I Really Need Some Advice For My 3 Yr Old Angel...

[OriginalMel]

Developed a fungus which seems to have turned into HITH Disease :(

It started about 4 days ago with little white spikes developing on his face and a patch of white where the hole now is. After some research I decided to try a Fungus Eliminator. It solved the problems for the spikes, but then turned white fungus into a hole http://www.fishforums.net/public/style_emoticons/default/sad.gif He has been 100% healthy since I've had him and this has not affected the other two Angels in my tank. I went out to PetSmart and purchased an Ick tablet treatment and seemed to clear it a bit, (he is on his second treatment (with 25% water change)) but it has become 200% worse. The hole has grown larger and it seems to have traveled to his eye, which is protruding and looks like it's going to fall off. I have also been using Melafix at different times than the ick treatment. I have never had a fish with any type of disease in the 3 years I've started keeping a tank and am heart broken. If anyone has any suggestions, it would help me out a great deal.

[Ursus sapien]

Don't have any experience with this myself, but here's a thread (http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/hospital-section-12/hole-head-disease-13268/) at another forum about hole in the head disease.

[mollybawn]

I treated an oscar at my work for what looked like the same thing. He seemed pretty happy and all. But he did have the hole, and the protruding eye. I left him alone, treated him with some melafix and after a couple of weeks he seemed ok. His eye did fall off and he swam a little wonky because he could only see on one side but he was functioning well and seemed happy anyways. The hole looked like it healed. It wasn't gooey looking and seemed to heal over and his eye socket gradually started to fall in. For weeks I had a one eyed oscar on my hands but then someone bought him because they said he looked "bad ***" and had "character".

He probably lived longer than any of the other fish! The odds aren't great but just be patient. Don't over do it on meds because They're not all that reliable. Just keep your tank very clean with lots of close monitoring. You never know...

[GaryofMontreal]

It's water quality as a disease issue, although there may be other factors I'll throw in. The first thing to do is stop all the meds. They aren't helping, and by mixing them, they may be hurting.
Keep him/her very clean, but change 25% of the water at least twice weekly. More wouldn't hurt.
The Hole in the Head started first, and the fungus was a secondary infection of the newly opened holes. It always comes out that way. With clean water, the fish can rally.

There is one danger - I see you have three angels. If for whatever reason (age?) your sick angel has lost status, then the illness may be social. he may be getting severely stressed by the other two angels, especially if he was an alpha dropped to third position, or if the the other two have paired. If you have had the three angels for less than six months, this is a likely scenario. Pairs of angels never allow a third to live in their tank.
How big is your tank, and how long have you had these fish?