Is it an injury or a myth?

[cichlidMan]

My friend's got an african cichlid tank with this one fish, and it's got some kinda injury on its head, looks like it's open. Anybody know what's goin on with this guy?

[coltin]

Looking at the pictures, I'm trying to figure out which part we're focusing on - the white blotch on the fish's head between its eyes, or those three small holes next to the nostril in the first picture.

Those three small holes next to the nostril could be the early stages of hole in the head disease. Clean water and some salt should help treat this.

The white blotch might just be excess mucous covering a wound. Clean water and salt should also help the fish recover from this.

Before adding salt, let's do some basic first aid for the fish. First, test the water for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and pH. We need to keep ammonia and nitrite at 0ppm, and nitrate under 20ppm.

Give the glass a good wipe with a clean fish sponge to remove the biofilm. This stuff's got all sorts of bacteria, fungus, and other microscopic life forms that can harm the fish.

Do a 75% water change and clean the gravel. This will reduce the number of disease organisms and give the fish a cleaner environment to recover in. Make sure the new water is free of chlorine and chloramine.

If the filter's due for a clean, give it a good clean. But if it's less than six weeks old, leave it alone. Just wash the filter media in a bucket of tank water, and then reuse it. Tip the dirty water on the garden or lawn. Cleaning the filter means less gunk and cleaner water, so any medication will work better.

Increase the surface turbulence to get more oxygen in the water.

Now, let's add some salt. You can use rock salt, swimming pool salt, or any non-iodised salt. Just add 2 heaped tablespoons for every 20 litres of water.

Keep the salt level like this for 2-4 weeks. Don't worry, it won't harm the beneficial bacteria, fish, plants, or other tank inhabitants. But remember, fish from soft water might get kidney damage if they're exposed to high salt levels for too long.

After the fish has recovered, do a 10% water change every day for a week with fresh, dechlorinated water. Then do a 20% water change every day for a week. This will slowly remove the salt from the tank.

If you do water changes while using salt, make sure to add salt to the new water first. This will keep the salt level stable and reduce stress on the fish.

When adding salt, dissolve it in a small bucket of tank water first, then slowly pour it into the tank near the filter outlet. Take a couple of minutes to do this.

[cichlidMan]

Looking at the pictures, I'm trying to figure out which part we're focusing on - the white blotch on the fish's head between its eyes, or those three small holes next to the nostril in the first picture.

Those three small holes next to the nostril could be the early stages of hole in the head disease. Clean water and some salt should help treat this.

The white blotch might just be excess mucous covering a wound. Clean water and salt should also help the fish recover from this.

Before adding salt, let's do some basic first aid for the fish. First, test the water for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and pH. We need to keep ammonia and nitrite at 0ppm, and nitrate under 20ppm.

Give the glass a good wipe with a clean fish sponge to remove the biofilm. This stuff's got all sorts of bacteria, fungus, and other microscopic life forms that can harm the fish.

Do a 75% water change and clean the gravel. This will reduce the number of disease organisms and give the fish a cleaner environment to recover in. Make sure the new water is free of chlorine and chloramine.

If the filter's due for a clean, give it a good clean. But if it's less than six weeks old, leave it alone. Just wash the filter media in a bucket of tank water, and then reuse it. Tip the dirty water on the garden or lawn. Cleaning the filter means less gunk and cleaner water, so any medication will work better.

Increase the surface turbulence to get more oxygen in the water.

Now, let's add some salt. You can use rock salt, swimming pool salt, or any non-iodised salt. Just add 2 heaped tablespoons for every 20 litres of water.

Keep the salt level like this for 2-4 weeks. Don't worry, it won't harm the beneficial bacteria, fish, plants, or other tank inhabitants. But remember, fish from soft water might get kidney damage if they're exposed to high salt levels for too long.

After the fish has recovered, do a 10% water change every day for a week with fresh, dechlorinated water. Then do a 20% water change every day for a week. This will slowly remove the salt from the tank.

If you do water changes while using salt, make sure to add salt to the new water first. This will keep the salt level stable and reduce stress on the fish.

When adding salt, dissolve it in a small bucket of tank water first, then slowly pour it into the tank near the filter outlet. Take a couple of minutes to do this.

"The white blotch between the eyes is my main concern. For a 120 gallon tank, I'd like to know how much salt I should use, considering the 2 heaped tablespoon per 20 litres (5 gallons) of water ratio. Should I just multiply the amount of salt accordingly for the larger tank size?"

[coltin]

When figuring out the volume of water in the tank, you'll need to measure its length, width, and height in centimeters. Then, divide that number by 1000 to get the volume in liters.

When measuring the height, make sure to do it from the top of the substrate to the top of the water level. If you have large rocks or driftwood in the tank, take them out before measuring so you get an accurate reading.

