Killing HITH Parasite?

[ozzydafish14]

Right now I'm treating my tiger oscar with HITH, and yesterday he stopped eating, so I just wanted to know if there was anything in addition that I could do to try and kill the parasite before killing poor Ozzy. I'm currently treating him with Jungle Labs Hole-N-Head Guard, and I'm also trying to give him a quality diet... if only he would eat it :/
Any suggestions?
-ozzydafish14

 

[HUKIT]

He could just be sulking from the medication but when he stops is a slippery slope, you could try feeding some nightcrawlers, thawed shrimp, or his regular pellets soaked in garlic...here's where trouble could start if he takes a liking to the other food like the worms getting him back to pellets is a pain.

As far as medicating only use two rounds with a water change in-between, then bump up the temp to 80-81F and leave it there. That along with nitrates constantly below 10ppm and a good diet he will start to recover, remember this is a long recovery but you should start to see some improvement after a couple of weeks.

 

[ozzydafish14]

Okay, change of plans, he is now starving... I dont know why, but he's nuts about food again!

As far as the medication goes, it says I have to change the water every other day, and add the medication after the water change. Do you mean follow the directions, but only do an additional water change in between the two days that I do it without using medication?

 

[HUKIT]

Like I said they're huge drama queen babies when it comes to change and he was just sulking.

Follow the medication label, I have a bottle of that downstairs so I don't remember off hand what the directions were.

Good luck and keep those nitrates low!

 

[ozzydafish14]

Just one question... how do I know if the medicine worked?

 

[HUKIT]

You won't right away, HITH is a disease that takes time before any noticeable improvement is noticed.

 

[HUKIT]

Here's my rescue after two weeks of almost daily water changes, there's zero improvement yet. Now tell me if that's not a face only a mother could love I don't know what is, but you can see directly below the large hole a smaller one is present.

 

[ozzydafish14]

I see... my lil buddy just developed two very small holes right on top of his head, and he also developed this white spongey area on his gill... not sure what that is. And on his dorsal fin, he has this white bump, and it's been there for a few months and it hasnt caused any harm..

 

[HUKIT]

Keep in mind oscars have alot of sensory pits around their face/head area which is not HITH.

 

[ozzydafish14]

I've finished the medicine treatment, and he doesn't seem to be hungry at all. I observed that once in a while he'll do this thing where it looks like he is wheesing or coughing.

 

[HUKIT]

I think that will change as far as his appetite, so remove the medication with 50% daily water changes for 2-3 days and check on him from there. Remember that meds can be stressful, especially with big babies so keep the water clean and give him some time to calm down...leaving the lights out helps as well.

 

[ozzydafish14]

Okay, and also, should I put the carbon filter back in when I'm done?

 

[HUKIT]

Okay, and also, should I put the carbon filter back in when I'm done?

I don't recommend carbon, especially with HITH since there are reports that the dust from carbon usage can cause this as well. I personally have not used carbon for anything in the last ten years.

Here's a good article on information regarding this issue.

Hole in the Head by Adam Dagna of World Cichlids

 

[ozzydafish14]

I just purchased a vitimin C supplement to add to his food

 

[Fishguy2727]

From my research:
HITH and HLLE are not the same.

HITH is a parasitic disease found in angelfish and discus. It is caused by Hexamita spp. and/or Sprionucleus vortens and treated with metronidazole.

HLLE is a nonparasitic condition usually caused by less than ideal food and water quality. This is common in oscars (and many other species). It does NOT respond to any meds, but is treated by improving food and water quality. In some cases it has been demonstrated that the cause in those cases was carbon use in the filter.

 

[HUKIT]

I've researched both extensively as well and unfortunately like to many things in our hobby it depends on who your talking to as to whether it's the same disease or not. I've treated many oscars and jags rescues over the years including my current rescue and I've had some respond to Metrozoidale and some don't, I feed NLS exclusively with nitrates always below 10ppm so my personal experience is it's the same result on the fish with different causes.

 

[Fishguy2727]

Same/similar symptoms doesn't mean it is the same disease.

 

[HUKIT]

Same/similar symptoms doesn't mean it is the same disease.

Why is it every post you make has scent of I'm always right so there's no way someone else could contribute. To date, the causes of this disease have not been identified in aquarium kept fish through published scientific study, although speculation and informal studies have been performed there is no documented proof of your statements then it's only your opinion(just like all your NLS posts) which is why there are upwards of twenty theories on what causes this since documented cases the wild are not existent.

 

[ozzydafish14]

Good news!! Ozzy has his appetite back! Bad news, whenever he tries to eat it, he spits it back up! Should I try cutting the pellets into smaller pieces?

 

[HUKIT]

Make sure when choosing a pellet size you pick one that can be swallowed hole and not chewed on, this will greatly reduce the amount of waste expended out their gills.