Poorly Oscar - Help please!

[MrsB]

Hi,

I have 2 Oscars who are approx 4 years old. One of them has developed a very unsighlty and unhealthy looking patch above it's eye. I have tried to take picture of it but it's not great, best I could do though!

Anyone have any idea what this is? Or how I should treat it? I have had these fish a long time and they have never had any health problems before :scry:

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Sorry the picture is so huge, I have no idea how to resize it.

Just as a note I have seen in various places that you shouldn't keep more than one or less than 6 Oscars in a tank, but my two have been together since they were babies and I have never had any problems with them being together.

[Northernguy]

Welcome to the Fabulous AC!:22:
Your oscar has hole in the head!
You need to start with large water changes every couple of days!
Get a med that is for hole in the head!
What size tank do you have?
What size filtration are you running?
Here is some accurate info about Oscars.
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Here is some info on HITH.[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

[robnepper]

could you plaese provide tank specs, latest water test results? It looks like hole in the head to me, but you probably have already ruled that one out if you're asking what this is. I am not an oscar expert, although i am a huge fan of them, so hoefully someone with more oscar know how will answer this post.

[Deleted User]

I am really new to keeping fish, but wonder if this could be what is called "Hole In The Head" or "HITH". You can google and see if you think it fits. I do think it's treatable if that is what you're dealing with (has to do w/ water issues, I think).

Good luck and I'm sure others here who are more knowledgable can offer more guidance. Hang in there!

[robnepper]

That's funny NG. I was thinking you should reply to this one and then you posted seconds before me!

[krystalsohun]

from the picture it looks like hole in the head to me. how often do you change your water? how much water is changed? how big of a tank? do you test your tank and if so what are the parameters?? how long has it been there? and do you see aggression between the two? sorry all these questions need to be answered in order to make a diagonsis.

[MrsB]

Thanks for the responses, I hadn't ruled out hole in the head as until now I had never heard of it. It's my Hubby that deals with the fish so I have no idea about water tests etc, the tank is 90G, and has only the two Oscars in it. That's the way it's been from the beginning. They get about a 20% water change every few days, I think. Filtration.....erm.....No idea. I'm really clueless.

It's been there for about a month (nowhere near as big as it is now) there has never been any aggression between the two fish. The fish is still eating and does not seem sick in itself.

Where can I get what I need to cure it? Will my fishy die? :ssuprised: :scry:

[krystalsohun]

i'd say definitely hith. you need to do large water changes almost daily. the reason for hith most say is dirty water, which is from having to bio-load monsters in a 90 gallon tank. so up the water changes and since it's so bad i'd get a medication for him also. and yes if you do not act fast you will loose your fishy sorry.

[MrsB]

OK, so I will do large daily water changes. Where can I get the medicine it needs? The filtration is a Fluval 305.

[Northernguy]

Please read the link I posted!Get the medication specifically for HITH at your local fish store(LFS).
You may want to add another filter.I recomend an Aqua clear hang on the back filter.An ac110 should make a difference.
Do your water changes and do not be shy about 50%!
These fish are very messy and need a huge amount of filtration and clean water.I have two in a 135 with almost 500gals of filtration/hour running. I do two large water changes every week.
It is neccesary too keep their water clean.Its about the only way these fish get sick!
Good luck with it.Its not very difficult to heal if you get started now. lol
It can be fatal if not treated. It is approaching an advanced stage by the looks of the pic.

[krystalsohun]

sorry to tell you this but that filter is inadiquate for those two. it only is ok for up to 70 gallons and you have 90 gallons. a good rule of thumb for oscars is more than twice the gallons filtration, so you should have at least filters to handle 180 gallons more would be better for the oscars though they produce alot of poop. this is why he got hith the water may look clean but its not. sorry i dont know what the medication is called as i have never had to use it.

[Lady Hobbs]

If using charcoal, remove it from the filter, as well. Altho not "proven" to be a cause, is highly suspected. I agree with everyone else here. Get the medications and do those water changes.

[MrsB]

I read your link, thanks! Sorry I didn't see it the first time.

I will go to my local fish shop tomorrow (by the time I got there they'd be closed for today) and see what I can get for him.

I have another Fluval 305 that is a spare in case mine ever broke, if I added that also would that help him?

Thanks for your help and I will keep you updated on progress.

[krystalsohun]

that extra filter would help but will still not be enough that would be 140 gallons filtration and you are shooting for over 180 gallons. but i would put it on until you get another one.

[Deleted User]

Again, I'm no expert, but I would think adding that spare filter would double your filtration and if you bump up the water changes to like 50% 2x a week, that's got to be a HUGE improvement to the fish's enviroment and may be just the ticket (along with the meds).

[MrsB]

Yeah thanks Jill that's what I'm going to do. Hoping for a speedy recovery!

[Northernguy]

It does heel fast if you follow direction.
Oscars are by far my favorite fish but they do need proper care.
Good luck and don't be shy about putting more filtration on that tank.There will be a fair amount of current but thats a fish that can handle it.

[BIO-Linist]

Sorry I am not knowledgeable, but
This doesn't look like the any of the pictures of hith i've seen on the internet. Notice the ring of pink around it. This is a large sore with inflammation, while 'classic' hith is one or more smaller off-white pits,... are there any more holes?
i'm speculating it could have a secondary bacterial infection on top of the initial hole.
[I am reading up on hith now, my 11 yr old tilapia seems to have it (but don't jack the thread here I'll start one soon)] So far I haven't seen much, usually someone asks for help, people post advice, but they don't follow up so I don't know what happened, if the treatment worked, etc..

[Deleted User]

Just wondering how he's doing? I hope he's better!

[Crispy]

All great advice so far in this thread! I do agree that it looks like a fungus "ontop" of a sore. Going to be more than just HITH. Definitely start medicating for fungus and changing 40% of your water every other day. Medicate after your water change and repeat. Good luck!

[MrsB]

Hi!

HUGE improvement in the Ocars....whatever it was! Here we are like 2 weeks later and it is almost completely gone. There is a small red area and the crater type hole still (though not near as deep) but it has healed fantastically. The fish is much more active than it was before (I didn't realise how much it had slowed down) and seems more it's usual self, follows you up and down the glass when you walk past etc. Appetite has increased and all is well. We got a treatment for Fungus from our LFS which we did as well as our huge water changes. We've knocked the water change back to every second day now and have been testing the water every day to make sure it's good. I'm amazed at how quickly it has healed given how terrible it was.

I will post pics once hubby gets home with my USB! :ssmile:

Massive thanks to everyone that offered advice, more than likely saved my fishys life! thumbs2:

[rich311k]

I am glad he is doing well. I hope it continues.

[Northernguy]

:19: That is great news!
These fish can get sick real easy when the water conditions are not kept pristine. Great job MrsB!thumbs2:
I hope you get many years of enjoyment from your Oscar!