# Sticky  14" Rhom rehab!!...



## D.D.Denham

Here is my visual document of nursing a near death rhom back to vibrant health. When I got him he had HITH, fungus, fin rot, severe ammonia burn...but he had a strong will to live and the appetite of a horse!
Here is a link to a video of him in the store just before I bought him, you can see him at apprx. 0:40 sec. in...Rhom
Here is Buzz - when I picked him up, Day one...

























Apprx. 3 weeks later...

























Today, apprx. 5 months since treatment...

























So for anyone thinking that a piranha in extremely rough shape cannot be saved...with a little TLC, the beast will re-emerge!!


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## locust

Fantastic job







and dont he look healthy and proud now.


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## His Majesty

well done you have really done a fantastic job of nursing him back to full health. full credit to you sire


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## mose

nice job, awesome fish.


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## jp80911

WOW, that's awesome, what a grate job you've done~!!


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## THE BLACK PIRANHA

Very good job and that one good lookin fish.


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## Alexx

nice work mate


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## Buckman

dang bro, thats a nice rhom. i would be extremely proud.


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## T-wag

good job man


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## 1rhom

Wow, really nice RHOM! These fish are tuff!


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## Winkyee




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## notoriouslyKEN

That's amazing! It show's the regenerative capabilities of this fish under proper care. That is a lucky fish to get a great owner who can put in the time to save it. You must be proud.


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## Blue Flame

Very nice!

Can you share what you did to get him back to this condition?


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## xeloR

You're THE MAN carbee! Its sad to see a fish in such shape- probably saved his life! Good looking fish


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## Gerrad

Great job! What's your secret? jk


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## Wide_Eyed_Wanderer

AMAZING job, he looks fantastic


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## Plowboy

Great work









The fish was very lucky to have you pick him up.

I would also like to know what all you did to heal him up.


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## weerhom

very good job. apparently your fish keeping is supurb.


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## Trigga

Wow good work man.. It hardly looks like the same fish


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## FEEFA

You the man carbee, the fish looks amazing


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## Bradabolics

Excellent job...did he give u a big kiss for helping him out...lol


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## Ja'eh

Amazing job on fixing this beautiful rhom up!


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## C0Rey

drool!


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## roccov12345

Great Job! If you don't mind me asking, what were your prescriptions for the HITH cure. I've never had to battle with it but I've heard it's somewhat difficult to cure. Thanks! and again


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## D.D.Denham

Thanks to all for the kind words!








Seeing this guy following back and forth anyone that comes into "his" room is worth the effort I took to get him up and running. I would liken his behaviour to that of a Flowerhorn, if anyone's had a large Flowerhorn they know what I mean!
I've had quite a few requests for what regiment I used to get Buzz back in shape...it is a bit involved but I will make the time to post up my treatment schedule that worked for me. Stay tuned!







...and thanks again for taking a look


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## notaverage

Awesome job!


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## db04ph

any videos of the beast?


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## the_w8

truly amazing effort carbee...Definitely very healthy looking now. great work bro!!!


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## bmpower007

Awesome always great to see these monsters healing...nice job


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## AKSkirmish

Impressive recovery man......


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## Soul Assassin

you sir are the man


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## Winkyee

carbee said:


> Thanks to all for the kind words!
> 
> 
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> 
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> 
> 
> Seeing this guy following back and forth anyone that comes into "his" room is worth the effort I took to get him up and running. I would liken his behaviour to that of a Flowerhorn, if anyone's had a large Flowerhorn they know what I mean!
> I've had quite a few requests for what regiment I used to get Buzz back in shape...it is a bit involved but I will make the time to post up my treatment schedule that worked for me. Stay tuned!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ...and thanks again for taking a look


Terrific job man, 
Wow he looks good, get your treatment written up and we can pin this thread.


