symptoms of hole disease
external symptoms
- White spots appear on the body.
- Whitish tissue appears to emerge from the white patches.
- White «pimples» grow out of the body.
- Whitish holes in the head region
- Fish turn dark.
Behave
- Fish hide.
- Fish become apathetic.
- Fish are easily startled.
photos
Photos: Jenni Daus
Severely emaciated butterfly cichlid (female) with holes in the head
Photos: Michael Westphal
Butterfly cichlid with holes on head and bacterial infection on body
Photos: Mary
The holes on the head of this sklalar are believed to have been caused by hole disease. The white mass probably consists of cartilage remnants.
Photos: Heike Krause
White-tipped Sajica cichlid. Individual, white pimples are often colonies of bacteria, e.g. B. settle on small skin injuries. Normally, these pimples disappear in good husbandry conditions.
In cichlids, the pimple sometimes falls off. It is probably not a bacterial colony, but cartilage from the head of the fish. A hole usually remains.
The pimple also fell off after a few days on the Sajica cichlid shown above. What remained was the hole shown below, which was about 1 to 2 square millimeters in size.
Photos: Heike Krause
Two days later, a smaller pimple appeared, which after 11 days left a hole about 1 square millimeter in size.
Photos: Heike Krause
The cichlid, including the fins, was about 8.5 centimeters long and scratched, but had normal droppings. A lot of frozen food was fed, daphnia, red, white, black mosquito larvae, shrimp and freshwater shrimp. In addition, flake food and granules, scalded potatoes, zucchini and banana pieces were given. The Sajicas also ate duckweed, ie duckweed.
Despite the varied diet, it is probably hole-in-the-hole disease.
Photos: Pascal Soffiaturo
Frontosa males showing symptoms of hole-in-the-hole disease. A few months before the recordings, one eye protruded, became inflamed, and became cloudy. After treatment with JBL Furanol in a separate basin, the eye improved.
However, the eye deteriorated again when the male was released after treatment and believed to have injured his eye while chasing after his female.
Then there was an open wound over the eye, which healed again, then the other eye protruded again, etc.
The photo shows a new sore that has formed over the eye while most of the other side has healed. Both eyes are permanently protruding. An external injury is not visible.
The 5 year old, 25 centimeters tall Frontosa is eating normally. Because he lives with nimble tank companions and because of his size has a high need for food, he is often fed by hand. He has an extraordinarily strong reproductive urge, always chasing the Frontosa females in the tank (his own offspring), and has already killed a few females (the mother of the offspring, etc.).
The wound or hole above the eye looks like the typical crater in hole disease. Based on the history, it seems plausible that pop eyes and holes are related. Whether the eyes bulge because they are pushed away by dissolved cartilage or because of a secondary bacterial infection cannot be determined without examination. It is also unclear whether the original cause was the hole in the eye, or whether the hole in the eye was a result of an original eye infection. In this case, a parallel treatment against bacterial infections and hole disease was recommended.
Photos: Stephen L.
Azure chichlid with an open wound on the head. First, a bump formed at the site. This opened up and left the hole shown. The development points to the hole disease. It could also be a bacterial infection.
King cichlid male with several holes on the head. Such holes in cichlids with possibly white, cartilaginous substance are often the first signs of hole disease.
Photos: Veronica Wax
Scalar with several large holes indicating hole disease. The cause was probably the unsuitable attitude by a previous owner. The scalar was kept with 3 large catfish, tetras, guppies and a fighting fish in a 60 liter aquarium without plants.
A varied diet with additional vitamins, e.g. Dennerle vitamin paste, and trace elements, e.g. Rowa mineral, was recommended, as well as preventive treatment against intestinal parasites that can trigger hole disease, e.g. JBL Spirohexol.
causes
The exact causes of hole disease are still unclear. It may be the result of a disease of the lateral line organ of the fish, a deficiency disease, or a consequence of intestinal flagellates. Bacterial causes or bacterial secondary diseases cannot be ruled out either.
Maybe all of these diseases are related, maybe they each cause corresponding secondary diseases, but maybe they also lead to the same symptoms independently of each other. For example, intestinal flagellates are often found in fish suffering from hole disease, while many fish have intestinal flagellates without showing the symptoms of hole disease.
The direct cause of the holes is probably a lack of calcium, phosphorus or vitamin D. This could explain why hole disease is more common in South American cichlids that live in very soft water than e.g. B. in African cichlids that live in relatively hard water. There may also be a lack of other nutrients.
A deficiency in one of these nutrients may be caused by the other triggers mentioned. For example, a heavy infestation with intestinal flagellates could lead to a nutrient deficiency, which in turn triggers hole disease.
A heavy infestation with bacteria or intestinal flagellates disrupts digestion. Damage to the intestinal mucosa occurs. Because not enough nutrients, vitamins and minerals are taken in through food, affected animals try to obtain the required deficient substances from the cartilage tissue on the head. This degrades the cartilage. Eventually, the skin will burst open on the affected areas. The remaining white cartilage emerges and forms e.g. B. the well-known pimples. Later, the cartilage falls off, leaving a crater-like hole. The holes are usually one millimeter to about two centimeters in size.
Such a nutrient deficiency can also be caused by the fact that certain ions are too abundant and thus prevent the absorption of other ions in the body. An excessive proportion of calcium ions Ca++ in the water is sometimes assumed to be a possible cause of hole disease. In tap water, however, the calcium content is often 20 times higher than in the natural soft water areas. According to a report, the hole disease only occurs in discus and scalars with conductance values above approx. 100 µS.
When fish are kept well outside of their optimal physiological range, the internal ionic balance gets upset. An increased or decreased level of an ionic species in the water, e.g. B. chloride or NaCl, affects both the Na+ and Cl balance, as well as e.g. B. on the Ca ++ household in the fish. The Ca++ household can deviate from the normal value by more than 100%.
Soft water fish should therefore be kept in soft water with a constant ion balance that corresponds to the ion spectrum of the areas of origin. According to the report mentioned, neither the hole disease nor any secondary disease then occurs.
treatment suggestions
In any case, it is important to eat a diet rich in nutrients and vitamins and to keep them in a species-appropriate manner. Plenty of live and frozen food should be given. Frozen and dry food should be enriched with commercially available vitamin supplements such as JBL Atvitol. As an alternative to the products from the aquarium trade, sugar-free vitamin juices can also be used. If in doubt, a comparison of the ingredients will help.
At the same time, treatment can be carried out against any other suspected triggers or secondary diseases.
Further information