Cichlid with growth on his head.

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e_murray

Aquarium Advice Freak
Joined
Feb 11, 2011
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What the heck is this??? Looks like a wart, but more it looks like a sore and has a scab looking stuff forming on it. He's has it a while and it's getting worse.

He's about 10 years old acts normal. Never seen anything like this before.

Thanks.
 

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That's a bad bacterial infection, and he needs to be treated in a quarantine tank. Here's a flowerhorn with the same issue. The treatment in the posts

http://www.oscarfish.com/oscar-forum/viewtopic.php/t,86901/

Kmuda's bacterial pitting treatment:
Medications

You need three med's (plus salt, I use Canning Salt):

Seachem NeoPlex
Seachem KanaPlex
Seachem Paraguard
Canning Salt (although any salt will work)



Use each med for a 1 week run, with the salt used during the duration of treament as well as post treatment. If the fish is eating, start with the NeoPlex. If he is not, start with KanaPlex.
Treatment Process

Step 1: Perform a large water change, introducing a salt dosage of 1 tablespoon per 5 gallons.
Step 2: Dose with NeoPlex. A single dose of NeoPlex is good for 1 week.
Step 3: After this week, perform another nice large water change, still maintaining the salt dosage.
Step 4: Dose with SeaChem KanaPlex. KanaPlex is dosed every other day. So dose, wait a day, perform a medium water change (still maintaining the salt dosage), dose again, wait a day, another medium water change (still maintaining the salt), and dose again. Wait a day, perform another medium water change, and dose with SeaChem ParaGuard (step 4)
Step 5: Paraguard is dosed daily. I would perform a decent water change midway through the week.



Additional Treatment Notes:



You maintain the salt dosage throughout the treatment and for several weeks following.
As previously mentioned, if the fish is not eating, flip steps 1 and 2, starting the dosage with KanaPlex.
If you see dramatic improvement after any of the treatments, repeat that treatment for another week before moving on to the next treatment.



Both NeoPlex and KanaPlex are a bit difficult to size. A 5 gram container of KanaPlex is enough for 1 dosage of my 120 gallon tank (actually, it's a bit more than enough). A 10g container of NeoPlex is enough for 1 dose on the same tank.



You also need to order enough medications for repeated treatments. My Oscar, after the first round of treatment, appeared to a have a complete cure, only to have the issue rebound again a few months later. Subsquent treatments appear to have resolved the problem in that he has been pit free for the better part of a year and the last two “scrapes”, which always brought on the onset of subsequent pitting, have healed on their own (without additional treatment).
 
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