My Discus has hole in the head

[Enkay]

How do I treat him? I went to PetLand and they seemed to have nothing to treat it.

This guy is big (6 inches). I have him in a separate tank for now with the temp cranked up. Any meds I should give him and where do I get them from?

Thanks for any advise and help.

 

[YSS]

There is no one cause for HITH. Some treat with metro and some with lots of water changes and good diet.

 

[Andrewtfw]

Hith is more often due to diet and water quality than it is due to the parasite. Up the changes and try soaking the foods in vitamins.

 

[dogofwar]

Generally HITH is a result of dissolved organics in the water, although HITH is a most perplexing condition... I've had fish in perfect water...and I mean...3 times per week 50% water change perfect...get HITH...

Try doing some extra water changes and adding some almond leaves...

Matt

 

[leisure_man]

If it is Hexamita, I would treat them with metronidazole at a dosage of 250mg per 10gal. Do at least a 50% water change and administer the 1st dose. Follows by another 50% water before adminstering a second dose in two days. After that, wait for two weeks and repeat the the entire treatment. Make sure to increase aeration during the treatment period and minimize the lighting period for just a few hours for feeding to help calm the fish.

You can get metronidazole from many online places including Amazon for around $20 for 60 tablets.

The fish will look ugly as the scars will not go away but at least they are healthy.

In the event that your fish is eating, mixing metronidazole with frozen food at a dosage of 1000mg per 1 pound of food will greatly enhance the treatment. Feed the fish for a period of 10 days exclusively with the medicated frozen food will eradicate the internal Hexamita.

 

[George]

Far as I know Hexamita does not have anything to do with HITH. Totally different animals. Jim Quarles wrote several books on Discus. I seem to remember his cure was to take the fish firmly in his hand, bring it over his head, and send it rapidly to the concrete floor rendering the HITH no longer a problem. Of course he had many Discus and his methods may not be approriate in your case. At best the scars that never go away would make him look bad.

George

 

[Enkay]

Well, it was not HITH after all. The sad part is that it was lymphocystis and he did not make it.

 

[jonclark96]

Sorry to hear about your discus. I've never had a fish with lymph, but hear that it is untreatable and easily transferred to other fish in the tank. Any of the tankmates have any symptoms?

 

[Enkay]

None so far. I was able to get the sick fish out fairly early. Only way I will know if others have it is wait and watch though.

 

[YSS]

How do you diagnose the disease?

 

[George]

Sorry to hear it. Losing a big Discus generally puts a hole in the fish room. I sure hope the others stay healthy. Good luck with a sometimes touchy fish.

George

 

[Enkay]

How do you diagnose the disease?

A cauliflower like white growth starts growing out of the fish. Its pretty gross if it gets big.