Oscar needs help, research proving futile... video

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Musicmeg

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 23, 2011
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Goodyear
Hi, my Oscar, Otto is ill. He seems to be having seizures. I am not sure what else it could be. Some people have suggested HITH, which may be,
but his erosion is pretty minimal and hasn't progressed in the last couple years. Only around his nostrils and some possibly on his lateral line. I
treated with metronidizole as recommended, but no improvement. He is about six years old. He is in a 90 gallon
with two Eheim canister filters. His companions are two medium senegal bichirs and a gold severum. Water is
changed weekly. Ammonia 0, nitrite 0, and nitrate 20-ish ppm. He has been doing this move for about two weeks and hasn't been able to
eat because of it. It seems he cannot rest. It is so bad the poor guy can't even maintain upright swimming anymore. At first he would swim
normally and a twitch would put him in the position in the video. Now he just stays down. He doesn't have trouble going up
or down so I don't think it is a swim bladder issue. He twitches to one side which sorta of makes his body curl a little so I think it is only affecting one side of him.
It was pretty sudden too and I think he may have injured himself. I am very worried I will have to
put him down. My first thought was stray electrical current in the water, but I have turned everything off and he is still twitching.
Everything is back on now. I am at a loss and research has not turned up anything. Please watch the video and tell me if it is familiar and what
to do.Thanks.

http://s212.photobucket.com/albums/cc124/megham_photo/?action=view&current=SickOtto.mp4
 
One other thing, this started after a large water change. Some of the water went in too warm before I noticed. I know this can cause problems, but am not sure about this kind of problem. Any thoughts are welcome. I just rinsed and replaced some media in the filters (lots of bacteria in the sand) and performed another water change. Hoping for the best.
 
Have you been using the same test kits over the years? Sometimes they give false negatives. How much water do you change every week?

HITH could be caused by calcium deficiency which could also explain the seizures/neurological issues. Try adding Barr's GH booster to the water as it's mostly calcium and magnesium.
 
You don't need to buy barrs gh booster, it is just MgSO4 & CaSO4. So just epsom salts and plaster of paris, google for the ratio. I don't think anyone knows what causes hith. sounds like the fish is beyond help though.
 
Barr's GH booster is a formula not a product. A lot of people sell it and others mix their own with no royalties to Tom Barr.
 
Thanks! I will give it a shot. I change about 40% of the water. I have had the same test kit for a long time. Drip reagent type.
 
It wouldn't nearly be enough. I buy the GH booster by the pound and it's rather hard to dissolve so very little would actually be in a Flourish-sized bottle.

You can try finding the ingredients locally and DIY. Also, the places that sell it also sell plant fertilizers so you could stock up on those too to make it worth the shipping cost.
 
OK, good to know. When I get or make the stuff, how do I know what the dosage ratio is for treatment? Would be the same as if I were dosing a planted tank?>
 
If you're using dechlorinated tap water for your water changes, you can get an idea of the hardness/calcium carbonate/magnesium sulfate levels from your water quality report. Then add the appropriate amount of GH booster. This thread explains it:

http://www.barrreport.com/showthrea...!-should-can-I-actually-add-5-TBSP-GH-booster

It might be a good idea to figure out how much you need before you buy. I could see a big tank with soft water needing a lot.
 
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