Help with diagnosis

I believe I know what this is, and the fact that some of your other fish aren't getting it helps to form my opinion.

The disease, I believe, is HLLE/HITH (Head and lateral line erosion/hole-in-the-head disease).

There are two causes to HLLE: one is a flagellate called Hexamita, and the other is poor water quality. I would suggest doing several changes first to see if the pits grow. If they continue to do so, treat the fish for hexamitosis.

Hope that this helps,

Matthew

hole in the head

Hi,
When I was younger, I kept discus & a piece of advice offered to me, concerning hole in the head & other diseases was to add salts. Tanganyikan Buffer & Salts, used at a substantially lesser dose than for Tang'. Cichlids, is an effective first treatment. I would add 1/2 gram/litre of sodium chloride to my tanks either at the first onset of ill health or if the tanks temperature had dropped, i.e at the start of winter. Conversley a salt bath for the affected fish. This change in salinity doesn't harm the fishes but can totally destroy free swimming organisms, such as Ich. I would also offer the advise that unless trying to breed pleco's or Apistogramma's, Then the addition of salt is a good safe guard for most community tanks. Table salt is not acceptable if it contains anything other than sodium chloride i.e anti-caking agents.
The salt may not cure hole in the head, but it can help prevent certain paremeters that could contribute to this disease.

I'm not sure it's hole-in-the-head or head-and-lateral-line-erosion (HITH-HLLE). The picture on the black angel might be, but I don't necessarily see it on the silver fish.

If it is HITH-HLLE, there are possibly multiple causes and mulitple treatments. Here's a good web site that discusses them: http://www.masla.com/fish/hlle.html.

This site lists many resources to learn about HITH. Much of it is aimed at marine fish, but there also some links that cover freshwater fish: http://saltaquarium.about.com/cs/headlledisease/index.htm?once=true&.

Here's a link devoted to HITH in Oscars, but it may also be helpful to you: http://oscarcichlidfanclub.htmlplanet.com/custom3.html.

If, after checking this out, you're not sure it's HITH, take a couple of add'l pictures and we'll give it another shot.

Jim

I do not think it is HITH. One of my female frontosa contracted HITH and it looked nothing like what is afflicting your fish.

The disease does exactly what its name implies. it puts little holes in the head and lateral line of infected fish. It starts in the front and works its way back. Your illness looks more like a case of hemoraging, but I could be wrong (not an expert on diseases).

Not to get you down, but if it is HITH it is VERY difficult to treat and to be honest I do not know what I did to cure my sick female. She is now perfectly healthy except for the disfiguring scars she now bears as a testament to her illness.

I would suggest a little bit of salt (NOT table salt) in a hospital tank with a butt-load of aeration and filtration and no lights.

HTH and good luck

Joker