Looking for confirmation of HITH disease

[Rodox]

Hey folks,

Long time reader first time poster

I’ve had this apisto for 6 months and this week I noticed a hole next to his eye

Can one of you more experienced fish keepers confirm if this is in fact Hole in the head disease?

Thanks!

 

[MacZ]

Unusual in that there is no bacterial film on that spot.

Would you be so kind and fill out the template for fish diseases?

Template for disease/parasite/death cases

This template contains the most important questions to be answered when dealing with sick or dead fish to find causes and advise on treatments. Please copy and paste into a new thread and answer the questions as precise as possible. Water parameters should be given in numbers. "Fine" or "good"...

apistogramma.com

Spironucleus/Hexamita has several factors that decide whether it breaks out or stays dormant.

If none of the factors fit you can be very sure it's an injury, but if one fits you should think about treatment.

 

[Mike Wise]

Erosion of one of the pores in the lateral line; a classic symptom of Hole in the Head "Desease".

 

[Rodox]

Unusual in that there is no bacterial film on that spot.

Would you be so kind and fill out the template for fish diseases?

Template for disease/parasite/death cases

This template contains the most important questions to be answered when dealing with sick or dead fish to find causes and advise on treatments. Please copy and paste into a new thread and answer the questions as precise as possible. Water parameters should be given in numbers. "Fine" or "good"...

apistogramma.com

Spironucleus/Hexamita has several factors that decide whether it breaks out or stays dormant.

If none of the factors fit you can be very sure it's an injury, but if one fits you should think about treatment.

Thanks for the reply, here's the template:

Which animal is affected? Species, sex, age? (If age unknown: How long have you had the fish?)
Apistogramma agassizii "blue flame" purchased from Dan's fish on 06/26/24

What are the symptoms? Any changes in look, behaviour, bearing, buoyancy, fecies?
Only noticeable symptom is the hole next to his eye

How long has the problem been going on? (Timeline?)
2 weeks

What's the full stocking list?
12 cardinal tetras
10 Red Cherry tetras
2 Panda garras
1 female Apistogramma Beanschi (male died in June)
1 male Apistogramma agassizii "blue flame" (female died in September)
10 amano shrimp
5 nerite snails
Any changes in the behaviour of the other fish?
Nothing noticeable

What size is the tank? (Preferrably dimensions, not volume!)
Dimensions (LxWxH):900 x 500 x 450mm (35.4"×19.7"×17.7")
Volume: 186 L/49.1 gals

How long is the tank running?
April 2024

Have there been any changes in the past 2 months? New animals, plants, decoration?
Group of 5 Red cherry tetra was introduced on October 29th

What food are the fish fed? How much, how often?
I rotate between:
frozen Brine shrimp
Frozen daphnia
Xtreme pellets
dry-freeze blood worms (hikari)
Tank is fed once a day

What is the temperature?
25C / 77F

What are the water parameters? (Please note all known tank and source water parameters in numbers! Not "good", "optimal" or "perfect"!)
pH: 7.2
GH: 10
KH: 5
EC/TDS: 240
NO3: 10
NO2: 0
NH3/4: 0

What test kit did you use? (liquid, strips, store service?)
API liquid test kit
Vivosun digital TDS meter

Are you using water conditioners or any other additives? (e.g. dechlorinators, humic/blackwater extracts, fertilizers)
Seachem prime
2 hr aquarist complete fertilizer applied once a week

What filter are you using? (Canister, sponge, internal, mattenfilter?)
OASE BioMaster Thermo 350 External Filter

What's the maintenance regimen? (Waterchange volume and frequency, thorough cleaning of filters/substrate?)
Water change once per month, changing 50%
Filter, hose and in/outlets are cleaned every 3 months

Have there been any chemicals used around the tank? (Cleaning agents, room sprays, wall paint, adhesives...)
No

Have there been any pesticides, fungicides or herbicides used around the tank?
No

Are there any unknown animals in the tank?
No

What has been done already? (Timeline!)
research and observation

If so, what meds have been used? (Timeline!)
No meds used yet, Intention is to use Fritz paracleanse

 

[Rodox]

Here’s a picture of the tank today

 

[Yvonne G]

Here’s a picture of the tank today

View attachment 15435

That's very pleasing to look at!

 

[MacZ]

I see no indication for this being Spironukleus. The fish is fed properly, no particularly soft water, no stress factors recently. If any it's just the infection with the pathogen.

The med treatment you're thinking about is exactly right.
Paracleanse will likely shake the stability of the system a bit, so keep an eye on the Nitrite levels during treatment.

If you want you can first try a multivitamin treatment. There are vitamin drops to mix with fish foods available from many manufacturers. They are all pretty much identical. 5 drops with frozen foods every two days for 1-2 weeks. If it's gone then spare the meds, if not do it.

 

[Mike Wise]

The only thing that stood out for me was the frequency of water changes. If it were my tank I would be making 25% water changes at least every 2 weeks. HITH is frequent related with water quality issues. I wouldn't treat the whole tank, but put the apisto in a smaller hospital tank. That prevents stress on the other fish/plants and is a more economical use of medicine.

 

[MacZ]

It is indeed connected to very mineral poor water, but to quality rather indirectly in that the quality may stress the fish and let the parasites do their thing. But it doesn't seem like it.

I agree on more waterchanges though.

 

[Rodox]

Thank you for the input folks. I’ve been reading your posts on the forum for over an year and you guys helped me a lot, thank you very much for sharing the knowledge!

Today I’ll stop by my LFS and look for those meds and vitamins to initiate treatment

I wish I could setup a hospital tank, but an angry wife set my limit to 3 tanks. If I setup a temporary 10gallon right now would be a declaration of war

I’ll rethink my water change routine to every 15 days instead. I never saw elevated Nitrate levels thats why I only do them once a month.

I’ll update this thread to show the results, and hopefully a healed fish

Cheers!

 

[Rodox]

That's very pleasing to look at!

Thank you!!