Apisto cac. - possible hole in the head disease?

[boogaloo]

Hi,

I have a male apisto cac. who appears to be showing the first signs of hole in the head disease, which I noticed yesterday. I've looked at pictures on the web today, and I'm pretty sure this is the issue. Water is fine - tested last week:

Ammonia & nitrite 0
pH 7.0, temp 25C
Nitrate 20.

Weekly water changes of 20% with gravel wash (done today). 150L volume.

Female cac. is fine, as are all other fish (1 BN, 10 rummys, 4 corys & 11 cardinals).

The male cac. is a very fussy eater - eats frozen brine shrimp or bloodworm, but won't take anything else (believe me, I've tried!). Could the problem be diet related? I tend to defrost the food, throw all the juices/water away, then feed just the food - is this removing the vitamins, as it is supposed to be vitamin-enriched?

Can anyone help me, as I haven't come across this disease before and don't know what to do! Cheers.

 

[Ike]

I'm no expert on fish diseases but a picture is worth 1000 words, sorry to hear about your sick fish

 

[scatz]

try doing more frequent small water changes, daily if possible. clean water clears up all sorts of problems, and i know smithrc had a case of HITH recently and seemed to get through it with the addition of a bigger filter (cleaner water)

 

[boogaloo]

Thanks for replying. Struggling to get a picture of him, as he's pretty camera shy! Will try additional water changes. The tank has an internal filter, an air-driven sponge and an EX700 running on it, so the filtration is pretty good. It's such a shame - I've had him for two months, and he seemed to be doing great until yesterday, it's just come out of nowhere.

And on top of that, it looks as though my dwarf gourami (who's in another tank) may have dwarf gourami disease. :wb:

Not having much luck lately...

 

[D-MAC]

If you are sure that its Hith you could try some octozin, I recently had some Oscars with the same problem and the octozin worked with them...I did also keep the water as clean as poss during treatment...It may also help with the feeding problem as it deals with internal parasites.
http://www.waterlife.co.uk/waterlife/octozin.htm

 

[boogaloo]

Cheers Derek. It really does look like the start of HITH - it's a white patch, and looks as though the scales have been scraped off. I thought it was possibly an injury to start with, but after a closer look, I changed my mind - it isn't bloody or ragged-looking, plus none of his tankmates are aggressive. Do you have any octozin in stock at the moment? I have a day off work tomorrow, so I could down and pick some up from you at some point if you have some.

Also, would a vitamin supplement be any help for him? I'll try doing daily 10% water changes, to see if this helps as well.

Very keen to do all I can to save him, he's a stunning wee fish.

 

[D-MAC]

Cheers Derek. It really does look like the start of HITH - it's a white patch, and looks as though the scales have been scraped off. I thought it was possibly an injury to start with, but after a closer look, I changed my mind - it isn't bloody or ragged-looking, plus none of his tankmates are aggressive. Do you have any octozin in stock at the moment? I have a day off work tomorrow, so I could down and pick some up from you at some point if you have some.

Also, would a vitamin supplement be any help for him? I'll try doing daily 10% water changes, to see if this helps as well.

Very keen to do all I can to save him, he's a stunning wee fish.

Yes I have...A vitamin supplement would not do any harm at all...I have just taken into stock all the NT labs meds but not had a chance to see what I have or try any of it yet, still sorting it all out and getting it listed on my web site.

 

[boogaloo]

Cheers Derek, hope to be down in the afternoon tomorrow (sadly, my hubby has hired a van for the morning and has told me I'm helping him to clear the garage out!)

10% water change today, and I've ordered a vitamin supplement. Had the idea of crushing some flake and Prima, and dissolving it into the brine shrimp (which he loves). He ate quite a bit, so I'm hoping he's absorbed some of the goodness from the dry food - I figured this was worth a try until the vitamins arrive.

Definitely HITH disease when I look at pics on the web. Thankfully his colour is good, his appetite is good (though fussy), he doesn't look emaciated and he's acting like his normal, feisty self, so fingers crossed I can help him.

 

[Mooo]

I understood it begins in the gut..