Hole in the head cures

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
J

Japtastic

Gambusia
MFK Member
Oct 27, 2008
246
3
18
London UK
My 3" Firemouth has HITH that I have been treating for at least 3 weeks now with no change/improvement.

I have been treating in a 10g tank with Salt, Metronidazole and 30c water with every other day 50% water change with lots of aeration, he is still eating and I have been feeding cut up earth worms and brine shrimp enriched with spirulina.

Can any one else suggest what else I can do?
 
any way you can add vitamins to his food? ive read that HITH is caused by poor diet and water quality-so keep up the waterchanges and get some fish vitamins (i use liquid stuff) and just be patient with him.
 
I have researched HITH in the past, and they do not have a specific cause. However, they have found, as you probably know, water quality is often associated with it. One study that I read noted that there was no bacteria to be cultured off the lesions, nor microbes to be found, but speculated that the reports that metronidazole helps to cure HITH was due to internal disease. Since poor water quality and diet are often attributed to HITH, it makes sense that internal parasites (flagellates or some bacteria) sapping away the fish's nutrients could cause this, and respond to Metronidazole. So treating with Metro is a good idea, but Metronidazole is not readily absorbed by freshwater fish as a bath. It is much more effective when added to the food.

GL
Jen
 
Thanks for all the input, very hard to get a picture of him, I will keep trying.

The diet I provide is very good, staple is a combo of NLS and Hikari then every other day or 3rd day a combo of frozen blood worm, brine shrimp enriched with spirulina, then fresh/live muscle, prawn and earthworm. The water is very clean with weekly 20% water change + way over filtered with no carbon, so I doubt it's either water quality or diet...

I think he may have had a small lesion on his head when I got him.

I will try and get some liquid vitamins today.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom