As we've had a few posts just lately with sick cichlids with symptoms of this illness I thought it might be time to do a post and tell you all what I know about it - including how to fight it if you see it appearing in your tank.
Hexamita is a bacterial infection. It is caused by an excess build up of bacteria in the fishes intestines. This bacteria lives in the fishes intestines naturally but it can over grow and this is known as Hexamita. Stress in usually the main cause of Hexamita and once it takes hold of a fish it is fatal.
Symptoms:
This is the difficult part as to begin with it can be hard to spot. A fish with Hex with usually start to isolate itself first. There is always evidence of stringy white poop which looks like the fish is passing white cotton sewing thread (best way I know to describe it). From what I've seen and read there is sometimes the other sign of a fish with an internal problem - such as swimming nose up or down.
In some cases there are other bacterial problems such as Hole in the head or pop eye. I would always watch for either of these things if Hexamita is suspected.
Treatment:
Treatment is two fold. Firstly add an anti-biotic medicine. I used Waterlife's Otozin myself as other anti-biotic meds arn't easily available in the U.K. Sometimes a second dose is needed. The second part of treatment comes in the form of Epsom Salts (Magnesium Sulfate). Add a tablespoon of Epsom Salt to a jug/pot and add half a litre of plain tap water and mix well (it takes time to dissolve but keep stirring until it has) Then take your fish food and add it to your fishing net. Then dip the net into the salt water mixture a few times until the food is well soaked. You can then just feed the food to the fish. Never add Epsom Salt to your tank. It will mess up your water parameters. Simply dunk the food and feed!
The Epsom Salt works as a laxative and will help the fish to pass the excess bacteria. You will need to feed the soaked food twice a day for at least a week. If you are in America there is a food available that does this job for you though - perhaps someone from the States can post a link for it as I am unaware of it's name.
From what I know Hexamita isn't just something cichlids suffer with although it does seem they are more suseptable to it. I do not know why.
When I had it in my tank I lost two baby angels, my breeding pair of Bolivian Rams and a couple of tetra's before I was told what I was dealing with.
If you notice any of the signs in your fish it is important to act fast. Once the fish has stopped eating it is usually too late to save it.
Note:
I do not claim to know everything about this illness I have posted what I learned when I had it in my tank. Please feel free to add anything to this if you see something I have missed or you know more about it. As this illness isn't one we know too much about any further info is useful to know
Regards
Akasha
Hexamita is a bacterial infection. It is caused by an excess build up of bacteria in the fishes intestines. This bacteria lives in the fishes intestines naturally but it can over grow and this is known as Hexamita. Stress in usually the main cause of Hexamita and once it takes hold of a fish it is fatal.
Symptoms:
This is the difficult part as to begin with it can be hard to spot. A fish with Hex with usually start to isolate itself first. There is always evidence of stringy white poop which looks like the fish is passing white cotton sewing thread (best way I know to describe it). From what I've seen and read there is sometimes the other sign of a fish with an internal problem - such as swimming nose up or down.
In some cases there are other bacterial problems such as Hole in the head or pop eye. I would always watch for either of these things if Hexamita is suspected.
Treatment:
Treatment is two fold. Firstly add an anti-biotic medicine. I used Waterlife's Otozin myself as other anti-biotic meds arn't easily available in the U.K. Sometimes a second dose is needed. The second part of treatment comes in the form of Epsom Salts (Magnesium Sulfate). Add a tablespoon of Epsom Salt to a jug/pot and add half a litre of plain tap water and mix well (it takes time to dissolve but keep stirring until it has) Then take your fish food and add it to your fishing net. Then dip the net into the salt water mixture a few times until the food is well soaked. You can then just feed the food to the fish. Never add Epsom Salt to your tank. It will mess up your water parameters. Simply dunk the food and feed!
The Epsom Salt works as a laxative and will help the fish to pass the excess bacteria. You will need to feed the soaked food twice a day for at least a week. If you are in America there is a food available that does this job for you though - perhaps someone from the States can post a link for it as I am unaware of it's name.
From what I know Hexamita isn't just something cichlids suffer with although it does seem they are more suseptable to it. I do not know why.
When I had it in my tank I lost two baby angels, my breeding pair of Bolivian Rams and a couple of tetra's before I was told what I was dealing with.
If you notice any of the signs in your fish it is important to act fast. Once the fish has stopped eating it is usually too late to save it.
Note:
I do not claim to know everything about this illness I have posted what I learned when I had it in my tank. Please feel free to add anything to this if you see something I have missed or you know more about it. As this illness isn't one we know too much about any further info is useful to know
Regards
Akasha
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