Blue German Rams & Angelfish

[whehudeh]

I've got 2 BGRs that have suddenly developed 2 white spots on their head. 1st thought was parasites as the day before I saw a round white thing hanging on my Angelfish tail. I immediately moved them all to my quarantine tank and started treating with Prazipro but there haven't been any changes. Instead the BGR became darker in color which I know is a sign of stress so I added 2 fake plants (as they love to hide). Can someone please help me by diagnosing those spots and advise me on the best medication to treat. Thank you in advance.

 

[King Fisher]

It looks like the start of hole in the head

 

[whehudeh]

Thank you, what's the best medication/s to combat this?

 

[King Fisher]

Metroplex by Seachem.
I've seen some old school guys pull the fish from the tank and apply hydrogen peroxide to the affected area. If you do this make sure to keep the peroxide out of the fish's eyes and gills.
What all are you feeding your Rams?
What is your water change schedule and how much?

 

[whehudeh]

Water change schedule is: weekIy 30% & monthly 50%.
Food: occasional bloodworms, Tetra Flakes

 

[King Fisher]

Make sure the water is clean. It's a big cause of hole in the head. I'd do 50% weekly water changes.

Sometimes poor quality food can lead to hole in the head. I'm not against bloodworms by no means but maybe try a different food such as Hikari or Omega One

 

[Delapool]

Was thinking same but only had it once where one got a similar infection. Was heavily dosing ferts at the time so decreased that and increased water changes.

 

[whehudeh]

Blue German Rams & Angelfish

There lies the answer to my problem "Fertilizer". I never thought about that. I'm a bit anal retentive when it comes to water changes.
3 heads are definitely better than 1.

 

[whehudeh]

Thank you King Fisher and Delapool.

 

[Lokilow]

So you think you were over dosing with ferts? What kind were you using and how much?

 

[whehudeh]

I'm still a newbie.
I have a 38 gal tank with a Fluval 406 and a Penguin Bio-Wheel 350 (which was the 1st filter I bought). I use Thrive Complete + GH booster because I have extremely soft water.
With that said I was dosing 7 pumps every other day and 1/2 tsp per gal of the booster per week. I was doing this because my plants had some defiences. 2x per week I was still using Seachem Flourish Excel.
My calculations were definitely off as I wasn't taking into consideration the media, sponge, substrate and decorations when I was dosing. Instead I did estimates of
Tank 38 gals
Canister 2-3 gals = 41 gals.
In reality I now believe I should've only used 3-4 pumps only.
I plan to turn this tank into a planted tank without CO2 so I'm asking how much should I use to dose my tank?

 

[Lokilow]

Yeah thats way to much ferts. For example I have a 50gal planted tank that I use normally 1 dose per week of excel and all my plants are thriving, every now and then I will do the 2x per week.

I would never try to mix different ferts at the same time, a lot of these have the same thing so you are basically doubling the same dose of certain minerals that can be dangerous for your fish or inverts (copper, iron, etc.).

Also when it comes to plants dont try to force them. Time is one of the best things to get healthy plants, then light is next, and then worry about ferts. Choose one fert and use it at a time. Its ok to use different ferts but treat them like meds, dont use more than one at a time.

Keep us posted on the health of your fish.

 

[whehudeh]

Thanks I have a lot to learn. In a few weeks I'm changing my substrate to Fluval Stratum because I want to start a fully planted tank. In the meantime I'll leave my fish in the hospital tank. I have Nicrew LED lights, nothing fancy. I was told that I have deficiencies that's why I started using Thrive. But I'm truly a Seachem fanatic [emoji2][emoji2]

 

[Lokilow]

Its all good. What kind of substrate do you have right now? Dont fall into the ploy of thinking stratum is the only substrate you can use to grow plants.

 

[whehudeh]

Sorry been down for a week with a serious bug (not the flu). I had regular gravel do you have any suggestions?

 

[Lokilow]

That gravel should be fine. Just choose something you like and can afford. Sure there are some gravels that are better suited for different things but even pool filter sand can grow plants.

I use Carib Sea Eco Complete mainly because of how much you get for the price. It also looks good. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002DH0QM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[whehudeh]

Thank you.

 

[Lokilow]

I do want to point out tho about substrates, be sure to look into them as some will raise ph or other water parameters. For instance, the Eco Complete i use will keep the ph around 7.6 which is fine for my fish but wouldnt be fine for others.

 

[whehudeh]

Interesting, I have "soft water" and my pH remains below 6.