Hole in the head (HITH)? What in the world?

[HarleyK]

Howdy,

I'll let photos do the initial talking.




All right, many of you know my setup. In brief:

• 220 gal
• 2x Eheim 2262
• drip system changes 95% tank water/week
• water conditioner autoinjection: Kent Dechlorinator, Kent Iron & Manganese
• 5 Pygo. piraya, ca 1ft each, just over 2 years old
• diet: fish fillet grocery store (tilapia, catfish, salmon, mahi mahi, etc)
• Tankmates: Endlers, spotted raphaels, crabs, shrimp.

One fish only is affected out of five. You notice he also has patchy skin on the back, he has always had that, from little fingerling size, but HITH is new. Skin condition does not appear to be contagious. The others do not isolate him, and he does not withdraw from the pack. Normal appetite. What is going on? I noticed it a couple of weeks ago and thought it might be from bumping into driftwood. Hasn't gotten any better. The opposite. Looks like it's expanding? Hard to tell when panicking.

Thanks for your thoughts,
HarleyK

 

[jp80911]

K, sorry to see that on the piraya.
The cause of HITH is still unknown, there are speculations of what might be responsible such as diet, water quality (nitrate poisoning I think), stray voltage in water from equipment, etc.
with your drip system I would be hard to believe water quality is the factor here. Could be diet since I presume that you feed mostly fillet? maybe it lack of something that whole fish would have (entrails, skin, bone, fins, scale, etc) maybe certain vitamin is missing? check to see if any of your equipment is leaking stray voltage into your tank.
I have seen a good number of pics of fat pygos with HITH, so you are not alone but we may never know what the root cause of it.
here's a link to the rehab journey of a 14" rhom that was in bad shape and with HITH, although not as severe as yours but looks like it was healed so there is still hope.
http://www.piranha-fury.com/pfury/index.php?/topic/188054-14-rhom-rehab/
I actually found a bottle of Metro+ in my stash and it says it can be used to treat HITH, you can look into see if it's something you wanna try and maybe we can meet up, let me know.

 

[tellemuno]

sorry man,ive had the same problem only with my piraya,the rest of my pzzzz[rhom][ternetzi][cariba] r doing well.
i used metro+its taken 2 9day treatments to get most of it to go away and i did it n a 125g thank,but i was worse then urs.so i hope u have
a hospital tank bcuz u will need more then 2bottles for a one day treatment n a 220g.a friend of mine told me
about one called metro pro and uses much less here is the link.http://www.customaquatic.com/estore/control/product/~product=MD-FF-METROPRO

 

[knifegill]

Cured my Oscar with a quick once-over of metro and the one-time addition of a vitamin pyramid. Don't know why it works, I just did what my guru told me would work, and it did. HITH never came back!

 

[ballinouttacntrol]

i actually thought this was a random pic of those monster pirayas we often see on the net and not your personal collection. Sorry man, you'll have to let us know how you treat it

 

[HarleyK]

Thanks, guys.

I have a grounding probe, thus, stray current can be ruled out. jp, as you said, water quality can be ruled out as well. Must be some nutritional deficiency, I agree with you jp. The rhom rehab is inspiring, thanks! Since Metro+ worked for your pirayas, tellemuno, I will stick with the same instead of going generic. Thanks for the offer to share, jp, but a bottle treats half my tank. I just ordered a boatload online. I have a spare 75 gal, but I will not isolate the fish because I am wary of aggression upon reintroduction.

tellemuno, any plants in the tank you treated?

You guys know me, I do my homework when it comes to water additives. I would hate to impact my plants or inverts if at all avoidable. I contacted Hikari customer servoce about Metro+, and their initial reply offered very limited information. Considering metronidazole (active ingredient) is a common pharmaceutical, I kicked up some toxicological data, and Hikari now referred me to their lab staff for discussion. I'll keep you posted what comes out of it, and how helpful they are

HarleyK

 

[jp80911]

K, I knew you got something under your sleeves when it comes to chemical stuff lol keep us posted, hope the big guy makes a speedy recovery.

try to soak the fillet in vita-chem and feed some small whole fish every now and then.

 

[tellemuno]

tellemuno, any plants in the tank you treated?




nope,no plants,i dont think its any good for plants tho.good luck im sure ull do well!

 

[HarleyK]

Howdy,

I found a publication from 1979 that found inhibition of photosynthesis in algae at concentrations roughly equivalent to Metro+ therapeutic levels. Thus, have some concerns about my plants, but hope that they are not quite as sensitive as algae. Often the case, but hard to predict. I referenced that and another publication to the Hikari lab guys, we'll see what they think about it, or if they have actual data on aquatic macrophytes.

As far as I can tell from EPA data, my fish, shrimp, and crabs are safe. So should be snails. It's the plants that I am concerned about, but I am willing to sacrifice them. Especially because Anubias and Crinum will survive in rhizome and bulbs, and everything else is replaceable. My piraya is not.

I'll kepp you guys in the loop if I hear back from Hikari, and when I start treatment.

Thanks again for your input,
HarleyK

 

[jp80911]

Good luck K.