oscar getting hith in good conditions, help??

[honda237]

the last week or so, i started noticing my 2.5 year old oscar getting hith spots, nothing bad yet but they don't seem to be getting better. He is in a 110g long, with a jack dempsey and a small mayan. Filtration is a sump at around 600gph, with about 40% water changes weekly.
tested the water 2 days ago, and results were
Temp ~82F
nitrates- <5
nitrites- 0
ph- 8.2

he is fed small servings of 3mm NLS twice daily(except sunday, they don't get fed at all), then some algea wafers he still from my pleco and a homeade food with fresh salmon and veggies once a week.

So what could be causing the hith? And why now?
Any help would be great, this fish means a lot to me since its what got me started in cichlids.

 

[Sab_Fan]

why do you keep your Ph at 8.2? that seems unnecessarily high, and would certainly be at the outer-extreme level for any of the fish you are keeping . . . those aren't African cichlids

if it were my tank, I'd keep the Ph closer to neutral . . . I cannot think of any reason why is should be above 8 . . . is that they way the water comes out your tap?

I'm not saying this is the cause of any problems, but it could be something that has had a long-term negative impact on the fish's health . . . (?)

 

[honda237]

why do you keep your Ph at 8.2? that seems unnecessarily high, and would certainly be at the outer-extreme level for any of the fish you are keeping . . . those aren't African cichlids

if it were my tank, I'd keep the Ph closer to neutral . . . I cannot think of any reason why is should be above 8 . . .

Its what comes out of my tap, and i don't want to change it since its better to have a steady ph than a lower ph.

 

[GhostShrimpMan]

Its what comes out of my tap, and i don't want to change it since its better to have a steady ph than a lower ph.

Correct. But it could be a factor with what's going on.

 

[honda237]

never had a problem with any other fish, why would it start after 2.5 years?

 

[knifegill]

Have you checked out the other mythical sources of HITH like stray electrical current? Lack of certain minerals in the water? 82º isn't too terribly high, but I'd back it down to around 79º to increase oxygenation slightly. You could also add crickets or worms to his diet. In the wild their diet does consist largely of insects and other invertebrates.

When my Oscar got HITH (just one tiny pinhole sent me running!) my LFS told me what they always do, and it works. Treat with a metronidazole medication, then, after a water change at the end of the dosing, add a mineral/vitamin pyramid, (yes, the creepy brick-thing in the bubble pack. Not the feeder pyramid, but the one that claims to add minerals and vitamins to the water.) and add it to the filter. The tank would be fine, but with big cichlids, it might become a plaything and that's probably not good.
This worked on my Oscar, but I also have my tank grounded and feed lots of earthworms and some crickets now and then in hopes of keeping it from ever showing again.

8.2 is, though stable, a little rough on the softwater fish.

 

[Sarah88]

well dempseys like their water like that but oscars are south american so the high pH could be a factor, i remember reading awhile back a couple threads about some geophagus getting HITH from their pH being too high, but yeah it could just be happening now because of the prolonged exposure or something, you could naturally lower it by adding some driftwood to your tank if you dont already have any, or adding chips of it in a baggy in your sump so it can leach out some tannins. do you use carbon in your sump? carbon dust is also hypothesized to be a factor in some cases, and so is stray electrical current, i would look over all your electrical stuff in the tank and see if anything is cracked or louder than usual or if anything else with them is off. GOOD LUCK

 

[Red Devil]

i believe all oscars are proned to this..maybe all even carry the elements that cause HITH.. just stress alone could be a factor... sometimes it is just a matter of not feeding a varied diet... there are just so many factors involved and no one is positively sure what exactly is the culprit... but isolating him and treating him asap will sometimes totally cure it.. the thing is to be fast about it..sooner it is treated better chance he has. Sometimes they come from the lfs with it... you just cannot see it until it developes... so don't blame yourself ... just quick action reguired to stop it in its tracks.. i use API General cure with ingredients 250mg metrronidazole, and 75 praziquantel ... i put my little guy in a 10 gallon tank and it took two treatments and he is totally cured

 

[honda237]

Have you checked out the other mythical sources of HITH like stray electrical current? Lack of certain minerals in the water? 82º isn't too terribly high, but I'd back it down to around 79º to increase oxygenation slightly. You could also add crickets or worms to his diet. In the wild their diet does consist largely of insects and other invertebrates.

When my Oscar got HITH (just one tiny pinhole sent me running!) my LFS told me what they always do, and it works. Treat with a metronidazole medication, then, after a water change at the end of the dosing, add a mineral/vitamin pyramid, (yes, the creepy brick-thing in the bubble pack. Not the feeder pyramid, but the one that claims to add minerals and vitamins to the water.) and add it to the filter. The tank would be fine, but with big cichlids, it might become a plaything and that's probably not good.
This worked on my Oscar, but I also have my tank grounded and feed lots of earthworms and some crickets now and then in hopes of keeping it from ever showing again.

8.2 is, though stable, a little rough on the softwater fish.

i forgot to say that i do feed him some night crawlers a couple times a month, but i could step that up.
Treatment is probably going to be my last step.
Where would you get the minerals stuff at? i have well water by the way, if that helps at all.
I know the ph isn't the best

 

[honda237]

well dempseys like their water like that but oscars are south american so the high pH could be a factor, i remember reading awhile back a couple threads about some geophagus getting HITH from their pH being too high, but yeah it could just be happening now because of the prolonged exposure or something, you could naturally lower it by adding some driftwood to your tank if you dont already have any, or adding chips of it in a baggy in your sump so it can leach out some tannins. do you use carbon in your sump? carbon dust is also hypothesized to be a factor in some cases, and so is stray electrical current, i would look over all your electrical stuff in the tank and see if anything is cracked or louder than usual or if anything else with them is off. GOOD LUCK

Sarah, i think you read my mind, i was just talking about getting more driftwood, since i only have a few. Ya you are correct about the geos. Ya i do have carbon, and i actually heard that like a week ago and was kind of shocked.
I've put my hand in the tank and didn't feel anything, but i know that not the best judgement, i can check everything over tonight, it would either be the heater or the pump.

i believe all oscars are proned to this..maybe all even carry the elements that cause HITH.. just stress alone could be a factor... sometimes it is just a matter of not feeding a varied diet... there are just so many factors involved and no one is positively sure what exactly is the culprit... but isolating him and treating him asap will sometimes totally cure it.. the thing is to be fast about it..sooner it is treated better chance he has. Sometimes they come from the lfs with it... you just cannot see it until it developes... so don't blame yourself ... just quick action reguired to stop it in its tracks.. i use API General cure with ingredients 250mg metrronidazole, and 75 praziquantel ... i put my little guy in a 10 gallon tank and it took two treatments and he is totally cured

I am going to increase the amount of varied diet, but i don't think it is caused by stress in my case. I am going to try more natural things first and if i don't see anything soon, i guess he will go in my 46 for treatment, which won't make him very happy at all since he is a 14" oscar.

Thanks for all the help