# Help - Sick Gouromis



## johnmoss (Jul 24, 2007)

I have three dwarf Gouromis in my 55 gallon tank.

I just noticed that two of them appear to have what can best be described as tiny worm hole (or holes of some kind) around their heads.

One has a round brown spot on its forhead.

Does anybody know what this is?:withstup:


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## shade2dope (Jan 21, 2007)

its most likely Hexamita (hole in the head) more often cause by tanks that are not cleaned enough.has he been eating is he changed color like is he/she darker?


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## johnmoss (Jul 24, 2007)

Tank is pretty clean, change about 10-15% weekly, keep filter clean (have an XP3 on a 55 gallon, tank is spotless).

All my gouromis are males......color has changed a bit but not significant


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## trashion (Aug 24, 2007)

i've heard HITH can be caused by poor nutrition and too-small tank size, but that was in reference to oscars in small tanks fed a diet of mostly feeder fish. still, are you varying their diet sufficiently?


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Hole in the head

is a symptom, usually, and not a disease. It is believed to be caused by a number of things, ranging from:

-_stray electricity in the water_- look for a defective heater or pump.
-_poor diet_- give them a good variety of foods, and try supplementing their calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and vitamin-D. There are some supplements in the vitamin sections of many stores which are made for just this combination, usually marketed toward elderly people, and they often quickly cure HITH when given to fishes
-_stress from fish fighting a lot_- look for this and take corrective action if needed
-_Hexamita_- a nasty little dinoflagellate parasite which usually doesn't cause this external symptom until it's already done a lot of internal damage. Eliminated easily enough with a proper treatment of Metronidazole.
-_bacterial infection_- Pseudomonas and Aeromonas are two badguy bacterias which tend to infect head holes, but it's not well agreed upon whether they cause it or just take advantage of the situation. The same goes for many species of fungi frequently found in the holes. Keep the tank clean and these shouldn't be much of a problem.


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