Saskatchewan Fish Lovers

Symptoms:

Hole in the head, or HITH, is also known as head and lateral line erosion, or HLLE. They are just different ways of describing the same disease. It affects the sensory organs in the face as well as those along the lateral lines, causing pitting in both regions, hence its name

Cause:
Much of this disease remains a mystery because many of the studies done have been inconclusive or contradictory in their findings. However there are generally four theories that stand out and have been substantiated numerous times by different studies: environment, diet, "the carbon theory", and Heximita infections.


Treatment:

Contrary to popular belief, and common fish store advice, HITH is actually very easy and extremely inexpensive to cure. It can be cured, or rather sent into remission in several easy steps. Just as a note I've found it is best if you follow the steps in the order they are listed, some steps are not vital to recovery but steps 1 and 2 are essential. It is interesting to note that this treatment does not requite expensive drugs, but relies on good diet and tank maintenance. Following these steps a fish can be cured with little or no money spent.

1) Feed a balanced and vitamin enriched diet. Get your fishes diet back on track and supplement whatever pellet food you choose with vitamins twice a week. If you can’t find any vitamin supplements at your fish store, just powder a common high quality multi-vitamin, then dissolve a small portion in some tank water and allow the pellets to absorb it. In addition feed a larger variety of foods, being sure that they are all relatively close to the fish’s natural diet. Some examples are earthworms, crickets, mealworms, beef heart, crayfish, shrimp, blood worms, or krill. The list could go on ad infinitum, and freeze dried versions of any of the above mentioned foods are good choices too. See the recipe below for a good balanced home made food.

2) Start doing water changes of at least 20% but not more then 50% every three days, usually 25-30% is sufficient. This is the only effective way to lower excess nitrates from the water, make sure that you vacuum the gravel at the same time, as detritus and feces can collect here without your knowing.

3) Add 1 tbs of aquarium salt to every 5-10 gallons of water. It is important not to use table salt as it is treated, kosher salt, marine/aquarium salt, or any untreated forms of salt are ok. Make sure to add new salt for water removed in water changes and be aware that once salt is in the tank it will stay there until removed by water changes so do not add more then what you removed.

4) Raise the temperature in the tank to 80-82° F.  This will increase the fish’s metabolic rate and decrease healing time. Be sure not to raise the temperature above 84-86° F as this can cause undue stress to the fish and is not productive for healing, also do not raise the temperature with out first following steps 1, 2 and 3, as you will simply cause the HITH to advance at a more rapid rate

5) Remove all carbon from your filters. This is a precautionary measure unless you know for a fact that the carbon is the main cause. In future purchase only high quality carbon, and make sure that it is thoroughly washed before addition back in the tank.  This is especially important if you are planning to treat per step 6, as carbon will remove medication from the water.

6) If all else fails or for very advanced cases it will be a good idea to treat the tank for Hexamita, follow the directions for dosing on the box, or bottle, and continue treatment for at least a week. Then go back to treating per steps 1-5.

Continue treatment until you notice the wounds healing, and getting smaller at this time, the temperature can be lowered to the normal for your fish. Salt can be reduced to 1 tbs per 10 gallons or slightly less. And water changes can be done weekly. It is very important that the diet be maintained for the life of the fish. For those of you who have tried all the steps above and are still struggling with HITH, check the next section of this article for other possible causes and their cures.