# fungus or hole-in-head?



## Worrywort (Jul 26, 2006)

I have a fish that is slowly losing sections of skin! At first it was a small section of his upper lip but now there is a section deteriorating from his face just below the eye. I had treated him with a basic fungal treatment and he was fine for a few days and now this second occurance!? It did not seem to be hole-in-the-head because I never saw any pitting of the head area but now I'm not sure if I'm just taking the symptoms too literally, or if the pitting is just too small to be noticeable. I don't want to treat my fish with major medications unless I know which one to use as he is already pretty weak. Any suggestions on how I can further narrow down the diagnosis?


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## Lupin (Aug 1, 2006)

Fungus is very rare. It sounds more like hexamita. Metronidazole can remedy that with the removal of internal parasites.


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## Worrywort (Jul 26, 2006)

thank you. I'll try that medication first.


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## Worrywort (Jul 26, 2006)

just a note, it seems that although it is very rare for angel fish to have hole-in-the-head, and that all the physical symtems did look a lot more like a fungus, it seems my angel did indeed have HITH! However, it was the internal parasite variety that is even rarer for any fish to get which is why I had such a tough time diagnosing it. Unfortunately, diagnosis came too late for my fish:sad: but hopefully, others can learn from this. The internal version of HITH shows up only when far advanced and basically the hole froms under the surface, then becomes transparent and finally the cavity collapses! The entire process took a matter of days for each hole and in this case actually started in the mouth! Hope this info. helps someone!;-)


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