Treating Hexamita with my Angel Fish

loriet · Feb 10, 2014

Hello Everyone,
I am new here...I did not see the introduction forum...so here it goes.
I have (what I perceive to be) a very healthy 29 gallon freshwater community tank.
I perform weekly water changes and have not added new fish in over a year.
My resident Angelfish has HIH / LLD, as displayed by an open sore on his lateral line.
I have been treating him with Metronidazole (Seachem) in his food, however I have been conservative with the doses.
The directions say 1-2 measures (each about 100 mg) for every 10 gallons, (I have been giving one measure per every 10 gallons).
Repeat every 2 days until symptoms disappear.
I removed the carbon filtration and mixed the medicine with his food as directed.
He is not getting better, rather he is getting worse.
Is Metronidazole the best remedy? Is there something better out there that I can treat my Angel Fish with?
Thank you,
Lorie

Aquanero · Feb 10, 2014

Metro is the med of choice for hex. Once you have five posts you can post a picture which may help. Can you post your water perameters ammonia, nitrites, nitrates and Ph?

RD. · Feb 10, 2014

Lorie, while hexamita/spironucleus is generally best treated with metronidazole once it becomes systemic, there is another option that IME is very effective, and safer, and less costly.

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?523470-Treating-Hexamita-aka-Spironucleus

If your fish is still eating you may want to give that a try as well. Good luck.

Aquanero · Feb 10, 2014

I knew somone was going to suggest this. While I agree it can be effective my experiance is this is more stressful to the fish (chasing, capture, handeling and dosing) and more diffacult for a novice and unless the person is very experianced it is easier to use Metro soaked food, provided the fish is still eating. If infact this (hex) is what the op is dealing with. Without a picture I don't even know that for sure. You can post and site all the studies you want I will not recomend this unless I'm comfortable with and know the members level of skill with this type of procedure.

RD. · Feb 10, 2014

I'm guessing by that response that you haven't actually read that sticky, Tom. You really should, and the links provided within that thread. The one study (a 200+ page read) involved hex/spiro infected Angelfish.

There is no chasing, capturing, or handling of the fish, unless the fish has become sick enough that it is refusing food. Force feeding was only suggested as a last resort, otherwise my method is the same as yours - presoaking the food with something that has been proven effective against hex/spiro flagellates. IME my method is just as effective (or more so) than presoaking food in Metro, and as previously stated it's far safer, and far less costly.

Aquanero · Feb 11, 2014

Guilty as charged, I did jump to the conclusion that you were referring to feeding via a pipette which I see so many people recommend right out of the shoot. As long as the fish is eating soaking food in metro or Epsom salt is a viable method of treatment. Since the OP already had Metro I was dealing with the question at hand and did not delve any further into any alternative methods of treatment. Having said that, I would still like to see a picture of the affected area and have a look at water perameters to try and confirm what the OP is dealing with is actualy Hex or somthing else before going any further.

RD. · Feb 11, 2014

I agree, I'd be curious to see a pic as well as I have only ever heard of or seen lateral line disease in marine angels, not freshwater. If it's HITH, and we're dealing with spironucleus flagellates (much more common) then we are both on the right track. Also, one can presoak food with both metro AND magnesium sulfate at the same time. To which I also like to ensure that I'm feeding a food that includes garlic as there is also some evidence to suggest that certain compounds found in garlic, work in synergy with some anti-parasitic substances when treating spironucleus.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22677132

That link was posted in that sticky too.


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Treating Hexamita with my Angel Fish

loriet

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