Hole in the head disease

[Luis]

Hey everyone,

my male Kribensis started getting little holes on his head about a month ago after his first time taking care of fry. 
maybe it was the stress of keeping the other fish away that lead to this? 
 

does anyone know how to fix this? 
he rarely colours up like he used to, and he’s become less active. 
 

I got somewhat confused by the methods online so I wanted to see if anyone has had previous success treating this? 
 

many thanks,

hope there’s a solution to get him back to 100%.
 

luis.

I’ll try to get a good picture of him, but he’s very skittish when I get close with my phone 

[Tihshho]

When it comes to treating hole in the head, you can generally treat the infection, but the damage (if deep) does not always and rarely does heal 100%. There will be scaring or pits from it post curing. I've used metronidozole in the past to treat incoming fish at the LFS I was at when people dropped them off with this condition with success. Trick is making sure that you're getting it in their food.

Besides that, HITH generally crops up due to poor water quality. How often are you doign water changes and maintaining your filters?

[Luis]

Thank you for the quick reply! 
 

It’s in my 150 Gallon planted tank which I do 80% water changes weekly and rinse out my filters every 3 months or so. 
 

ive noticed many pest snails coming up recently too, and was planning on introducing some small yoyos to get rid of them since I already have a group but just are too big to care for the baby snails. 
 

 

[nabokovfan87]

On 5/2/2022 at 8:17 AM, Luis said:

It’s in my 150 Gallon planted tank which I do 80% water changes weekly and rinse out my filters every 3 months or so. 

I wouldn't go beyond 50% normally.  I'd clean the filter monthly.  It's a sump so I understand.... but I'd focus on more stable water over time and keeping an eye on the sponge / fine pads.

[Colu]

Seachems metroplex active ingredient is metronidazole in food is effective treatment for hold in the head