Hith? - Help

nzafi

Goliath Tigerfish
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Mar 14, 2008
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I noticed my rhom had some damage on his head the other day and I am trying to figure out what it is. Originally I thought he just bumped his head but it is not going away and I am worried that it is hith. My rhom is in 75gal tank and I to do frequent water changes so I am not sure where this came from if its hith.

I have had my rhom for 15.5 years so I am really worried about this. Any help is appreciated. I couldn't take pics but I was able to take a video. Towards the end you can get a much better perspective of the damage on his forehead.

http://youtu.be/LshJAh9yUE0
 

Rocksor

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A bad scrape can take a month or two to heal, depending on how deep it is. I wouldn't expect HITH to show up overnight.
 

nzafi

Goliath Tigerfish
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I have never dealt with Hith and this looks more like holes to me than a scrape. If its just scrape I expect it go away, I am just concerned it is hith and needs to be treated asap. Maybe I am being paranoid.
 

tlindsey

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I have never dealt with Hith and this looks more like holes to me than a scrape. If its just scrape I expect it go away, I am just concerned it is hith and needs to be treated asap. Maybe I am being paranoid.
What type of filtration are you using?
 

nzafi

Goliath Tigerfish
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I do weekly to bi-weekly water changes of 50% for the past 1.5 years. I went on vacation and there was a 3 week period where I did not do water changes and that is when I noticed this, but not sure if was there before. He is in a 75gal by himself and only fed once a week. I can test for ammonia/nitrite, but usually only test for nitrates. Nitrates have not gone over 10-15ppm for a very long time.

For the first 14years of keeping him, I did water changes every 4-6 weeks until my new routine mentioned above. This is a new issue that I noticed recently though.
 

tlindsey

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Age could factor in also, as far as appearance IMO. I say that because from what I'm reading your doing the right things , wc's are crucial. BTW you wouldn't be feeding live feeder's to the Rhom from your LFS, feeders such as goldfish carry all sorts of parasites.
 

nzafi

Goliath Tigerfish
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Nope. He is a bit of a picky eater, so he mostly gets smelt with shrimp occasionally. I am going to try catfish and stuffing it with pellets to see if he will take that. He used to get goldfish a long time ago but not for a very long time. Also, the filter on the tank is a FX5.
 

tlindsey

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Nope. He is a bit of a picky eater, so he mostly gets smelt with shrimp occasionally. I am going to try catfish and stuffing it with pellets to see if he will take that. He used to get goldfish a long time ago but not for a very long time. Also, the filter on the tank is a FX5.
If he won't eat the catfish , try tilapia :).
 

nzafi

Goliath Tigerfish
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Mar 14, 2008
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After digging through the forums, I think I am going to take a dual approach. I will try soaking some NLS pellets with epsom salt and inserting them in catfish/tilapia. He normally eats once a week so I will see if I can get him to eat 3-5days in a row. I will just feed smaller portions

Just to be on the safe side, I think I will also treat metro+ which will directly into the tank.
 
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