HELP! I think my oscar has early stage of HITH

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
duanes said:
Oscars are very sensitive to water quality, and research in aquaculture has shown that 20 ppm nitrate is a stress threshold where diseases can become problematic.
If it were me, i would at least double my water change schedule and quantity, and filter media cleaning, to bring down nitrates to 10 ppm or less.
In nature Oscars are omnivores, so just in case your oscars diet is very high in protein, I would try to add more vegetation oriented foods.
Back in the 1960s when I first started keeping oscars, terrestrial animal foods such as chicken were erroneously recommended for fish, and my oscars always had HITH.
Once I realized these foods were very hard, and non digestible for fish, and the non-digestible fats quickly degraded water quality, HITH became a non issue for me.
Click to expand...

Should I do a 50% wc every day till the nitrate goes down to 10ppm? or just every other day to lessen the stress to the fish?
 
Your regimen for this fish appears to be good, and hith should not develop with this level of care. You cant change too much, or do too often water change with Oscars. The cleaner water they have, the better they will do. I think your guy has a scrape or 2, juvie Oscars are clumsy kids, always banging themselves around. All good I think.
 
If there is time , that regime might correct it, if it is HITH.
I try to do 30% every day just as a general rule, and the smaller the tank, the more water changes that are needed. I seem to remember your tank is 65 or so, gallons (from your other posts), that size tank to me, would require frequent changes.
 
yeah it's a 60 gallon tank with just him in the tank. I will just to 30% wc everyday until it heals or something.

also thanks suprd I really hope its just a scrape.
 
At 20 nitrate a 50% change will bring you to 10. As a regular sched in that tank I recommend at minimum 2 large, 50%+ changes weekly. More as the fish gets to the 9-10in mark. 65g is not a large volume for an adult Oscar, they produce a lot of waste and nitrate will climb quickly.
 
suprd71 said:
At 20 nitrate a 50% change will bring you to 10. As a regular sched in that tank I recommend at minimum 2 large, 50%+ changes weekly. More as the fish gets to the 9-10in mark. 65g is not a large volume for an adult Oscar, they produce a lot of waste and nitrate will climb quickly.
Click to expand...

I thought 20ppm nitrate is low enough. gotta keep the nitrate in 10ppm. also would it be better if I install a drip system in my tanks? like they are constantly adding and draining water all the time?
 
Drip system not really an advantage with a small tank. With a Python or similar device that attaches to your nearest faucet, a large w/c and thorough gravel vac should only take 15-20 mins.
 
If you are already doing 2 30% water changes bump it to 50% it wont take that much longer and your fish will benefit from it long term. My 12.5" O lives in a 120 tall 60" x 18" x 24" with 5 3"- 4" silver dollars. My WC are 80% every 3 days.

Edit: On your O it does not look like HITH to me. I think he ran into something but you can never be to careful with Oscar's and nitrate levels.
 
IMO it doesn't look like the start of HITH, but rather a scratch from either fighting with a tankmate or bumping into something. My cichlids get them all the time. If it's a scratch, keep the water clean and it should be gone in a few days.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom