Hole in the head, Hexamita and L.L.E. Updated 10.2.2007

[luisprado]

I have a blue diamond with hole in the head and I have a few questions.

1. Is it contagious to my other discus?

2. If I do not have a quarantine tank is there a way to treat it without harming my other fish?

3. How bad is Hole in the head? Will it eventually kill her? What does this disease do, besides the holes in the head?




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[Merrilyn]

Hi Luis, Your fish is showing early stages of the disease. Treatment is quite effective at this stage.

It can be transmitted to your other fish, possibly thru contaminated droppings, although little scientific work has been done in this area. It is believed that the pathogen responsible for Hole in the Head (also known by a variety of other names such as Hex, head and lateral line erosion and wasting disease) is Spironucleus Vortens.

An infected fish may show one or several of the following symptoms:-

Skin lesions around the head area.
Turning dark.
Refusing to eat.
White jelly like droppings.
Muscle wasting and pinched appearance above the eyes.

The best drug to use is Metronidazole (Flagyl) which you will need to get from your local vet. Ring first to see if he will prescribe it after seeing a photo of the fish, or if he insists on seeing the fish himself.

1. Do a 30% water change.
2. Set the temperature to 30 degrees, no higher.
3. Add 250 mg Metro per 10 Litres of water. Crush tablets to fine powder and mix with water to form a paste before adding to the tank.
4. After 48 hours, do another 30% water change and repeat the dose. This should be done for a total of 3 treatments.
5. During treatment the tank lights should be left off. Metro is affected by light. And turn off your UV unit.
6. A variety of good quality, high protein food with added vitamins and minerals should be fed several times daily. Include prepared dry food, beef heart, brine shrimp, green vegetable matter and blood worms in the diet. Remove any uneaten food and keep the water very clean.

Further reading can be found in the excellent article from Discus Page Holland

http://article.dphnet.com/cat-02/spi...mon%20Symptoms

Hope that helps. Keep us posted on your progress.

*Admin Edit* Post edited to reflect the latest findings on dosage rates for Metro.

[Officerlungy]

The best drug to use is Metronidazole (Flagyl) which you will need to get from your local vet.

This is an effective an inexpensive drug for this type of problem
But get onto it , dont leave it till next week ...

Generally comes in tablet form , to which is best crushed into a powder
and diluted with tank water ...

Don't do what i did and try to hurry the process by putting the powder
directly into the wound .... I killed a nice Uaru with my ignorance
It wont happen again ... ...

The rest as per Lr said ...

Good luck , hope all goes well ...
Andy...

[endless]

Just a quick question. When using metro to treat hex do you continue treatment for 3 days or 5 days? Some post say 3 days some say 5. Not sure which is correct.

[piranha-discus]

when i first braught my small discus they were healthy, now 2 months later, he hids goes abit dark but on the fins on the top it has 2 ear pirce size hole whould u able tell me whats the problem, because my other fish are bright in colour never hiding all eating normal but ear pierce size hole on the top fin,,,,, do u have any opinion what's the problem? are they have some kind of bacteria? I'm just wondering what's the hole on the top of the pin.. thanks

[Merrilyn]

There is an excellent article to be found here on Hole in the Head disease. Well worth reading.

http://article.dphnet.com/cat-02/spi...mon%20Symptoms

[petros]

Hello guys! I have a discus with HITH problem. I first noticed the prob about a month (or more) ago and since then Im trying to cure him with no results till I read the treatment from this forum. I use 1000mg metro (finally I found a drug store to supply it) every 12 hrs with 30% water changes. I apply the treatment since the 21th of March and the discus seems to be recovering. He is eating OK and the color of his poo is OK. I should notice that I have added at the prescription some salt cause the discus was also plague infected. The ques is If I have to continue the treatment for at least ten days as many recommend or to reduce the dosage. The bad thing is that the discus is still hiding at the corner and he is not coming out very often only at "lunch" time. Any comments? Thanks!

[Merrilyn]

Hi petros, from what you are saying, I'd continue to treat for the full 10 days. This is one disease that can be very difficult to cure, and if you cut the treatment short, you risk it coming back again.

It's pretty normal for him to be hiding during treatment. I think metro makes the water taste pretty bad. Now that he's eating again, try mixing some of it with his food, then it will go straight into the gut, where it will do the most good.

[petros]

Thanks laryred. At the morning dose I mix vitamins and at the night dose the metro. I think that Im doing OK and I ll carry on the treatment. I would appreciate any recs!

[petros]

Hello there! The treatment of the HITH is finishing on Saturday (more than the 10 days). What should I do next? Im thinking of daily vitamin enriched food. Any recs? What about water changes? Thanks!