eventually the fish die. There is no treatment for Fish TB. Ulcers can sometimes be treated with medicated food (antibiotics in fish food).

It might not be TB and could be just a sore and malnutrition. Rainbowfish need lots of plant matter in their diet and at least half of their diet should be plant based.

Salt baths don't do anything except stress the fish out. If you want to add salt, add it to the tank for a couple of weeks. If you give a fish a salt bath, you treat the parasites on the fish but don't do anything to the parasites in the main tank. So when you put the fish back in the main tank, it simply gets reinfected. If there are diseases in the main tank, you need to treat the main tank.

 

[Maryjaeee]

I couldn’t get any better pictures I live in AZ though, so we have pretty hard water . I feed flakes /pellets or dried/frozen shrimp most of the time. I try to cook zucchini every week for my tanks as well . I really hope it isn’t TB but I have no idea what else it is.. there’s been no improvement with any treatment I’ve tried.

 

[Colin_T]

You need to add plant matter to their diet every day. I used to grow duckweed (small floating plant) in my tanks and the fish simply ate that whenever they wanted to. If you don't want lots of duckweed in the tank, grow it outside in plastic storage containers with water and scoop some out to add to the tank when they run out.

You can have soft leaf aquatic plants like Ambulia in the tank and the fish will pick at that. You can try boiled or partly boiled (or microwave) spinach, pumpkin, zucchini and peas. But they need it every day.

A fish vitamin mineral supplement might help too. Try to get a powder form because they last longer than liquid supplements. Check the expiry date before you buy any. Keep it cool, dry and out of light. If you can't find a fish vitamin/ mineral supplement, get one for birds or reptiles and mix it with their dry or frozen food each day for a month or two and see if it helps.

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Try doing big (75%) water changes and gravel cleaning the substrate every day for a couple of weeks. It can help boost the fish's immune system a bit and if it's just a minor infection (not TB), it might help.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.

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I wouldn't euthanase the fish just yet. Give it a month of clean water and lots of plant matter in its diet and see how it goes. If it is Fish TB, all the fish will have it so killing it won't stop the others getting it because they probably have it already.

This disease usually comes from the breeder and if the rainbowfish have it, they probably contracted it at the breeder's facility or in the local pet shop before you got it.

Post more pictures in a month and we can compare them to now.

 

[Maryjaeee]

I will grab some duckweed at my LFS. I try to feed veggies for my bottom feeders but I don’t anyways have zucchini so I’ll use veggie pellets sometimes but I need to start doing more. I just tried feeding some spinach but she wasn’t very interested.I purchased these rainbows from AquaHuna 3 years ago so I hope they’re ok. These guys are in a 120 gal tank with a good group of fish including a full grown bala shark. I get attached to my fish so I’m gonna do that big water change today as well. Thank you for your advice

 

[Maryjaeee]

You need to add plant matter to their diet every day. I used to grow duckweed (small floating plant) in my tanks and the fish simply ate that whenever they wanted to. If you don't want lots of duckweed in the tank, grow it outside in plastic storage containers with water and scoop some out to add to the tank when they run out.

You can have soft leaf aquatic plants like Ambulia in the tank and the fish will pick at that. You can try boiled or partly boiled (or microwave) spinach, pumpkin, zucchini and peas. But they need it every day.

A fish vitamin mineral supplement might help too. Try to get a powder form because they last longer than liquid supplements. Check the expiry date before you buy any. Keep it cool, dry and out of light. If you can't find a fish vitamin/ mineral supplement, get one for birds or reptiles and mix it with their dry or frozen food each day for a month or two and see if it helps.

---------------------

Try doing big (75%) water changes and gravel cleaning the substrate every day for a couple of weeks. It can help boost the fish's immune system a bit and if it's just a minor infection (not TB), it might help.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.

---------------------

I wouldn't euthanase the fish just yet. Give it a month of clean water and lots of plant matter in its diet and see how it goes. If it is Fish TB, all the fish will have it so killing it won't stop the others getting it because they probably have it already.

This disease usually comes from the breeder and if the rainbowfish have it, they probably contracted it at the breeder's facility or in the local pet shop before you got it.

Post more pictures in a month and we can compare them to now.

So she’s been doin alright.. no changes just feeding her more greens & better water. Did a water change earlier & just came home to her like this sorry the images are blurry but from head on you can see dark red and the ulcer looks like it’s goin more inward.

 

[Colin_T]

I can't see the ulcer but I can see the red in the nose area and that is definitely an infection in the sinus area. Whether it's caused by Mycobacteria (TB) or something else I can't say, you need a lab to kill the fish and culture the sample to positively ID TB.

You can try a broad spectrum medication that treats bacteria, fungus and protozoa (preferably not antibiotics) but if that doesn't help then it's most likely Fish TB.

 

[Maryjaeee]

I can't see the ulcer but I can see the red in the nose area and that is definitely an infection in the sinus area. Whether it's caused by Mycobacteria (TB) or something else I can't say, you need a lab to kill the fish and culture the sample to positively ID TB.

You can try a broad spectrum medication that treats bacteria, fungus and protozoa (preferably not antibiotics) but if that doesn't help then it's most likely Fish TB.

I started treated with melafix & pimafix..
idk what happened but when I put the 2nd dose in I noticed a few of my fish at the top gapping for air… I did about a 15% water change & added an air stone just in case … I lost the big male rainbow . He was totally fine in the morning then gone at night .
This one is just getting worse tho.. I feel horrible I don’t know what I should do. I don’t have a hospital tank so my options are limited.

 

[Colin_T]

You need to make sure there is plenty of aeration/ surface turbulence when treating fish with anything because most medications reduce the oxygen level in the water. With things like Melafix and Pimafix, they can leave an oily film on the surface that stops the normal gas exchange, so aeration is an absolute necessity when using these.

The ulcer/ sore on the fish appears to be getting worse so I would euthanise it.