Help Oscar Is Sick!

[YuccaPatrol]

Yes, I think it is HITH too.

Despite all the possible medications available, the only real "cure" is to get the water conditions perfect and improve the quality of diet.

I have an oscar that has recovered marvellously from HITH, although he will always be scarred because of it.

 

[~*LuvMyKribs*~]

Yeah I was going to say HITH too, looks like it. And as has been mentioned SEVERAL times before, this stems from poor water quality and/or diet.

IMO quarentining feeders for 2-3 weeks will not do anything, it wont let enough time for internal diseases to show. Feeders are generally dirty dirty unless you have a GREAT source. I would nix them all together.


And its NOT personal preference to say how large a tank a fish can be kept in. Its just common sense... a standard 55 gallon will be too small for the Oscar. How can a 12-13" long Oscar turn around in a 12" wide tank?


-Diana

 

[liv2padl]

What pi**es me off,is these hard headed people that ask for advise,and when given advise,do the complete opposite.

we're supposed to tell 'em what they want to hear, or they'll argue the point ad-infinitum.

 

[ChileRelleno]

I'm going to run against the grain on this one.
The damage to this O looks like scratches/dents/dings from tank decor, O can be incredibly clumsy, particularly if they get freaked out.
I DO NOT think this is HITH/HLLE.

However, IF it was HITH/HLLE I would have this to say...

Number One HITH/HLLE Treatment (IMHO)

HITH/HLLE
(1)Water Quality
Get your water quality/chemistry perfect, NH3-0, NO2-0, NO3- 0/20ppm,
check your filters & clean'em if necessary (reduces alot of NO3), gravel vac & PWC, do small PWC's (10%) every other day.
Just about everyone will agree that bad water chemistry and HITH go together like apple pie -n- ice cream...

(2)Diet
Feed a well balanced and varied diet* (See below).

(3)Vitamin Supplements
Add liquid vitamin supplements to all food and vary their diet.
Soak or load everything you feed the fish with vitamins until cured and watch your water.
Vitamins that you add to your tanks water are worthless (IMO).
We use "Vita Chem", our fish get it regularly.
This particular brand is available at most on-line retailers and at better LFS's (We get ours at BigAls).
http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/product.xml?product_id=27489;category_id=3781;pcid1=2911;pcid2=

(4) Supplementary treatment.
I would add a dose of salt to the tank, this helps lower stress, encourages slime-coat production and gill function amongst other things.
Also a dose of Melafix and Pimafix, these have been known to help healing.

(5)
Medicate,
Alot of folks blame Hexamita for HITH and thus treat for it with medications, BUT, studies have been done showing that Hex (and others) is/are a secondary infection/s (Whether or not Hexamita plays a key-role with HITH infections is controversial).
You need to do what "You" feel is right and correct after reseaching this for yourself, google "HITH causes prevention and cure" or some such, and visit Cichlid specific forums for more info.

Some folks also think that filter carbon plays a role with HITH...

It seems there are no absolutes as to the cause, but just like ICH there are many ways to treat it and proponenets/opponents of each treatment.

I say again though...
Perfect water quality and a varied nutritious diet supplemented with vitamins.

Here's a good article on HITH available here at Oscarfish,
http://www.oscarfish.com/cms_view_article.php?aid=3

