Anyone Who'se Dealt With Hole In The Head

[Miss Wiggle]

can you have a read of this please

i'm having some problems with Oscar, bloody nightmare to be completely honest.

don't seem to be many people in the emergencies section who can help me, i don't think many people have experience of dealing with HITH, thought as it applied to cichlids a lot that some of you guys who wouldn't look in the emergenceis section normally might be able to help.

Main issue at this moment in time is that some sores seem to be getting better, some are getting worse. So I've really no idea if he is responding to the treatment at all?

 

[Mystix212]

On large cichlids, Hexamita is usually ignored. However if its a large cichlid at a young age, then it often gets treated.
Small cichlids need great attention as it kills 'em good.
This is a pic of a Buttikoferi with Hexamita scars. I reckon they make him look better.

I recommened going to aqualandpetsplus.com and send an e-mail regarding HITH. The link should be at the top of the page.
Larry (The owner and the guy who responds to these e-mails) would usually reply within 24 hours and give you good directions and info.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

he's about 10-12" at present and maybe 1.5-2 years old so both large and young really! lol

i'll check out that link

 

[Mystix212]

When I meant young, I meant size wise. It shouldnt become a threat at 11" or so. But just as a precaution, use the Metradozinal or whatever from your vet as required. I think theres something like a 85% survival rate if large cichlids get it above 9 or 10"
On small cichlids like discus/angels theres like a 45% survival rate. Correct me if Im wrong.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

treating with metronidazole as best i can, having a few probs with finances and getting hold of meds as explained in the linked post.

i really hope your not right that it usually gets ignored in larger fish, if untreated it will kill the fish so your seriously saying most people just don't bother treating or anything and leave the fish to die.

 

[cheesy feet]

Hey, with my oscar i got a while back with an 80 gallon tank [long story] he had pretty bad whole in the head.You could even see the white worms crawling in and out.I treated with melafix first but no results, i then tried methylene blue and a couple of days later it went away.it came back a couple of days later then i treated him with it again and it went away, he is now healing up.I don't know much about chemicals/treatments but this seemd to do the trick!

o and sorry, i havn't got a shift key so..

 

[Mystix212]

I meant in pet stores, they see all kinds of diseases, they just ignore it to a degree with large cichlids. As far as I know they do huge water changes and bump temp up 5. They're too busy otherwise.

They survive

 

[OscarMan33]

the best thing for HITC is clean water keep nitrates belowe 5 if possible HITC is a sign of poor water or overstocking. check this site out they will help for sure oscarfish.com.. Good luck

 

[OscarMan33]

Here is something from that site on HITH..


I just want to make it perfectly clear that there is no such thing. HITH (if it is really present, and not just the appearance of sensory pits) is properly treated through clean water and proper nutrition.

Other than a good fish multivitamin, there is no such thing as HITH medicine. The only time medicine is necessary when treating for HITH is when a secondary infection is present. When this happens, there will be other, non HITH, symptoms present. If that is the case, the medicine selected should be based on a diagnosis of those additional symptoms.

If your LFS sells you "HITH medicine", they either do not know what they are talking about, or are just trying to make a sale.

That is all. Please carry on.

I am sorry if I shouldn't have done this post from another site.

 

[vancouver]

Clean water is key for HITH.. I had a chocolate cichlid get it briefly, and just keeping the water clean has been all I've had to do. No medications at all.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

Here is something from that site on HITH..


I just want to make it perfectly clear that there is no such thing. HITH (if it is really present, and not just the appearance of sensory pits) is properly treated through clean water and proper nutrition.

Other than a good fish multivitamin, there is no such thing as HITH medicine. The only time medicine is necessary when treating for HITH is when a secondary infection is present. When this happens, there will be other, non HITH, symptoms present. If that is the case, the medicine selected should be based on a diagnosis of those additional symptoms.

If your LFS sells you "HITH medicine", they either do not know what they are talking about, or are just trying to make a sale.

That is all. Please carry on.

I am sorry if I shouldn't have done this post from another site.

thankyou for that input however i have to say i'm sceptical. i've not got medication from my lfs, it's from my vet, a qualified trained professional, not just a saturday kid in a fish store. He's not making any money from it, he's charged me list price for the medications and although he spent time with me discussing treatment etc he charged me no fee for consultation.

HITH is the name given to the external form of the flagellate parasite hexamita, that does exist, it is a real thing. And metronidazole is proven to work against it.

While I do accept that clean water is a must, that combined with a healthy diet and the medication seems to be working.

He had another 50% water change yesterday and I think he was looking slightly better last night, sores didn't look quite as deep as they had before.

Thanks Vancouver, I'll keep up the daily water changes, it's an absolute bloody nightmare, I was all set to sell the tank as I knew I couldn't look after it properly with the commitments I have at the moment, thought I'd made the descision soon enough to prevent it from affecting anyone but I must have been wrong. Ah well fingers crossed he'll recover and then I can think about re-homing him when he's strong again.

 

[Mystix212]

Im glad you have a vet like that new you. Very rare to find these days.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

yeah he's really excellent, take our cats to him and I've never had cause for complaint, really helpful and will always give you advise.

 

[Mystix212]

I rarely see Fish Vets near me. I supose cause there are so many pet shops. About 7-8 all within 30 kms.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

he's not a fish vet, he's a normal vet who i take my cats too. He deals with all animals.

anyway io'm very pleased to say Oscars definately on the mend now, check the link above for full details if your interested

thanks for your help everyone