Tang with HITH

[Plecolover18]

Okay my six month old sailfin tang is getting HITH near his eyes and on his gill plate. The specific Gravity is at 1.024, he been acting normal grazing on algae and swimming around the tank is 75 gallons with clownfish, a Pygmy angel, hawkish and a four striped damsel. I know that HITH is kinda hard to treat but online I could not find anything on how to treat it. Also is it fatal and will it attack the entire fish.

Thanks,
Plecolover18

 

[TheTodd]

Are you talking about HLLE (Head & Lateral Line Erosion)? If so, there are many theories on what causes it...carbon in filtration, improper nutrition, stress, poor water quality seem to be the probable culprits. You rarely see Tangs with it that are kept in proper conditions.

You have a Tang in a tank that is not large enough for its swimming habits. There is your stress. How are your water parameters and what do you feed it?

It usually is a slow killer and I have seen fish go for a long time with it. They look awful the longer it goes.

 

[melosu58]

Marine Head & Lateral Line Erosion: A Description of the Syndrome and a Review of its Speculated Causes by Steven Pro - Reefkeeping.com

 

[Plecolover18]

Are you talking about HLLE (Head & Lateral Line Erosion)? If so, there are many theories on what causes it...carbon in filtration, improper nutrition, stress, poor water quality seem to be the probable culprits. You rarely see Tangs with it that are kept in proper conditions.

You have a Tang in a tank that is not large enough for its swimming habits. There is your stress. How are your water parameters and what do you feed it?

It usually is a slow killer and I have seen fish go for a long time with it. They look awful the longer it goes.

Yeah I keep freshwater and sometimes I mix them up, I've been feeding him sheets of the algae clips and pellets, also here's my parameters...

Nitrate 10

Nitrite 0

ph 7.4

Also will a good water change and if I change my carbon help?

Plecolover18

 

[TheTodd]

I honestly think if the parameters are always good and it is being fed what it needs to stay healthy, it is a stress issue. That Tang being in that size tank just doesn't work well. Tangs need lots of room to cruise around. Almost every case of HLLE that you read about has a Tang in a smaller than 6' tank or the person wasn't getting greens in it's diet. IMO, that is not coincidence. I would suggest rehoming it. Probably not what you want to hear, but the fish would be better off.

The carbon idea comes from a research project that had everything constant except one tank had filtration with carbon and those fish got HLLE. The fish in the tank without carbon did not. I'm not sure that explains it all, as other research has found malnutrition and/or stress to cause it too, but it is interesting.

 

[huma-huma]

although i will agree 100% that you need to find the root cause of the stress, you need to look for "the marine food thread" that Mr. X started. i believe he stated that hes cured several tangs of HLLE using his homemade food method. ill see if i can get you a link

 

[huma-huma]

here ya go. also as a slight add-on, cant guarantee this method will cure the tang of HLLE but if Mr. X says it worked several times, I'd def try it.
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f20/marine-fish-food-thread-287198.html