has holes in fase

[rod long]

i got a free tank yesterday with 4 fish 2 jd, 1 oscer and a placo. the oscer is 12"/14" long and has a lot of holes in it face.there about .25" deep. its eating and is very fat. none of the other fish have and they are all of good size. the lady that had them didnt know anything about fish she was sitting for a student while he moved and he never came back for them..
what is it and how do i fix it???

 

[TwistedPenguin]

He's got Hole In The Head. By far the most common cause is nitrates too high. While healing they should be kept in water no higher than 10 ppm nitrates. After healed keep your nitrates under 20 ppm. People will tell you 103 reasons for it, they'll medicate (useless), take their carbon out, turn summer saults, etc etc. But not enough will do a couple simple things-such as keep nitrates low from now on and feed a varied diet along with veggies. Oscars seem especially prone to it although that may be only because waaaay too many people get Oscars yet too few make water quality a top priority.
You'll get lots of opinions on this one.

 

[jcardona1]

damn you Rod is this the 80g tank???????? you beat me to it. i was blowing up that lady's phone and hoodrat never called back. now i know why

but yeah i agree with above

 

[sunshinetrenie]

if all these fish are in an 80g then thats your problem. put the oscar in his own 75g or leave him in the 80 and rehome the rest of the fish. keep up on water changes maybe extra till he heals nicely. just time and clean water will do it. i wouldnt medicate.

 

[rod long]

thanks for the info.. but she didnt know what size it really was it was really a 55. going to put him in a bigger one soon. just hafe to transfer other fish so he wont eat them.. and she never did a water change the whole time she had it, lucky there even alive.

 

[2004exrider]

He's got Hole In The Head. By far the most common cause is nitrates too high. While healing they should be kept in water no higher than 10 ppm nitrates. After healed keep your nitrates under 20 ppm. People will tell you 103 reasons for it, they'll medicate (useless), take their carbon out, turn summer saults, etc etc. But not enough will do a couple simple things-such as keep nitrates low from now on and feed a varied diet along with veggies. Oscars seem especially prone to it although that may be only because waaaay too many people get Oscars yet too few make water quality a top priority.
You'll get lots of opinions on this one.

Take his advice and your oscar will be doing better soon!

Jimmy

 

[gt1009]

I have cured that in an oscar before. Water changes are your best friend. Also, add aquarium salt and pull the carbon from your filters. You don't have to go mega wild on water changes. I simply did 5 gallons a day on my 75 and then 10 or 15 once a week. Cleared up in under a month from much worse than that.