hole in head disease
- Thread starter chaibill
- Start date
Not a Red texas or any other Hybrid
Hemichromis bimaculatus (Jewel Cichlid)
And As for HITH... I dislike it.
I am currently in a battle with Hole int the Head Disease with my oscar. This isn't the first time either. Last year when I got him I realized after I took him home that he had small craters in his head and gill cover and it took several months for it to go away. I removed carbon, treated the water with metrodinazole and kept the nitrates down below 10. Now it's back again, probably because I had to leave town for work for 2 weeks and the nitrates got past 40. Now I'm doing 50% water changes every 1-2 days and I have metrodinazole food being shipped to me this week. I'll probably treat the water with metrodinazole too. I haven't used carbon in this tank for over a year. Good luck to me!
wickedcichlid
Aquatic Addiction
Im battling it as well because the baskets in my filter werent seated right and there was barely any water flow. I didnt notice it for a couple weeks, and my Oscars started pitting. At my next water change I discovered the problem and fixed it, and it looks like the issue is clearing up pretty well. Water quality for sure is the number one cause, in my mind. Diet being the second. Ive heard carbon "dust" can be a contributor as well, although this myth has yet to be confirmed or debunked.
Please read this article.
http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/disease/HITH-HLLE.php
I have read the carbon dust hypothesis once and there was absolutely no support for it, he just said THAT it did, absolutely no explanation of HOW.
Carbon use can remove many beneficial and vital things and there have been cases that showed that carbon was THE cause of HLLE in those cases. It is rare, but does happen. It is usally diet and water quality unless it is discus in whcih case it is HITH and not HLLE and therefore the parasitic form. And yes, there are many cases, especially with discus, that showed that it was parasitic.
http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/disease/HITH-HLLE.php
I have read the carbon dust hypothesis once and there was absolutely no support for it, he just said THAT it did, absolutely no explanation of HOW.
Carbon use can remove many beneficial and vital things and there have been cases that showed that carbon was THE cause of HLLE in those cases. It is rare, but does happen. It is usally diet and water quality unless it is discus in whcih case it is HITH and not HLLE and therefore the parasitic form. And yes, there are many cases, especially with discus, that showed that it was parasitic.
Great article. Thanks for the link.
The only thing I disagree with is at the end about carbon. The author asks how carbon could be a cause if HITH and HLLE have developed in tanks that have never used carbon (implying it is not a cause). This simply means that carbon is not the only cause, something I don't think I have ever heard anyone say. I think most people are now seeing that HITH and HLLE have at least a few different causes and to acknowledge that while discrediting another cause because it is not the only cause is illogical. The cases I have seen and talked to people about show that, rarely, it is the cause in those cases. It is most definitely not the only cause.
The only thing I disagree with is at the end about carbon. The author asks how carbon could be a cause if HITH and HLLE have developed in tanks that have never used carbon (implying it is not a cause). This simply means that carbon is not the only cause, something I don't think I have ever heard anyone say. I think most people are now seeing that HITH and HLLE have at least a few different causes and to acknowledge that while discrediting another cause because it is not the only cause is illogical. The cases I have seen and talked to people about show that, rarely, it is the cause in those cases. It is most definitely not the only cause.
star, great content! Especially good at educating the aquarist re: appropriateness of treatment when illness if suspected.
Hexamita is not the cause- it is a coldwater parasite not found in cichlids and tropical marine fish.
Nor is spironucleus vortens- A large number of fish at the vancouver aquarium had HITH/HLLE. Several lab tests revealed that very few or none of the sick fish had spironucleus vortens.
There is no medication for HITH. There are medications to treat secondary infections caused by HITH- but no medication will cure HITH.
Nor is spironucleus vortens- A large number of fish at the vancouver aquarium had HITH/HLLE. Several lab tests revealed that very few or none of the sick fish had spironucleus vortens.
There is no medication for HITH. There are medications to treat secondary infections caused by HITH- but no medication will cure HITH.
As stated repeatedly there is more than one cause so, yes, there are many cases where neither Hexamita spp. nor Spironucleus vortens are not present nor the cause in those cases. This does not disprove the cases where they are the cause, it just supports that there is more than one cause. Taking one or even many cases that support one cause and applying it to all cases is incorrect and unscientific.
If neither Hexamita spp. nor Spironucleus vortens are ever the cause then why are so many successfully treating for them and not changing anything else, yet the disease is cured and does not return? When my discus had HITH I treated with metronidazole and did NOT change anything else (diet, water quality, etc.). It quickly went away and has yet to return. What was the cause of their HITH that happened to go away exactly in conjunction with treatment of these parasites?
What species of fish were sick at that Vancouver aquarium? Different species are prone to different forms of HITH and HLLE (parasitic versus non-parasitic forms, different causes for HLLE, etc.).
What did they do to treat them?
Was it successful?
Marine HLLE is different than freshwater HLLE. It is well documented and demonstrated that marine HLLE is dietary. Saying they are the same is like saying that marine and freshwater ick are the same when we all know they are caused by two different parasites. So just because marine fish will not have either of these parasites does not mean that there are no cases of these parasites causing HITH in freshwater fish.
Please read the article in my blog on HITH and HLLE for more information about HITH and HLLE.
This is not a simple disease. It is not even a single disease. As demonstrated by the cases it is at least two different disease, one a disease caused by parasites (the usual form in angels and discus) which I refer to as HITH, and a non-parasitic that would be better classified as a symptom of many possible causes (like how dropsy has numerous causes that all result in the same symptom), which I refer to as HLLE. HLLE is more common in oscars, severums, managuenses, and even Synodontis spp.
If neither Hexamita spp. nor Spironucleus vortens are ever the cause then why are so many successfully treating for them and not changing anything else, yet the disease is cured and does not return? When my discus had HITH I treated with metronidazole and did NOT change anything else (diet, water quality, etc.). It quickly went away and has yet to return. What was the cause of their HITH that happened to go away exactly in conjunction with treatment of these parasites?
What species of fish were sick at that Vancouver aquarium? Different species are prone to different forms of HITH and HLLE (parasitic versus non-parasitic forms, different causes for HLLE, etc.).
What did they do to treat them?
Was it successful?
Marine HLLE is different than freshwater HLLE. It is well documented and demonstrated that marine HLLE is dietary. Saying they are the same is like saying that marine and freshwater ick are the same when we all know they are caused by two different parasites. So just because marine fish will not have either of these parasites does not mean that there are no cases of these parasites causing HITH in freshwater fish.
Please read the article in my blog on HITH and HLLE for more information about HITH and HLLE.
This is not a simple disease. It is not even a single disease. As demonstrated by the cases it is at least two different disease, one a disease caused by parasites (the usual form in angels and discus) which I refer to as HITH, and a non-parasitic that would be better classified as a symptom of many possible causes (like how dropsy has numerous causes that all result in the same symptom), which I refer to as HLLE. HLLE is more common in oscars, severums, managuenses, and even Synodontis spp.
