HITH / Spitting Food Out??

[lol555]

My 2 red tiger oscars, one is about 5 inch, and the other 4 inch, There in a 55 gallon tank alone, with some corys and algea eaters, anyways i think the bigest one is starting to get hole in the head diesease. Its got a grey circle on its head. Whats the best way to cure?

And when i was watching them eat some blood worms they where spitting them back out. anyone got some ideas?

 

[Taomofo]

Sure its just not his sensory pits? They are in a circle.

 

[ThaDude]

A big sign for my piranha was loss of appetite. If you're sure it's HITH or Hexamita,
50% water change
Remove filter media

Metronidazole
Approx. 750mg in 55 gal, repeat in 10 days
Afterwords weekly (or more) water changes strongly suggested

Vet recommended, helped me overcome a very harsh case, you'll probably see results faster but do at your will.

 

[lol555]

kk ty any ideas about the food spitting?

 

[ThaDude]

Well Bloodworms are the carrier of hexamita, a tiny worm that eats away at the head. thats why they may be rejecting that particular food.
or, as I mentioned, it could be another signal of hole in the head. Loss of appetite was a large indicator for me. The difference is I had a piranha and feeders weren't disappearing, i don't know about other foods.. but i imagine this would be another sign of HITH.

 

[cichlidfish]

You'll have to do lots of water changes to help. That is the best bet, because a lot of the time it is poor water quality that weakens the immune system. It will only get worse in a tank that small. One of the problems w/ keeping oscars in 55g tanks is that the water to waste ratio is bad. Also I have found aquarium salt to be a good treatment for HITH. Feed them pellets like harkari gold, because it has vitamin c, and parasite free.

 

[lol555]

a 4 foot tank is enough for 2 oscars, considering its a wide and deep 4 foot tank.
Ive seen oscars in a way worse condition.
thanks for the help

 

[themancmt]

a little salt to help with the slime coat and alot of water changes!!!
Thadude i did not know that Bloodworms are the carrier of hexamita, i guess you learn something new every day. thanks for sharing now i have to go throw away my bloodworms....

 

[Japtastic]

Are you sure about the bloodworm causing HITH, I'm not sure if that's right as I have done a lot of reading about HITH and I have never once seen that mentioned.