Head and Lateral Line Erosion Disease (HLLD or HLLE) - Hole-in-the-Head Disease
Symptoms: Begins as small pits on the head and face, usually just above the eye. If untreated, these turn into large cavities and then the disease progresses along the lateral line.
Head and Lateral Line Disease is also known as Hole-in-the-Head Disease, Lateral Line Erosion (LLE), and Lateral Line Disease (LLD). It is attributed to a nutritional deficiency of one or more of: Vitamin C, Vitamin D, calcium, and phosphorus. Though its cause is not definitively determined, it is thought to be caused by a poor diet or lack of variety, lack of partial water changes, or over filtration with chemical media such as activated carbon.
HLLE has been reversed by one or more of the following treatments:
◦Increase frequent water changes.
◦Add vitamins to frozen foods.
◦Add the addition of flake foods, as they are enriched with vitamins.
◦Add greens, either frozen or in leaf form, to the diet.
◦Decrease the amount of beef heart as it lacks many critical nutrients.
◦Remove activated carbon filtration.
(This disease is often confused with another disease called 'Hexamita', because both these diseases are often seen simultaneously in the same fish. Hexamita is a protozoan disease that attacks the lower intestine. Discus and other large cichlids, especially Oscars, are especially prone to Hexamita.)
