# Flowerhorn and hexamita



## heylady (Oct 14, 2004)

Okay, on another thread I had posted about putting down a fish. That fish was my flowerhorn female. I haven't done it yet.  I find myself having a difficult time doing this as I want to give her every chance I can.

In all the year's I've kept fish I have never had such a sickly fish! When I first got her it soon became obvious that she was very finicky when it came to food. Other fish would take hunks of raw shrimp without hesitation but not her. Pellets would be taken but only if they were small. Okay, right? Then came the bumps. In the middle of her body these lumps would form under her skin. Eventually they would burst open! After doing some research I determined that she had some sort of worm (I forget the name now). This happened off and on over a period of several months. After each 'bursting' I would dose the tank with copper to make sure any parasites would die. Then came the hexamita. Off and on, off and on. I would treat the tank, she'd get better for a long while, then it would show up again. Did the whole garlic soaked food. This seemed to work for awhile too but then the hex would show up again.

Her tank gets 50% water changes once a week just like all my other tanks. This tank only has her and a rhino pleco in it. It's a 55g pH is 7.4, temp has been bumped up to 80Âº, ammonia, nitrites are at 0 and nitrates are <10. BTW, the pleco is about 7" in length and she is maybe a tad bit smaller.

I have tried another dosing of the hex medicine. Today the water must be changed and then another dosing goes in. I am wondering if using a UV sterilizer would help in any way? Grasping at straws here really. She hasn't eaten in weeks now, I even tried gut loading some live ghost shrimp but she wouldn't touch them. I really like this fish. Any suggestions?


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

What symptoms led you to the hexamita diagnosis?


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## heylady (Oct 14, 2004)

Darkening of the body, long thin white feces, loss of appetite...._sometimes_ hanging in the corner facing downwards (but this isn't all the time).


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

What medication have you used? Often, it takes more than one med to get things cleared up...


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## Bachachi (Sep 8, 2004)

I also have a couple of fish in my tank with this same disease. I've been trying Jungle 
Parasite Clear and Jungle Anti-Parasite Medicated fish food. They don't seem to touch
the food at all, and after two treatments of dosing as directed I don't see any improvement.

Hated to hijack your post heylady, but I could use some answers also. I've had these
fish for four years and would hate to lose them. Looking forward to any suggestions also!


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## heylady (Oct 14, 2004)

Sorry I didn't post back right away, things got rather hectic around here!

I ended up putting her down today.  Even after all the meds, she was getting weaker and weaker and she still had the white stringy feces. So I caught her (oh so easily) and put her in a container and she didn't even struggle. I probably should have done this sooner....but at least now she's out of her misery.

As far as meds, I have done all the various brands of hex meds, including Jungle parasite clear. I also tried the medicated food but she never would touch it. When she had the worms coming out of her body I used copper. But I never did try to combine different medications as all my research pointed to the metronidazole as being the recommended cure.

I hope your fish recover Bachachi!!


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## Bachachi (Sep 8, 2004)

Sorry for your loss heylady.  My fish is still struggling to survive after using Jungle parasite
clear as directed, and the medicated food which was never touched. Began new treatment
yesterday with Crypto-Pro which is suppose to be for resistant strains of hexamita. Its from
National fish pharmaceuticals, its a ten day treatment. I'll keep you informed as to how 
well it works. I'm keeping my fingers crossed as I've had this fish for about three years.


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## Bachachi (Sep 8, 2004)

Tried every thing, new meds didn't work at all ! Ended up losing three fish to this disease.
My research also pointed to Metronidazole, but I couldn't find it at any of the LFS.


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