Panic!

[aidensmomma2000]

I recently acquired a discus and 3 large angels. Julei mentioned the pits on the discus face, and now that I take a close look sure enough the discus and all three angels have pits on their heads.

I didnt add the angels into my discus tank of course, but the new discus is in with all my othes.

Sort of in a panic now...

[Aiglos]

Are you sure they are not just there regular sensory pits ? There should be some pitts there.  This might be a case of just LOOKing for problems.   Some good quality pictures would really help...

[alex]

I recently acquired a discus and 3 large angels. Julei mentioned the pits on the discus face, and now that I take a close look sure enough the discus and all three angels have pits on their heads.

I didnt add the angels into my discus tank of course, but the new discus is in with all my othes.

Sort of in a panic now...

I wouldn't hesitate to start medicating your discus tank with a good antibiotic Robin.  Even if the problem is not something serious or lethal, it can't hurt.

[Julie]

As Aiglos mentionned, angels and discus do naturally have small pore like holes(approx the size of a pin head) in their facial area.

Your new discus has larger pits which I thought may be HITH.

Julie

[BigDaddy]

Any stringy white poop?  Is the fish in question dark or behaving skittishly?

I would deinfately slowly up the temp to 92 and then dose with Metro just to be on the safe side.

[aidensmomma2000]

Well theyre on nonstop garlic so Im not too worried about parasites...the angels have bigger spots than the discus. The discus Im not as worried about.

[TR]

Hi aidensmomma: I just came upon this thread and since I have great fondness for discus as you do.  I felt that maybe I can offer any help/input.

So here we go, first of all... the panic part not to worry you are not alone here.  Discus can sometimes simply have a knack of making thier owners worry.

As for your problem, sounds like it may be the last batch of fish you purchased that may have brought in the dreaded hole in the head disease or did they have it and it is now sufacing.  The Angelfish are also another worry, even though they are usually the tougher of the two.

Spironucleus or Hexamita is a flagellate protozoan that a lot of Central and South American cichlids can harbour in their intestinal tracts.  The parasite can cause problems with Discus that have been subjected to very stressful or bad water conditions.

The transmisson of Hexamita (hole in the head) can be transmitted from other cichlids in the tank to another with Discus being more susceptible to it than the other cichlids.

The symptoms range from bloating of the gut area, stringy gray feces, lack of appetite, and the pin size or large holes in the head/ head area.  Ironiacally it sounds like your Angels have it as well?

There used to be a time when the rule used to be never to mix Discus with Angels, and years ago when I finally got to visit a Jack Wattley seminar I asked what the real reasoning behind that was.  And the answer was a worm called capillaria!

While the Discus and Angels all live in the same geographical locations in the wild/having the same water chemistry, the diseases they can contract are also similar.  But should an Angelfish carry the worm called Capillaria and it then moves on to a Discus in the same tank, it proved to be lethal to the Discus.

I don't know if one can say that today... with all the developments in breeding and advancements of the fish hobby in general and what not.  As for your case, the answer that Bigdaddy gave is very good and can work very well, in terms of raising the temperature.

If it's anything beyond that or perhaps a combination of things  then try a dose of a metronidazole and praziquantel mix.  Chances are it might have gill flukes as well.

I know what your thinking regarding the garlic theory, but you know what? That is only going to work if the fish is generally already healthy (for the most part) and has only minor flukes.  That is not going to work if the fishes ailments are too extreme or too advanced.

It would be like us taking all these so called "natural remedy" supplements... somtimes if it's too much to handle, the immune system needs a little more drastic help.  Be it antibiotics or whatever....  Oh and on the note you can also buy a product called Heximit (AquaTronics makes it).  It is designed to treat hole in the head and it contains antibiotics mixed with metronidazole, I have seen it sold at Big Al's.  And I think jungle might have a product for hole in the head as well....

Either way, either remedy will work with the temperature always high of course 88 to 90 degrees should be okay.  Although the unfortunate thing is that when you cure them all to good health most of the marks or scars will remain on them.  Aside from that though. Good luck, I hope it works out!

                                                   TR