D6C1 Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 I got this clown loach (approx 10cms) that FINALLY! came out of hiding and he seems to have HITH. Only a couple so nothing drastic I hope. No other fish affected. I have recently cleaned my canisters, 2 of them, 2 weeks apart. I have added salt and primed the whole tank. 6x2x2 Do they recover from HITH or is this the path to parting? Will other fish get infected? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaZ Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 They can recover. Some have success with flagyl, and there are some other medications out there that have worked for others too but the names escape me. I had some success in the past feeding earthworms to the affected fish. Not sure how or why they work, or if there is even any medical basis to the theory, but it worked for me. HITH is said to be caused by an internal parasite, brought on by poor diet, dirty water, or a combo of both. I guess the earthworms might contain something which helps flush their system out a bit Keep the diet varied (including earthworms), keep the water very clean (do more water changes than normal for a while) and try treating with flagyl or similar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D6C1 Posted February 24, 2006 Author Share Posted February 24, 2006 I am not sure how long hes had it for. I have other fish in there, and 5 other Clownloaches who are not affected at all. Im sure the worms will be gobbled by the fish before they get to him :-( Will the HITH affect the others? Shall I pull him out? Their diet is varied. Dirty water? Well possibly. The canisters needed a change after approx 6 months. But wouldnt that also affect the others? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anchar Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 BaZ has outlined the reasons for HITH pretty well. The other medication he may have been searching for is Octozin, but it may be difficult to source. Andrea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motorman Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 I have found that its a lack of vitamins brought on by an regular diet without using a quality food. Try Flaggyl but remember not full dose for the Loach. Also try using a liquid multivitamin(from Healthfood shop) and try and put it on the food. I have had success without drugs just the Multivitamins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IntoTheRainz Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 i know this is old post but i like to add to it to help others who suffer the same disease. HITH cause by poor water condition and poor food ( lack of vitamine), Just like others mention. To cure it there are 2 method, first method is cheap and safe: 1st method **Do water change regularly like maximum water change is 30% and add some salts to it ( prefer marine salt as it contain minerals to it). Do water change twice a week or so would help to cure this disease. ** Feed variety of food such as spirulina flakes blood worm, brine shrimp and so... ** i also went to woolies to buy centrum brand multi vitamine and put them in the tank so the water column will have vitamine available for this fish this will help them. If above method dont seem to improve then try medicine. 2nd method metronidozole (flagyl), there are other drug also do the job like others mention by Wes "Octozin by Waterlife" ( never try this myself so i don tknow it). I always stick with option 1 treatment ( cheap and safe) **** forgot to mention bring the temperature up to 27 degree this will increase motablism in the fish to get cure quicker too*** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D6C1 Posted November 1, 2006 Author Share Posted November 1, 2006 Thanks mate! He recovered oh his own.. Happened when I cleaned both filters at the SAME time. Wont be doing that again!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassoonboy Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 Hi, Just to let you know. Sourcing metronidozole is not always easy. My local vet was an absolute ...., I've got a catfish with bloat, metronidozole is used to cure this problem as well. Long story short a recent sponsor LFS out at Auburn stocks this in a powdered form which can be made into a solution then added to the tank. You need 1 gram per 50 litres of tank water. Also you can and should soak food eg. algae disks etc. in the solution let them absorb the solution for a few days and then dry them out so they don't break up when you put them into the tank. This apparently is the most effective way to get it into the fish. You can make a large batch that can be kept for a considerable amout of time and used to remedicate if needed. This LFS was very helpful. I drove out from Narrabeen which is a bit of a hike but well worth it. Most Vets don't know what their talking about when it comes to fish and usually won't give prescription drugs with out a consult. Catching a sick fish and taking it to the vet is only going to put more stress on it which is absurd when the vet is likely to not have any experience in this field. The cost of this consult in time and money is much more expensive than the product itself and a trip out to Auburn. Good Luck Cheers, Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IntoTheRainz Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 yeh i suppose i shouldnt say that, might put at risk . gone now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ash Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 edit that out, it ain't legal!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gert Jensen Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 I agree with Ash, don't risk getting your family in trouble, or worse yet, cause them to lose their license to practice. Metronidazole is a very valuable antibiotic for humans, as it's still effective against many bacteria that are resistant to others. Which is probably the reason why your vet is a PITA when it comes to handing it out. So don't abuse it, don't want your tank to become a factory of resistant bacteria From memory, although I'd have to check to be sure, it's used to treat mainly giardia and amoebic infection (i.e. protozoans, not worms), so asking your doctor for worm medication will probably not give you anything valuable. It's also used for a number of bacterial infections. I would suggest that you follow bassoonboy's advice. If he will eat, don't medicate the whole tank, just sprinkle the dust, or solution, or a broken up tablet, onto a algae wafer and drip some water over it to make it dissolve into the disc. Then feed it to your fish. Worked for one of my bristlenoses who was severely bloated. And buy it from your LFS, don't bother trying to dupe your GP into giving it to you It won't work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giz Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 I have never heard of clown loaches getting hole in the head. I have always been under the assumption that only cichlids get it. Giz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gert Jensen Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 yeh i suppose i shouldnt say that, might put at risk . gone now Might want to edit it out of your first post as well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gert Jensen Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 Another reason why you may not want to medicate your whole tank is that metronidazole is a carcinogen in some animals. I couldn't find anything specific on fish, but I'd medicate the one fish only, rather than risking short life span in other fish due to cancer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gert Jensen Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 are u a LFS? No LFS, just studying for exams in parasitology in a few days so this discussion was a nice diversion, as well as being somewhat relevant to my exam Advice on medicating was for toufic, although I realised just now that his clown loach actually recovered on his own. I should really read all posts before replying Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waruna Posted November 3, 2006 Share Posted November 3, 2006 G'Day toufic, Hope you find this interesting: Hole in the head, fin erosion & lateral line disease are very common occurrences in marine fish. In other words, it's almost a certainty in a "fish only" aquarium. However, in reef aquariums, some of the surgeonfish might be spared of these afflictions due to constant addition of trace elements, vitamins and who knows what substances the invertebrates give off in the aquarium. As you know fish are capable of absorbing nutrients through the gills. There are theories that such ailments are caused by electric current, bacteria, lack of sun light...etc. IMO, it is 95% nutritional related, or a high dosage of Copper Sulphate medication and a very remote chance due to bacterial infection. How do I come to this conclusion? Prior to the advent of NLS, I kept marine fish, and guess what? Every time, no matter what I did, maintaining a wide variety of diet (conventional wisdom) the fish "ALWAYS" came down with these diseases. The yellow tangs turned into a pale yellow color and their fins looked like someone just used a pair of scissors to trim its fins, and the purple tangs & sailfin tangs lateral line were exposed with raw flesh. The hepatus tangs and emperor angel were pitted on the face. I always ended up by euthanizing the afflicted fish. You can read the whole thread here: http://www.newlife.ipbhost.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=67 And this: http://www.newlife.ipbhost.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=90 You have to feed a variety of ingredients, yes this is true, but you don't need to feed a variety of brands. If you feed a food like NLS, you really don't need to feed anything else. By substituting one nutritionally deficient product for another, you are going back in circles; the truth is the fish will never get enough nutrients. Just feed one food that contains all the nutritional needs, like NLS. HTH, Waruna Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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