hole in the Head disease

Hi i recently got a balzani cichlid baby.
I have just noticed two small holes in his head, and think it is hole in the head.
Can I please have some quick advice on quarantining him and what medicine I must put in.
He still eats readily and must have been the water conditions that have caused him to catch the disease
He is still a baby and is very soft
Is this disease contagious ,

Thanks
Jason

 

Can you post some pics? Is it definitely HITH? Big cichlids do have sensory pits which look like small holes on the head and the lateral line. They are normal and nothing to worry about. Are you sure that's not what you are seeing?

 

he is still a small baby cichlid. So capturing a photo of it is difficult and not clear.
it isn't the sensory pits I don't think. the holes are located on top of its head. I think it has had the disease for a while as I initially thought that it was getting beaten up until I took a closer look. Ive tried to take photos but the holes are not visible.
Is it normal for them to keep eating if they have the disease. His 'gill cover' also looks damaged and red
thank you so far for your advice

 

Hi Jay
I dont know if you want to try it,long ago one of my discus had hole in the head,used metro at 7mg per liter.3 days later 50% water change and redose again with 7mg metro per liter!
The problem with hole in the head is that if you dont feed you fish better with food with enough vitamin C your holes in head will probably apear again!
Since I upgraded on my food with plenty of vitamins I never had thar problem again!
If your fish have hole in the head I dont know,but that is how I treated mine once and it worked!

 

Thanks will give that a try, I found medicine that aparantly treats hole in the head. I only feed my fish hikari and brine shrimp which I thought is very good. I perhaps think it may have been the water quality of the tank from the petshop. I hosed him with baby frontosas which too are not the hardiest of fish when young and they're growing fast (for frontosa) and are looking great. So I'm not sure what the cause is/was. I will pump him with vitamins. And if the medicine doesn't work ill definitely try your method.
I'm not used to having such diseases.
Thanks again
Jason

 

+1 on the metronidazole treatment.

He probably came with it from the shop. I'm sure he'll improve a lot now that he's with you and getting a better diet. Good luck and let us know how it goes.