Who Gives A Fish Forums

Hey fellow African Cichlid enthusiasts,

I've got a bit of a situation on my hands. One of my guys had a tiny hole on his side 3 days ago, and it's been getting bigger ever since. Now there's this white splinter thing coming out of it. Any thoughts on what's going on? Is it treatable? Can it spread to the others? Appreciate any input.

I'm pretty sure that's hole in the head disease. Usually it's related to poor water quality, do you have an idea what your parameters are looking like right now?

Did the white splinter just appear or was it there all along with the hole?

kingrise wrote: ↑Tue Jun 24, 2025 10:53 am Did the white splinter just appear or was it there all along with the hole?

To start with it was just a small white dot, then it protruded out.

Yeah that's a bummer, I just treated these guys for HIH. Hopefully the water parameters shed some light on the issue.

PH 8, ammonia and nitrite are at 0, nitrates are at 10.

aquaboy8 wrote: ↑Tue Jun 24, 2025 9:15 am Hey fellow African Cichlid enthusiasts,

I've got a bit of a situation on my hands. One of my guys had a tiny hole on his side 3 days ago, and it's been getting bigger ever since. Now there's this white splinter thing coming out of it. Any thoughts on what's going on? Is it treatable? Can it spread to the others? Appreciate any input.

Seems pretty normal to me, actually. Water parameters look alright. Hopefully one of the cichlid experts around here will chime in soon.

I'm not convinced it's hole in the head disease, the symptoms don't quite add up. It's possible you're dealing with the start of an ulcer, so I'd recommend trying a salt treatment for a couple of weeks - a good starting point would be 2 heaped tablespoons per 20 litres. If you don't see any improvement after a week of salt, you might want to look into medicated food specifically designed to treat goldfish ulcer disease.

Not hole in the head, I'm pretty sure. Has your guy come into contact with a sharp rock or gotten into a fight? The white bit doesn't look like it's part of the flesh, does it move at all? Sorry, I'm stumped.

Just wanted to give a huge thanks to everyone who chimed in. I decided to take coltin's advice and give salt a shot - added it to the tank for about a week, and we're seeing some awesome progress. That white splinter has vanished, and the hole's started closing up. You all are lifesavers - or should I say, fish savers.