Hexamita
Hexamita fish disease
 

Menu
 

· Tropical Fish Home
· Fish News
· Aquarium Forum
· Buy & Sell
· Calculators
· Equipment reviews
· Free Aquarium Ebook
· Feedback
· Fish Anatomy
· Link to us
· Photo gallery
· Plant species
· Tropica Plant DB
Tropical fish species
· By Common name
· By Scientific name
Tropical Marine fish
· By Common name
· By Scientific name

Aquarium Blogs
  Saltwater aquarium blog

Privacy policy
Search AC
 



AC Tropical Fish
Aquarium Articles
  · African Cichlids
· Algae Control
· Aquarium Decoration
· Aquarium Resources
· Aquatic Plants
· Barb Fish
· Betta Fish
· Breeding Fish
· Catfish
· Central American Cichlids
· Cichlids
· Clownfish
· Corals
· Corydoras Catfish
· Discus Fish
· Dwarf Cichlids
· Fish Diseases
· Frogs and Turtles
· Goby Fish
· Goldfish
· Gourami
· Invertebrates
· Jellyfish
· Killiefish
· Lake Victoria Cichlids
· Livebearers
· Malawi Cichlids
· Marine Aquariums
· Marine Aquarium Fish
· Other Fish
· Pleco
· Predatory Fish
· Photography
· Pond Fish
· Responsible Fish Keeping
· Rainbow Fish
· Shark Fish
· South American Cichlids
· Tanganyika Cichlids
· Tetra Fish
· Tropical Fish Food

Hexamita

Hexamita is caused by intestinal flagellated protozoa and attacks the digestive system and the lower intestines of infected fish. The symptoms of this disease are often confused with those of hole in the head diseases as these two diseases usually are present at the same time in a fish. They are however two separate diseases that each needs to be treated. Some fish species are especially prune to Hexamita such as large cichlids and especially Oscar and discus fish.

The first sign of Hexamita is usually that the faeces become whitish and slimy. During this stage of the development of the disease the fish can still appear to be healthy and eat as usual. As the disease progress the numbers of symptoms will increase and you can often start to see symptoms of hole in the head disease as well. The symptoms of more progressed Hexamita includes the fish becoming darker or even black, the fish start swimming backwards, the head sinks in (becomes thin), weight loss and the fish starting to hide in small corners with its head facing downwards. Hexamita does as earlier mentioned attack the digestive system and can therefore cause nutrient deficiencies in the infected fish. Nutrient deficiency is one of the reasons behind hole in the head disease.

Since the disease is internal it is necessary to medicate internally. The easiest way to do this is to mix 1% metronidazole in fish food (25g food for one 250mg metronidazole) and feed it to the fish. Feeding sparsely before feeding the medicated food can help guarantee that the fish eats the medicated food. It is also recommended to medicate the water as well by adding 12 mg metronidazole per litre aquarium water to make the treatment more effective. Repeat the water treatment every other day until you have treated the water three times.

Didn't find the info you were looking for? Register for free and ask your question in our Aquarium forum !
Our knowledgeable staff usually responds to any question within 24 hours

Related Articles

Argulus - Summary of the fish disease argulus
Anchor Worms - Information on diagnosing and treating anchor worms.
Buying Healthy fish - An article about how to avoid diseases by buying healthy fish
Common fish diseases. - An introduction to the more common fish diseases your fish might get.
Chilodonella - Information on diagnosing and treating Chilodonella.
Constipation - Information on diagnosing and treating constipation in fish.
Costia - Information on diagnosing and treating costia.
Danger Signs With Your Fishes - How to recognise the the existence of ill health in a fish.
Dropsy - Information on diagnosing and treating the dreaded dropsy.
Ergasilus - Information on diagnosing and treating ergasilus
Eye Problems - Information on diagnosing and treating eye problems in fish.
Fish Necropsy - How to examine dead fish for evidence of external parasites or internal problems.
Fish Tuberculosis - Causes and symptoms of fish TB. Mycobacterium marinum. Possible treatment. There is some danger to humans when servicing
Flukes - Information on flukes and how to trat flukes.
Fungus in fish - Information on diagnosing and treating fungis in fish.
Ich: An Old Cure for an Old Disease - Information on diagnosing and treating anchor worms.Natural methods to cure ich
Glugea and Henneguya - Information on diagnosing and curing glugea and henneguya.
Hole-in-the-Head Disease - Information on diagnosing and treating hole in the head.
Ichthyosporidium - Information on diagnosing and treating ichthyosporidium.
Injuries in fish - Information on how to care for injured fish
Leeches in aquariums - How to prevent and control leeches in your aquarium.
Lymphocystis - Information on diagnosing and treating lymphocystis.
Marine velvet - Information on diagnosing and treating the saltwater disease "marine velvet".
Nematodes - Information on diagnosing and treating nematodes.
Neon Tetra Disease - Information on diagnosing and treatingneon tetra disease.
Parasites and Similar Problem Organisms - Various fish parasites, some normally free-swimming organisms, and various species of algae can become a problem.
Preventing diseases - An article about how you can prevent diseases among your fish.
Quarantine Aquarium - An introduction to Quarantine Aquariums.
Red Pest Disease - Information on diagnosing and treating red pest.
Scale Protrusion - Information on diagnosing scale protrusion and how to treat it.
Swim-bladder disease - Information on the different causes of swim bladder problems and how the problem can be treated.
Tail & Fin Rot - Information on diagnosing and treating tail an fin rot.
Treat Argulus - Summary of treating fish disease argulus
Treating White Spot Disease - Symptoms of Ich, its life cycle, and treatments using either malachite green or aquarium salt.
Treating Fish - An introduction to the art of treating fish that suffers from a disease.
Tumors in fish - Information on tumors in fish
Uronema marinum - Information on diagnosing and treating Uronema marinum.
Velvet - Information on diagnosing and treating velvet


© 2004-6 Aquaticcommunity.com


Hexamita