What do u think it could be from picture ?

]my oscar has been playing up again im not to sure if its hole in thr head can anyone help

is there a cure i used melafix and prifix

i1030.photobucket.com/albums/y363/faolteam/IMG_0752.jpg

Hi looks a bit like HITH, have you tested water params? if you have post them up, along with tankmates how old setup is etc... more info the better Its usually caused by conditions the fish are kept in and accelerated through stress. Octozin is a very good product we have it in stock.

melafix may help with secondary bacterial infection, but you'd also need to get to the source.

Medication sold for hole-in-the-head tend to be good general medications. Waterlife Octozin and eSHA Hexamita are good general medications. But, I would never recommend mixing any Waterlife product with any other treatment (not even another waterlife treatment). eSHa Hexamita, however, can be used certain other eSHa products.

But, you'd need to secure a good diet that can supply such items as vitamin C, Vitamin A and Vitamin D.
So maybe eSHa Optima (it's cheap and economival to use) may be an option for adding

Despite some saying that hole-in-the-head is caused by spironucleus or hexamita, I don't accept that as there is evidence enough for that. However, damaged intestinal walls can mean that hexamita and spironucleus can become a problem throughout the body. Then, secondary bacterial infection becomes a problem also.
Damaged instestinec can be caused by certain worms and inappropriate diet (eg a heavy meaty diet).

Also, keep the water clean.

Many of these big cichlid pull through even if the holes never go away if treated in good time.

ian

I see serratus was posting at the same time as I did.

just one observation from the photo, is that coral gravel as the substrate? you should post up your water test readings and we can go from there, but by the looks of that substrate it could be in a high pH environment which is stressing it and leaving it susceptable to disease/infection

i have tank set up 4 years

nitrate 20 ppm (mgl)

ph 7.4

Seems fine... how often do you do water changes/gravel clean???

wat size tank, and filtration are you running

i change once a month i have a tetratec 1200 so its good filtration

were can i get a fiss booster in dublin like: eSHa Optima

tank size? how much (percentage) do you change? monthly changes are not really enough, most will do at least 25% weekly and if filtration is a bit light will be more water more often

i know my problem is my tank

its 36x18x20,

i think i'd do more than 25% weekly, probably more 25% twice weekly. they are messy oul fish

edit: after seeing dimensions, i'd get a new tank

would 25 % twice weeekly be ok for the size of tank its a bit of a nusiance its upstairs in my bedrrom long walk to bathroom

is there a good fish boooster you can get on the irish market

like this:

www.eshalabs.com/optima.htm

unfortunately i cant get a bigger tank id love to just havent got the room

damm it anyway

witout having a go at you, i have to say bigger tank or lose the oscar, you will constantly have problems till it dies. these fish get huge compared to your tank. if it is a nuisance changing water and you cant get a bigger tank oscars are not for you. also you might struggle to move him on.

i'm sorry i might not sound helpfull

ok thanks

You asked where to get optima....... various LFS stock spurious bits of eSHa products (depends were you're based), but PetStop tend to sell the range.

Irrespective of whether you can house in a bigger tank, the fish will need treatment to help prevent further destruction of tissue. Increased frequency of water changes will go a long way in helping the fish recover.

ian

thanks everyone

I have some Medication that will sort out Hex if that's what it is, pm me.


Kev.

can they fully recover from hith, scars heal? and how long would this take

dar wrote:

can they fully recover from hith, scars heal? and how long would this take

It does depend upon the extent of the damage and the original cause (which might be different in each case).

It is really a symptom of something else.

In most cases, hole in the head indicates a clear change is required in the keeping of the fish. In my opinion it is not just a malady that jumps out of the woodwork even though certain fish are more susceptible than others.

Ultimately, and if left untreated for too long, secondary bacterial infection may damage the tissue to an extent that it will never really heal.

The most important aspects that could be cited within the onset of the symptoms include:
Redox Potential; Vitamins and mineral balance; clean water; food quality; and underlying intestinal worm infections. Poor quality food and intestinal worm infections will increase the chance of hexamita and spironucleus infection.
If hexamita escapes from the intestine to the body, then it can infect organs such as the heart.
If hexamita infection in the gut is too high then that can upset the uptake of certain nutrients.

SO: as HITH is a symptom of multiple causal agents, then I would always recommend a multi-part attack.
Octozin (or the old eSHa Hexamita...I think the recipe has changed) medication is a good start.....but should only be used if the water is of good quality and the filtration efficiency is good.

BUT....as dirty water is cited to potentiating the symptoms then a good water change and filtration clean goes before any medication anyway.

The redox potential must be buffered. RO water is not going to help unless it is properly buffered. Regular water changes with buffered (eg tap) water not only keeps bugs at bay it helps to balance redox.
Calcium carbonate substrate in a tank without water changes will mean that the reducing buffering will exhaust itself, so don't rely on simply having a calcium source added that is not buffering.

Stop feeding heavy meaty food.

Stop using old out-of-date dried food.

Vitamins....should really be added to the food, but adding them to the water is better than nothing as some might be drank by freshwater fish.

I also tend to use iron in my most of my tanks especially if it is fish of the more 'prone' class.......I'm not recommending adding iron as it does introduce extra problems, but with care I am in favour of its use.

Basically......good basic water management and feeding is the key.

ian

Can i ask if i want to keep one oscar healthy in a Aquarium what size should it be and how many litres

for a fully matured adult Oscar Cilchid

in and around the 300 mark but the bigger the better, and i'd try get my hands on a second filter

here is a site i read ages ago (hope this is ok people in charge)

www.oscarfishlover.com/