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## roccov12345

Winkyee said:


> Thanks to all for the kind words!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Seeing this guy following back and forth anyone that comes into "his" room is worth the effort I took to get him up and running. I would liken his behaviour to that of a Flowerhorn, if anyone's had a large Flowerhorn they know what I mean!
> I've had quite a few requests for what regiment I used to get Buzz back in shape...it is a bit involved but I will make the time to post up my treatment schedule that worked for me. Stay tuned!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ...and thanks again for taking a look


Terrific job man, 
Wow he looks good, get your treatment written up and we can pin this thread.
[/quote]

Agreed! I think your time and effort for the write-up will not go unappreciated. Thanks for giving fishkeepers a good name. Much Respect!!!!


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## TJcali

very good job carbee


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## BanditBrother

You done one amazing job there mate!!!!! Well in!!!


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## mechanic_joe

you are a credit to the hobby! thanks for sharing the awesome pics. Love to hear what magic dust you sprinkled into that tank.


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## Blue Flame

So.....where's the list of treatments used to get him in that condition?


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## fury

he looks fantastic


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## bigshawn

Great job, and what a beautifull Rhom.................


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## Lifer374

Good job Carbee.

Looking forward to the write up. That'll help some keepers here.


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## Buckman

looks like 2 totally different fish. awesome job man


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## Blue Flame

Hey.......how about that rehab process? I'd really like to see what you did to get your fish in such great shape.


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## D.D.Denham

OK everyone, I will do my best to recount the treatment process for Buzz.
1. Upon bringing the rhom home I started him on a daily bath of Hikari Metro Plus (here is a link for further info on this product: Hikari Metro Plus). Just follow the directions as prescribed. I did apprx. 40 - 50% water changes as required in the medication directions. This product contains metronidazole as well as sodium chloride (salt). I did not add additional aquarium salt at anytime during the treatment, only the Metro Plus.

2. I also started the rhom on a diet as follows: fresh catfish fillets, cut into bite size cubes, then frozen. I would thaw 2 - 3 cubes and once they were at room temperature I would also do the following: add Boyds Vita Chem Freshwater Vitamin supplement, add Seachem Garlic Guard, add Seachem Metronidazole/Seachem Focus as per Seachem's recommended ratio, and let the catfish soak for apprx. 20 mins. I would also put vitamin saturated pellets into the catfish once the catfish was soaked in medication for 20 mins. I would use NLS Thera A anti-parasitic non-medicated pellets soaked in Boyd Vita Chem for apprx. 10 mins. These pellets offer extra garlic as the non-medicated anti-parasitic ingredient. Although there is no known cause for HITH, there are many suspected causes, one of them being an internal parasitic infection.

3. Water quality - my water was a mixture of tap/RO water to maintain a pH of apprx. 6.5 - 7.0. I used Boyd Chemi-Pure in the filters along with Seachem Purigen.

4. Initially he was treated with the Metro Plus bath-style in a 120 gallon (48 x 24 x 24"). After the bath treatment of 5 days, I moved him into a 180 gallon (72 x 24 x 24") where he received weekly water changes of apprx. 25 - 40%. Fresh water was treated with Seachem Prime and Seachem Discus Trace.

5. One of the suspected causes of HITH is stray voltage. I metered the water with my volt meter and even though I came up with 0, I did install a grounding probe into the aquarium. I have since removed it to see what affect it may have on the HITH returning (so far no further deterioration of HITH noted).

6. Although the HITH has greatly improved over the months, there are still some small pits that are healing and the tissue regeneration has left some scarring in the previously (ammonia) burnt areas and HITH areas. I am hoping that over time these areas will improve.

Oh, one last special ingredient - I used to take him out of the aquarium on a daily basis and rock him back and forth in a rocking chair while listening to some soothing SLAYER cds (ANVIL when he was a little skittish)
















I may have forgotten something, if I remember with my old man brain I will add it...any questions, please fire away on the thread or through PM, whatever I can do to help I certainly will!
All the best, thanks to everyone for the generous compliments!







...now does anyone want to buy Buzz?!!


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## Blue Flame

Thanks for the info. I plan on using it on one of my fish. The statement about stray voltage really has me concerned about the powerhead I have on my tank. I used to have a 3' african lungfish, and the fish for no reason got HITH. Now that I look back at how that tank was set up. I see that I'm using the same powerhead that I had on that tank. I do 30-40% water changes once a week, and the gravel is clean at that time also. I've been really knocking my head against the wall trying to figure out how this rhom of mine got hith. I wonder if it's the powerhead?

