View Full Version : Can an arowana get hole in the head?
travelinman1969
12-13-2003, 3:09 PM
I've got 2 osacrs that are starting to show signs of hole in the head. I had 2 others that I just got rid of because of excessive fighting. About 6 hours after I got the 2 out I noticed it. Figure it's stress from the fighting or from the fight the 2 put up coming out of the tank. Anyways, I started noticing my arowana has some holes on his lower jaw that I don't believe were there before. Maybe they were and I'm just getting overly concerned. Anyone ever seen an arowana get hole in the head? Water parameters have not changed at all in 3 months if you're about to ask.
Hole in the head, I belive, isn't stress related but is cuased by poor water quality. Don't know if it can be passed on to other fish though.
Tiger15
12-13-2003, 4:35 PM
I have never seen or heard arrowana can get HITH. There are other problems like drooping eyes or overturn gills. HITH affects many soft water fish and I'm not sure why arrowana won't get it., perhaps because it will go into hunger strike and die before it gets chance to develop HITH
travelinman1969
12-13-2003, 5:05 PM
I know it can be passed on to other fish, that's why I was asking. Like I said, think I might have never noticed before. Either way, I'm about to start a med treatment. The hole in the head on the oscars isn't too bad, so a little bit of med might help clear it up.
Good luck, here's hoping for a speedy recovery.
try a websearch for "hexamita".......
I think any fish can develop hole-in-the-head. I've seen pictures of saltwater fish that had it, too. It can be caused by poor water quality or bad diet or usually both. Some fish are more susceptible to it than others, I would imagine.
travelinman1969
12-13-2003, 6:44 PM
well it ain't the diet!! LOL!! They eat everything from shrimp, chicken, peas, lettuce, carrots (though I think that's more my plecos), nothing is off limits. Even small bugs I find in the house and garage. The water parameters have not changed at all in the past few months so I'm thinking that the stress came from getting their butts kicked all the time. I just got rid of the bully and his mate last Monday. I went to D.C. for the week came back yesterday and noticed it on them. That's when I noticed the arowana having a few holes in his lower jaw. Maybe their normal. Hopin someone else has a big one like mine (23 inches) and can tell me if their's has them also. It's not bad, starting stages on the osacrs. I just treated the tank with meds (real pain to clear out all the carbon with 3 filters). We'll just wait and see now.
that last bit really did nothing when i punched it in myself. :(
i know i have read several references to the name and HiTH disease tho. doing some websearching myself i suppose.....
viable links:
http://www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/hdhith.htm
http://www.*****************/information/hole_in_the_head.htm <<< some good, YMMV
i like this 3rd link.... it seems like it's mostly accurate.
http://www.cichliddepot.com/diseases/hith.html
http://lists.thekrib.com/apisto/0010/msg00216.html
i would imagine it's possible for the arowana to catch it, but not a very common thing.
i think i would try adding vitamins to the water or food, one site suggested liquid childrens formula, another said you might even be able to "powder" regular adult pills and add small amounts. as a result of your poor water conditions and over-crowding is one possible cause. another is feeding live fish (feeders), i have seen you mention doing this also. the key to removing it might be 1 of 3 things. #1 improving the living conditions #2 improving the diet #3 resort to medications if neccesary, 2 kinds are mentioned in the articles i gave links to.
anything else you can do to reduce the stress your fish have is certainly a bonus.
this is not meant as an attack or to flame you.....
good luck
travelinman1969
12-13-2003, 8:23 PM
None taken. I got rid of the 2 oscars for2 reasons. 1) Stop the fighting, 2) get the population down. I rarely feed them live fish anymore. They get a steady diet of pellets and the fore-mentioned treats. However, the arowana doesn't eat the pellets so daily treats are the norm. I don't concider the water condition bad. The nitrates are the only thing that are a bit high for my liking, but have been slowly coming down since Monday. I just checked em before the treatment.
I haven't heard of the vitamin injections in food for fish. That is new to me, but I used to do it for my python when I had her years ago. Same concept? I'll read over the link you sent.
Like I said, I think gettin their butts kicked every day for the past 2 weeks had something to do with it. I failed to mention that the big male got very territorial about 3 weeks ago, and scales were flyin. He got bad. The tank is now calm and hopefully this will all pass. Thanks for the input ewok.
travelinman1969
12-13-2003, 9:09 PM
Thanks for the links ewok, very intresting stuff. I pretty much feel like an idiot after reading all of that. Gonna look at making some changes (slowly) and see if I can remedy some of the bad I've done. Thanks for the help.
SayersWeb
12-13-2003, 9:37 PM
BTW.... It's not just water quality as in Nitrites, Nitrates, Ammonia, etc, that effect HITH. If you have canister filters or a UG that have not been throroughly cleaned for a long time it can foster the HITH parasite. Same with areas in your gravel that you have not vacuumed in a long time (like under large rocks, etc).