You can use a permanent marker to mark the water level on the tank and note down how many liters are in the tank at that level. That way, you'll have a reference point for future reference.

We also have a calculator that can convert liters to gallons if you need it. It's under "Useful Links" at the bottom of this page, in the "FishForum.net Calculator" section.

[cichlidMan]

Looking at the pictures, I'm trying to figure out which part we're focusing on - the white blotch on the fish's head between its eyes, or those three small holes next to the nostril in the first picture.

Those three small holes next to the nostril could be the early stages of hole in the head disease. Clean water and some salt should help treat this.

The white blotch might just be excess mucous covering a wound. Clean water and salt should also help the fish recover from this.

Before adding salt, let's do some basic first aid for the fish. First, test the water for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and pH. We need to keep ammonia and nitrite at 0ppm, and nitrate under 20ppm.

Give the glass a good wipe with a clean fish sponge to remove the biofilm. This stuff's got all sorts of bacteria, fungus, and other microscopic life forms that can harm the fish.

Do a 75% water change and clean the gravel. This will reduce the number of disease organisms and give the fish a cleaner environment to recover in. Make sure the new water is free of chlorine and chloramine.

If the filter's due for a clean, give it a good clean. But if it's less than six weeks old, leave it alone. Just wash the filter media in a bucket of tank water, and then reuse it. Tip the dirty water on the garden or lawn. Cleaning the filter means less gunk and cleaner water, so any medication will work better.

Increase the surface turbulence to get more oxygen in the water.

Now, let's add some salt. You can use rock salt, swimming pool salt, or any non-iodised salt. Just add 2 heaped tablespoons for every 20 litres of water.

Keep the salt level like this for 2-4 weeks. Don't worry, it won't harm the beneficial bacteria, fish, plants, or other tank inhabitants. But remember, fish from soft water might get kidney damage if they're exposed to high salt levels for too long.

After the fish has recovered, do a 10% water change every day for a week with fresh, dechlorinated water. Then do a 20% water change every day for a week. This will slowly remove the salt from the tank.

If you do water changes while using salt, make sure to add salt to the new water first. This will keep the salt level stable and reduce stress on the fish.

When adding salt, dissolve it in a small bucket of tank water first, then slowly pour it into the tank near the filter outlet. Take a couple of minutes to do this.

So for the 120 gallon tank, I'd need to know the volume in litres first. To do that, I measure length x width x height in cm, then divide by 1000. That gives me the volume in litres.

Now, I use the calculator to convert litres to gallons if needed.

For the salt dose, it's 2 heaped tablespoons per 20 litres of water. So for my tank, I'd need to work out how many 20 litre blocks I've got. Then I multiply that by 2 heaped tablespoons.

I'm guessing I only dose it once, right? Then I just do the water changes as usual, but with the salt in the new water.

[cichlidMan]

Looking at the pictures, I'm trying to figure out which part we're focusing on - the white blotch on the fish's head between its eyes, or those three small holes next to the nostril in the first picture.

Those three small holes next to the nostril could be the early stages of hole in the head disease. Clean water and some salt should help treat this.

The white blotch might just be excess mucous covering a wound. Clean water and salt should also help the fish recover from this.

Before adding salt, let's do some basic first aid for the fish. First, test the water for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and pH. We need to keep ammonia and nitrite at 0ppm, and nitrate under 20ppm.

Give the glass a good wipe with a clean fish sponge to remove the biofilm. This stuff's got all sorts of bacteria, fungus, and other microscopic life forms that can harm the fish.

Do a 75% water change and clean the gravel. This will reduce the number of disease organisms and give the fish a cleaner environment to recover in. Make sure the new water is free of chlorine and chloramine.

If the filter's due for a clean, give it a good clean. But if it's less than six weeks old, leave it alone. Just wash the filter media in a bucket of tank water, and then reuse it. Tip the dirty water on the garden or lawn. Cleaning the filter means less gunk and cleaner water, so any medication will work better.

Increase the surface turbulence to get more oxygen in the water.

Now, let's add some salt. You can use rock salt, swimming pool salt, or any non-iodised salt. Just add 2 heaped tablespoons for every 20 litres of water.

Keep the salt level like this for 2-4 weeks. Don't worry, it won't harm the beneficial bacteria, fish, plants, or other tank inhabitants. But remember, fish from soft water might get kidney damage if they're exposed to high salt levels for too long.

After the fish has recovered, do a 10% water change every day for a week with fresh, dechlorinated water. Then do a 20% water change every day for a week. This will slowly remove the salt from the tank.

If you do water changes while using salt, make sure to add salt to the new water first. This will keep the salt level stable and reduce stress on the fish.

When adding salt, dissolve it in a small bucket of tank water first, then slowly pour it into the tank near the filter outlet. Take a couple of minutes to do this.

Should the whole tank be treated or can he quarantine the fish in a smaller tank?