Anyways.....thanks for the info. We'll see if it's successful on my fish too.

thanks,
Blue


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## Blue Flame

Very interesting find. I tested my tank with a volt meter, and it had a reading of 4.5 volts with the powerhead on. I unplugged the PH, and it has a reading 0 volts. I tested the other tanks, and they all read 0 volts. I'm gonna leave the PH off, and see if it's condition improves. This could be a very helpful find in preventing HITH with our fish. I suspected stray voltage, but I didn't think to test it with a volt meter.

BTW, the PH is an old aquaclear for the record.

My hat's off to you sir!


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## Winkyee

Thanks man..









Moved and pinned..


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## Blue Flame

carbee,
If you don't mine me asking. How long was it before you started to see some results?

blue


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## D.D.Denham

For the HITH, it probably took at least 5 - 7 days to see some healing on the holes. I focused in on a couple specific holes (seeing as he had alot to pick from!) and I would monitor those specific holes daily to see if I could notice healing. From my experience, it takes a long time to get HITH in check...but I was dealing with an extreme case (as you can see in the photos).


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## Blue Flame

carbee said:


> For the HITH, it probably took at least 5 - 7 days to see some healing on the holes. I focused in on a couple specific holes (seeing as he had alot to pick from!) and I would monitor those specific holes daily to see if I could notice healing. From my experience, it takes a long time to get HITH in check...but I was dealing with an extreme case (as you can see in the photos).


My fish has minimal damage, and I sure there will be no signs of it once it's gone. Thanks for sharing the info.


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## CuzIsaidSo

Great job. Rhom's lookin good


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## Jared35

omg i cant believe he looks that good after what he came from, there's always hope


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## anthonycaf

hi carbee
my rhom has the same problem i have tried melafix and prima fix . the rhom als o seem to have fungus and is rubbing sideways along the rocks on the bottom of the aquarium what would you suggest

thanks anthony


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## Rough996

carbee said:


> 6. Although the HITH has greatly improved over the months, there are still some small pits that are healing and the tissue regeneration has left some scarring in the previously (ammonia) burnt areas and HITH areas. I am hoping that over time these areas will improve.


Great work Carbee. I had a very similar situation with my 15" rhom. He's fully recovered from all of those ailments (fin rot, HITH, slight gill curl, etc...). After 1 year of being fully recovered, he still has some scaring that has yet to heal from the HITH. Granted, I believe my rhom's HITH may have been in a later stage than yours, but it IS still healing and will take some time.

I try not to overdose him on any medications, but once in a while, I'll perform a treatment of melafix for 5 days to promote additional regeneration in those old HITH scar areas. You can see the improvements with each treatment, but again, I don't recommend keeping any fish on the meds for a prolonged period.


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## RedSoxfan

You should be very proud of yourself,great job!!!


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## Uno

u r truly the man





















i have a 12inch piraya that is suffering from hole n the head an i had no real answer on how 2 attack it. till now thanks a million!


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## Sanjo Eel

Awesome! That fish lucked out when YOU picked him up! Good job and really nice fish.








LOL whoa I just noticed this is a really old thread.
Uuuuuuhhhh, any updates on him?


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## Red Sox Fanatic

Gorgeous fish and Wonderful job on your part!!!


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## PiranhaMan777

Aaaaaawwwwweeeeesssssssoommmeeeee!!!!!!! I'm never going to give up on any of my P's!!!!


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## PiranhaMan777

Aaaaaawwwwweeeeesssssssoommmeeeee!!!!!!! I'm never going to give up on any of my P's!!!!


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## PiranhaMan777

Aaaaaawwwwweeeeesssssssoommmeeeee!!!!!!! I'm never going to give up on any of my P's!!!!

Aaaaaawwwwweeeeesssssssoommmeeeee!!!!!!! I'm never going to give up on any of my P's!!!!

What he'll double reply...


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## Master1313

Great job. Rhom's looking very good


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## rusty13

Looks like a beatiful BEAST now!!I think hes smilin!!


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