Angelfish Hole In Head?

[Caliban07]

HITH is hexamita. It's a parasite that is common in cichlids. Particularly angel fish and Discus.

Poor water quality can cause all kinds of ailments and I wouldn't put this disease directly down to that. It was most likely introduced with new fish.

Other symptoms include cotton like discharge and body deterioration most notably in the fins. The stomach eventually starts to sink as the appetite becomes lost and the parasite eats invades the gut. It is spread by discharge and fish waste.

IF you truly suspect HITH (hexamita) and the fish are still eating, soaking food in salt first may work. If not, metrodanazole soaked food would be the next best bet in my experience. Seachem do I good medication for this.


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[Andy Sager]

HITH is hexamita. It's a parasite that is common in cichlids. Particularly angel fish and Discus.

Poor water quality can cause all kinds of ailments and I wouldn't put this disease directly down to that. It was most likely introduced with new fish.

Other symptoms include cotton like discharge and body deterioration most notably in the fins. The stomach eventually starts to sink as the appetite becomes lost and the parasite eats invades the gut. It is spread by discharge and fish waste.

IF you truly suspect HITH (hexamita) and the fish are still eating, soaking food in salt first may work. If not, metrodanazole soaked food would be the next best bet in my experience. Seachem do I good medication for this.


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With all due respect, Hexameta is 1 possible cause of HITH but not the only cause. The following link has a number of other possible causes and I admit, I have no idea just how old this article is but it does cover some of the theories that have been around for decades. It might be worth the read. SimplyDiscus.com: The Hole-In-The-Head/Lateral line erosion FAQ by Nathan Henderson

 

[Caliban07]

With all due respect, Hexameta is 1 possible cause of HITH but not the only cause. The following link has a number of other possible causes and I admit, I have no idea just how old this article is but it does cover some of the theories that have been around for decades. It might be worth the read. SimplyDiscus.com: The Hole-In-The-Head/Lateral line erosion FAQ by Nathan Henderson

Thanks. I've read copious amounts on this subject since I had a mystery illness in my firemouth tank. Only one of the six I purchased didn't look right. I'll admit there is lots of confusing data on the subject but what makes me believe that some articles are misleading is the fact that they constantly use HITH/HLLE which is the same story in the link you have provided. These are two different things where HITH directly caused by a parasite (Hexamita) and HLLE is more likely to be related to poor water quality. Having looked up the symptoms of Hexamita they cannot be mistaken.

Here is a good article from a quick search that explains my exact symptoms and treatment. I lost 3 of my 6 fish to this before I could get a handle on it as I didn't have a quarantine tank at the time. When taking about HITH is better to research hexamita. Even if vitamin deficiency and poor water quality are factors it is only that it aids in the prevalence of the parasite but it is the parasite that causes the actual symptoms.

http://www.fishchannel.com/fish-health/freshwater-conditions/hexamita.aspx


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[Andy Sager]

I agree. In most cases, water, bad water actually , is the main starting point for diagnosis however, this is the part of your article I was referring to: By contrast, it is not certain that all cases of head and lateral line erosion disease in fish are caused by Hexamita parasites. Malnutrition in particular has been proposed as a possible cause of the disease in saltwater fish at least. Because many fish likely carry low-level Hexamita infections, anyway, the disease isn’t normally considered to be contagious.
I've heard countless discussions over the years that it applies to freshwater fish as well. I've seen saltwater fish ( Tangs and Angels mainly) with bad erosion be placed in our wholesaler's outdoor sumps, which were outdoors and filled with luscious green algae due to being exposed to natural sunlight, and in time ( mainly a year's worth) come back out as good as new. They became huge in those sumps but they returned to full color and body condition. So one can only assume that their cause was nutrition/ vitamin based but space, or lack of it in the home tank, could have also caused it and the space in the sumps ( each about 5,000 gallons) rectified that situation. I do not have any follow up info on those particular fish to confirm.
So now, we are like the scientists, ( ) we THINK we know but we are not 100% sure.
But the bottom line is that there is no 100% definite answer as to it's cause which is why everything needs to be examined to eliminate what it isn't.

 

[Caliban07]

I agree. In most cases, water, bad water actually , is the main starting point for diagnosis however, this is the part of your article I was referring to: By contrast, it is not certain that all cases of head and lateral line erosion disease in fish are caused by Hexamita parasites. Malnutrition in particular has been proposed as a possible cause of the disease in saltwater fish at least. Because many fish likely carry low-level Hexamita infections, anyway, the disease isn’t normally considered to be contagious.
I've heard countless discussions over the years that it applies to freshwater fish as well. I've seen saltwater fish ( Tangs and Angels mainly) with bad erosion be placed in our wholesaler's outdoor sumps, which were outdoors and filled with luscious green algae due to being exposed to natural sunlight, and in time ( mainly a year's worth) come back out as good as new. They became huge in those sumps but they returned to full color and body condition. So one can only assume that their cause was nutrition/ vitamin based but space, or lack of it in the home tank, could have also caused it and the space in the sumps ( each about 5,000 gallons) rectified that situation. I do not have any follow up info on those particular fish to confirm.
So now, we are like the scientists, ( ) we THINK we know but we are not 100% sure.
But the bottom line is that there is no 100% definite answer as to it's cause which is why everything needs to be examined to eliminate what it isn't.

I don't really want to hijack this thread by talking about this too much. It isn't clear the fish in question even has HITH. But that's what we are talking about I figure? I don't really want to talk about HLLE because that is not HITH. I was saying that HITH is known as hexamita and gave the symptoms of the parasite. The cause of the symptoms is from prolonged exposure to the parasite. In this case, if the OP's water is clean as suggested then I hypothesis that a fish already overrun with the parasite may have been introduced. I do believe it is contagious.

I'm not arguing that lack of vitamins doesn't help keep the parasite at bay at all. Just explaining what HITH is


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[Andy Sager]

Yes, we are talking about Hole in the head disease and based on the pictures supplied, the fish seems to be afflicted. I believe our little sub conversation might actually help the OP. After rereading that article again, I think I see what the problem is. The article seems to be referring to the condition "Hole in the head disease" as Hexamita as well as "Hexamitiasis" while later stating that Hexamita is the genus of parasites that cause this condition (as well as erosion a.k.a HLLE). THAT can be confusing for sure. Also, based on the article, the word "contagious" should be used cautiously as many fish appear to have hexamita parasites in the gut or intestines and it's the "Whatever condition that stresses or weakens the fish" that enables the hexamita parasite to flourish ( more often in only certain species).
So hopefully this helps someone, somewhere? and the OP can move forward to curing the situation.