HITH is caused by stress, and in a glass box stress can come in many forms, for many different species of fish.
In the case of blackwater species I agree with both Matt, and Tom, in that those species found in acidic blackwater environments do not always cope well with various parasites/pathogens found in non blackwater environments.
Why do some fish get HITH while others kept in the same tank, and fed the exact same diet do not? I posted the following in a past discussion on fish health .....
IMO the reason for this is due to the fact that all fish are individuals, and while they can have individual behaviors & temperaments, I also believe that each fish can only tolerate individual levels of stress before they weaken enough to become susceptible to these stressors. You'll typically find that the same holds true for most organisms on our planet, including humans.
Just as one can have genetic runts, I also believe that one can end up with fish that have genetically weak immune systems, or at least weaker than normal. This would explain why one fish in a tank full of (any species), can end up with fungus, or pop eye, or HITH, or whatever, while other fish in the same tank have no health issues whatsoever. Or why some fish survive an ammonia spike, while others drop like flies. Or why only one female in a tank full of breeders ends up egg bound, while no other females ever exhibit this problem.
In the wild Mother Nature has a way of dealing with fish such as this, but what if some of these fish are collected, and exported? How many people cull WC fish? Most breeders will do almost anything to save a prized egg bound female, yet in the wild that fish would either pull through on its own, or else .....
Overuse of medication can also cause an immune system to become severely compromised. Many exporters & importers dose the fish with meds shortly after they are collected or received, again with tranqs when the fish are shipped, while many hobbyists dose the fish yet again with meds when they arrive to their new home. (as a precautionary step) Already the fish have the odds stacked against them, and all it takes is one single weak link to start a snowball effect in ones tank.
Perhaps in some cases, even when we do everything right, it ultimately all boils down to nothing more than a roll of the dice with certain individual fish.
..................................................
The actual pathogen that has been identified as being most commonly associated with HITH disease is Spironucleus vortens, a pathogen that I have discussed in great detail in a number of past threads, including a few that were later made stickies here on MFK. From one of those past discussions;
That info came from a 200+ page paper on S. vortens and Angelfish, which can be found in the following link.
http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-120399-140825/unrestricted/ANGEL.PDF
HTH
In the case of blackwater species I agree with both Matt, and Tom, in that those species found in acidic blackwater environments do not always cope well with various parasites/pathogens found in non blackwater environments.
Why do some fish get HITH while others kept in the same tank, and fed the exact same diet do not? I posted the following in a past discussion on fish health .....
IMO the reason for this is due to the fact that all fish are individuals, and while they can have individual behaviors & temperaments, I also believe that each fish can only tolerate individual levels of stress before they weaken enough to become susceptible to these stressors. You'll typically find that the same holds true for most organisms on our planet, including humans.
Just as one can have genetic runts, I also believe that one can end up with fish that have genetically weak immune systems, or at least weaker than normal. This would explain why one fish in a tank full of (any species), can end up with fungus, or pop eye, or HITH, or whatever, while other fish in the same tank have no health issues whatsoever. Or why some fish survive an ammonia spike, while others drop like flies. Or why only one female in a tank full of breeders ends up egg bound, while no other females ever exhibit this problem.
In the wild Mother Nature has a way of dealing with fish such as this, but what if some of these fish are collected, and exported? How many people cull WC fish? Most breeders will do almost anything to save a prized egg bound female, yet in the wild that fish would either pull through on its own, or else .....
Overuse of medication can also cause an immune system to become severely compromised. Many exporters & importers dose the fish with meds shortly after they are collected or received, again with tranqs when the fish are shipped, while many hobbyists dose the fish yet again with meds when they arrive to their new home. (as a precautionary step) Already the fish have the odds stacked against them, and all it takes is one single weak link to start a snowball effect in ones tank.
Perhaps in some cases, even when we do everything right, it ultimately all boils down to nothing more than a roll of the dice with certain individual fish.
..................................................
The actual pathogen that has been identified as being most commonly associated with HITH disease is Spironucleus vortens, a pathogen that I have discussed in great detail in a number of past threads, including a few that were later made stickies here on MFK. From one of those past discussions;
That info came from a 200+ page paper on S. vortens and Angelfish, which can be found in the following link.
http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-120399-140825/unrestricted/ANGEL.PDF
HTH
