will going bare bottom heal HITH?

[thayayballa]

hey,
right now i have 3 oscars about 9 inches each. i currently have gravel and havent been vacuuming it lately, just water changes. so i think the nitrate and ammonia level is pretty high. right now 2 of my oscars are showing signs of HITH.
if i convert to bare bottom and do water changes a couple times a month will it heal the HITH? will going bare bottom reduce ammonia, nitrates and other harmful stuff drastically?

i also dont know much about HITH. when people say "heal" do the holes actually fill back in or do they just mean prevent it from getting bigger?

thanks a lot

 

[rallysman]

hey,
right now i have 3 oscars about 9 inches each. i currently have gravel and havent been vacuuming it lately, just water changes. so i think the nitrate and ammonia level is pretty high. right now 2 of my oscars are showing signs of HITH.
if i convert to bare bottom and do water changes a couple times a month will it heal the HITH? will going bare bottom reduce ammonia, nitrates and other harmful stuff drastically?

i also dont know much about HITH. when people say "heal" do the holes actually fill back in or do they just mean prevent it from getting bigger?

thanks a lot

If you have ammonia in the tank you have inadequate filtration. Either the filter is too small or the amount of bacteria needed to convert the ammonia is insufficient.

To answer more accurately, we'll need to know the size of the tank and the size of the oscars, along with what you're feeding and how often you're feeding.

 

[dirtyblacksocks]

Bare bottom can help in that you'll keep a cleaner tank - but the true cure for HITH is ritually large water changes, as well as pristine water conditions - which it sounds like you're lacking.

 

[jcardona1]

i agree with rallys. ammonia/nitrites should be 0 in an established tank. it really sounds like your underfiltered. whats your tank size and filtration?

 

[jcardona1]

also, have you actually tested your water to get your exact parameters??

 

[thayayballa]

its a 125 gallon with a magnum 350 and an aquaclear 300. so i think my filters are good. i am cleaning the filters and changing water frequently. its just that im afraid the main reason for the HITH is the dirty gravel because i dont have time to clean it. so im hoping once i go bare bottom it will help with the HITH problem a lot faster im also going to change the water more frequently. how much water and how frequently should i change to heal the HITH

i have 3 oscars 9 inches each. im feeding them hikari bio gold twice a day. once in a while ill put in some feeders.

thanks

 

[rallysman]

Skip the feeders. Bare bottom vs. gravel bottom will not change the ammonia levels. If anything, you may have more of a problem if you remove the gravel because it's housing bacteria.

Figure out why you have ammonia first, feed less, and go from there.

 

[jcardona1]

have you tested your water?

 

[thayayballa]

Skip the feeders. Bare bottom vs. gravel bottom will not change the ammonia levels. If anything, you may have more of a problem if you remove the gravel because it's housing bacteria.

Figure out why you have ammonia first, feed less, and go from there.

ok, but isnt all the crap in the gravel the main problem for the water quality? so thats why i was thinking about removing the gravel. oh yea, my bad about the ammonia, the problem is nitrates right now.

 

[rallysman]

ok, but isnt all the crap in the gravel the main problem for the water quality? so thats why i was thinking about removing the gravel.

All of the crap is not a good thing, but the ammonia is much much worse. Ammonia will not be caused by dirty gravel. I've had a few oscars, and IME stress causes HITH more than anything. Ammonia will burn their gill plates which basically suffocates them. It's the most stress they can be put through. Tons of people keep oscars in tanks with deep substrate and don't have HITH problems. Clean water is achieved by adequate filtration and water changes. I would leave the gravel and find the actual problem.

As asked before, what are the specific water parameters?