I need help with Oscar

[Psycho Magnet]

Hi all, is this HItH? I've tried everything from water changes to Clout and my poor guy just refuses to heal. Sorry for the newb question but I'm at my wits end. None of the other fishes in the tank seem to be having any problems. Sorry about the poor quality photos. Thanks in advance. Mike

 

[Ang]

Thats wierd that he has them on his gill plate. Makes me wonder if its something else.
But the one over his left eye deffenitely looks like HITH.

HITH is commonly caused in Oscar by improper feeding. They need a wide variety of foods. Just pellets arent enough.

HITH takes a long time to heal, so you wont notice a change right away. It is a slow healing process.

I would keep up with frequent water changes. But i would also start adding more to his diet.
Beefheart, krill, crickets, worms, good quality pellets, etc.

I would also get a vitamin supplement and either add it to the water or add it to his food before he eats it. Depending on what kind you get and how it's administered.

Also,
I would add some aquarium salt to the tank. 1 Tbsp per 5 gallons. This will aid in healing.

 

[Psycho Magnet]

Thanks DF. He currently gets Wardley's floating pellets, Wardley's tropical flakes and the occasional Sally's freeze dried Krill and frozen bloodworms though it isn't very often he gets the later two. He still shows a good appetite but those holes just won't go away. There are also 2 Tiger Barbs, 2 Blue Gouramis, 3 Silver Dollars and a large Pleco in the 100 gal tank with him. Will aquarium salts affect these fish? Thanks again for the quick reply.

 

[Ang]

Thanks DF. He currently gets Wardley's floating pellets, Wardley's tropical flakes and the occasional Sally's freeze dried Krill and frozen bloodworms though it isn't very often he gets the later two. He still shows a good appetite but those holes just won't go away. There are also 2 Tiger Barbs, 2 Blue Gouramis, 3 Silver Dollars and a large Pleco in the 100 gal tank with him. Will aquarium salts affect these fish? Thanks again for the quick reply.

It could affect the Pleco. I would decrease the amount of salt to 1 Tbsp per 10 gallons instead of 5 gallons. Plecos are a little more sensitive to salt, but he should be ok at the 10 gallon dosage.

Wow, i'm suprised he hasnt gulped down the Tiger Barbs yet. Lucky little guys.

Just a little side note. Wardley products are crappy. They contain corn meal which is indigestible to fish and many other animals including us.
I would switch to a better brand. If you have access to it, i would get either Omega One, or O.S.I or HBH. Those are better IMHO.
But even Hikari is better than Wardley since it doesnt have corn meal.

Just my $0.02 on the food

 

[Tyler]

no aquarium salt when used like above won hurt the fish at all..most fish actually like it..it keeps parasites off and helps with their woons

 

[Psycho Magnet]

It could affect the Pleco. I would decrease the amount of salt to 1 Tbsp per 10 gallons instead of 5 gallons. Plecos are a little more sensitive to salt, but he should be ok at the 10 gallon dosage.

Wow, i'm suprised he hasnt gulped down the Tiger Barbs yet. Lucky little guys.

Just a little side note. Wardley products are crappy. They contain corn meal which is indigestible to fish and many other animals including us.
I would switch to a better brand. If you have access to it, i would get either Omega One, or O.S.I or HBH. Those are better IMHO.
But even Hikari is better than Wardley since it doesnt have corn meal.

Just my $0.02 on the food

Outstanding, I did not know that about the Wardley's. I will change it immediately. Thanks so much for the help, as you can tell I'm still learning.

BTW, there used to be 5 Tiger Barbs.

 

[Ang]

BTW, there used to be 5 Tiger Barbs.

Ah yes, that makes more sense.

 

[Psycho Magnet]

Looks like Kosher salt is acceptable to use. Since I have a big box of that I'll do another 50% change in the AM, add the prescribed amount of salt and change his food brand.

Not to keep nagging you but I have no idea where to buy beefheart. Also, how often and how much do you change your water?

 

[tothna]

I could be wrong, but I don't know if I'd use regular kosher salt. They sell aquarium salt at the fish store or regular pet store, other kinds of salt have stuff in it (preservatives I think) that aren't good for the fish

 

[Ang]

Actually, Kosher salt is fine. I know alot of people that use it.

But, yeah any other type would probably not work.

You can get beefheart from some grocery stores from the meat section. Or the Butcher.
With the beefheart I make a beefheart recipe.
I can give you the recipe if you want. Its kinda messy, but its awsome for your fish.
You'll need a food processor.

You can give them plain beefheart, but make sure to cut it up and only give a little bit. Or just feed it every other day. You can rotate the food during the week.
Beefheart and krill one day, crickets and pellets another day. etc.

Another good thing to feed is shelled peas. Just buy frozen peas, thaw some in warm tap water, then its important to pop them out of the skin.
Peas are good for digestion and keep things moving.

For water changes, make sure to vacuume the gravel with your siphon filter really well. You should do that until you remove at least 30% of the water.
And do it at least once a week.
Make sure to add dechlorinator to the water to remove chlorine and chloramines.

Also, just a side note on filters. Make sure you have adequate filtration. you should be getting a turnover rate of around 5X the tanks volume per hour. Thats if you have a canister filter.
If all you have is HOB (hang on back filters), then you should be getting around 10X filtration per hour.
Filtration is important for O's since they are so messy. This will help keep the water pristine and healthy.