My oscars got a pretty bad case of HITH. I treated them with Metronidazole for 3 days. But one of them is looking much worse. Ok, he looks like he's rotting, and not just his head, He's losing scales in two large areas, one near the head, one on his side. Oddly, he's eating fine. What can it be? HELP!!!
HITH out of control
- Thread starter Lenny
- Start date
I used to clean the tank every 2 weeks. That's 25% - 30% water change, scrubbing all the deco while running a diatom filter for 2 hours ( vacuuming gravel and all). The problem is my 2 oscars are living in 55g tank with 1 Emperor 400. I know I should have been doing water changes every 3 days. I fed them Hikari and Wardley without any supplement. Anyways I believe that's how they got HITH in the first place.
The tiger, Lenny, got worse last week. I did a 25% water change and put the drug in on Tuesday. I put in another Emperor 400 yesterday. Water reading has been fine since then and I've been feeding them Hikari Cichlid Staple Pellets, frozen shrimps, also trying multivitamin/mineral. (Lenny doesn't like it that much.) He looks a lot worse after the treatment. I changed 50% water, turned temperature back down to 80, and used stress coat.
I just read "Hole-in-the-Head Syndrome in Oscars" by Chelle & Dr. Barb. It seems Lenny's in advanced stage of the disease (not as horrifying as the fish they showed, but surely getting there if it keeps going like this.)
I'm practically begging for advise. It's heart breaking. I ordered a 125g today which will be here next thursday. (If only Lenny can live to see that day?)
Thanks for replying. HELP ME!
The tiger, Lenny, got worse last week. I did a 25% water change and put the drug in on Tuesday. I put in another Emperor 400 yesterday. Water reading has been fine since then and I've been feeding them Hikari Cichlid Staple Pellets, frozen shrimps, also trying multivitamin/mineral. (Lenny doesn't like it that much.) He looks a lot worse after the treatment. I changed 50% water, turned temperature back down to 80, and used stress coat.
I just read "Hole-in-the-Head Syndrome in Oscars" by Chelle & Dr. Barb. It seems Lenny's in advanced stage of the disease (not as horrifying as the fish they showed, but surely getting there if it keeps going like this.)
I'm practically begging for advise. It's heart breaking. I ordered a 125g today which will be here next thursday. (If only Lenny can live to see that day?)
Thanks for replying. HELP ME!
You answered your own question,not enough fresh water.daily 50% waterchanges till you get the bigger tank,get the carbon out of the filter vary his diet a little
Try using a discus trace mineral additive. I had hole in the head in my juropari and arowanas before I removed carbon and started adding a vitamin supplement every water change. Also try feeding a lot of vegetable matter. I pull this off by gut loading crickets with veggae tabe. Usually it seams hole in the head is caused be a vitamin dificiency which may or may not be parasite related. So try hitting them with as many vitamins as you can and keep the water super clean. Take out your carbon since it will remove to many minerals form the water. Use seachems purigen or hypersorb instead, high tech flitration media desighned to leave the minerals in the water. Purigen is the best you never replace it, only bleach it ever 3-6 months !
Thanks everyone for being so helpful! My oscars are doing quite well now. Their HITH is under control, all the craters are either completely or almost healed, and the fish are happily swimming in their brand new 125g tank, being active than ever. Since I tried so many things in the past month, I can't really say what worked and what didn't. But I think the most important is to do whatever it takes to keep nitrate level under 10. Thanks again.