HITH (Hole in the Head)

[darkdep]

Does anyone have any real-life experience with HITH?

I **think** one of my German Rams has HITH...I just noticed last night what looks like a very sunken sore between his eyes.  I did some reading on HITH and it seems like nobody has a definitive cause nailed down...the tank he's in does NOT in any way have poor water quality so I'm a little surprised.

The stuff I'm reading seems like this is a death sentence?

[repeej]

Take him back to the store before the "warranty" runs out. :-)

[Julie]

Dark, can you post a pic?

thanks,
Julie

[BigDaddy]

Rams can get hole in the head from stress.  I've had a ram tank where one of the rams was being bullied and developed HITH.

HITH is an opportunistic disease.  Sometimes it can be from water conditions, sometimes from aggression, sometimes from poor diet.

I've noticed that rams overall tend to get HITH and popeye rather quickly.

Move him into a hospital tank and feed him food medicated with Metro if he's still eating.  It'll clear up.  Well... at least mine did.

[Mettle]

From all the extensive reading I've done there is no guaranteed reason for HITH and there is also no guaranteed cure. There's things people believe lead to its cause and things people believe help in curing it. But nothing has, from everything I've read, been definitive across the board.

I know a lot of people with oscars coat their pellets with a liquid vitamin which seems to help. While keeping water conditions pristine, of course.

[squeeker]

Aww, darkdep, not the ones you just got...?

[darkdep]

Squeeker:  Yes!  Actually, the female I got from you died from ich on Tuesday...I popped back in and got her replaced yesterday.

The Male, except for the HITH symptoms, is not showing any signs of illness.  He's active, eating well, and has no signs of the ich the female had.  

I have khuli loaches in this tank too (I thought they had vanished...but I saw one the other day...) so I wasn't really sure about medicating the tank.

I've got a 10gal not doing anything, I'll try to set up a quickie hospital and try medicating.

BD:  What is "Metro"?

Julie:  I'll try to get a pic of the affected area and post it, I'd appreciate more opinions.

I really have fallen for these fish, just figure they're a little more prone to transport stress than others I've got...if I can get them over the hump I think they'll be fine.

[squeeker]

Darkdep,

Sorry to hear about your ram troubles...

We sell Metro+ at SP.  I think a good-sized bottle is $14.

[Julie]

Natural remedy - earthworms from the tackle shop also lots of clean low nitrate water

[BigDaddy]

Hmmm.... when dealing with a disease issue in the tank, I think putting live food in the tank is probably not a good idea.  If you are already dealing with a potential pathogen, I would think the last thing you want is to potentially introduce parasites into the tank.

[squeeker]

I've heard people swear by the earthworm remedy... but they might be a little to big for a ram to tackle anyway.

[darkdep]

I'm doing more water changes than usual now (every couple days) and have raised the temp of the tank up to 79.

[Julie]

Was thinking of the parasite issue with worms, if we catch fish using worms and then put them in the frying pan, are we therefore ingesting parasites?  I can't comprehend this one.
I plucked worms from the lawn numerous times and gave them to my discus,-what a feeding frenzy.  Rams are small but worms can be cut in smaller pieces.
You could also make a beefheart mix with metro for your rams, this is common procedure for discus with hexamita.
Where did you get them - drop me a pm.

Thanks,
Julie