DIET
A quality cichlid pellet or stick should make up 75-80% of your O's diet.
These are my primary foods...
Pellets, Carnivore sticks, freezedried krill, algae wafers, fresh nightcrawlers, fresh/freezedried earthworm (Any worms are great foods!), fresh crickets, fresh mealworms, almost any insect I catch (Insects from outside do pose a risk of insecticides which can harm your fish, be careful.).
I feed or have fed my O all of these foods...
Raw/cooked shrimp, small bits of raw cut fish, beefheart or liver, bitesize bits of veggies (zucchini, carrot, shelled peas, shelled corn and etc...), small tree/grass frogs (NO toads, and know which frog species your feeding as some can be toxic too.) and properly quarantined or raised feeder fish, these should be fed sparingly and rotated as snacks or dessert.
Do not feed unquarantined feeder fish from LFS/LPS, do not feed mammilian flesh (Animal fats from mammals and fowl are very bad for most fish).
I supplement his nutrition by soaking his pellets 4-5 times a week in a liquid vitamin.
I use Vita-Chem, available at some LFS's and on-line retailers, I get mine at BigAl's, http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/product.xml?product_id=27487;category_id=3781;pcid1=2911;pcid2=
Alot of different types and brands are used, Liquid Centrum for example, but you could reasonably use any quality L. vitamin.

 

[ChileRelleno]

I raise fish and sell them back to the pet store, the arowana will be gone shortly....the tank will sill be overstocked, but i plan on moving most of the fish in a few weeks...note that the oscar has only been there for... say 2-3 weeks....
Overstocked is overstocked regardless of time. 2-3wks is more than enough time for bad conditions to take their toll.
I do believe that oscar's can be kept in a 55 gallon tank there whole life.....by themselves or perhaps with a pleco..this is preference, so dont bash me on it
A 55gal is acceptable as the absolute minimum recommended tanksize for a single adult O, with no tankmates.

i do gravel vac and 50 % water changes every 2 weeks
:mad2: 2wks!? In a tank that overstocked I would be thinking twice a week 50% PWC's to control NO3 levels, I bet your syphoning black crap out of the substrate when you do vacuum.

one reason that he may have lateral line would be too many feeders, but i quarantine them for 2 weeks in a 30 gallon tank...does this help at all figuring out why he's sick??
A 2wk QT is not nearly long enough. Average acceptable QT times run 3-6wks. Improperly QT'd feeders are like little bio-terrorist just waiting to kill your O with their myriad of diseases/parasites.
The whites stringy feces is likely due to internal parasites from the feeders, perhaps not, but I'd lay money on it.

HTH

 

[ChileRelleno]

Buy a 55 ga. aquarium, magnum 350 canister filter, good water heater, high grade carbon, etc. Now cycle that tank properly, put your Oscar in there with a good algae consuming pleco ( Avoid larger breeds of plecos), feed it Hikari Gold Pellets and watch her grow big and healthy. Don't forget to do water changes at least twice a month minimum. In all seriousness, i'm sure you've been told everything that i've mentioned above, but you really need a bigger tank for your Oscar(55 ga minimum per Oscar).

A adult O and a Pleco in a 55gal tank is unadviseable, a 55gal is suitable for a single adult O with no tankmates.
And furthermore tank maintenance would be more like twice per week with that bio-load in a 55gal.
The Magnum 350 is trash IMHO.
Carbon has no place in a healthy tank/filter, the only media needed is mech/bio, carbon is good for removing some meds, odors and water stains/tints such as tannins etc.
Carbon or more specifically, carbon dust is a suspected culprit in the onset of HITH/HLLE, this is contorversial though.

 

[ChileRelleno]

I have one oscar in a 55g and need to do 40% per week changes to keep the nitrates low. What is your nitrate reading? If its near 80ppm, you are inviting problems.

Does anyone else think this is Hole In The Head disease? They make special meds for HITH. I believe its metronidazole based which control the hexamita (sp) parasite that causes HITH in oscars.

(5)
Medicate,
Alot of folks blame Hexamita for HITH and thus treat for it with medications, BUT, studies have been done showing that Hex (and others) is/are a secondary infection/s (Whether or not Hexamita plays a key-role with HITH infections is controversial).
You need to do what "You" feel is right and correct after reseaching this for yourself, google "HITH causes prevention and cure" or some such, and visit Cichlid specific forums for more info.

NO3 levels above 40ppm are dangerous for extended periods and 20ppm or below is considered acceptable in most aquaria.

 

[ChileRelleno]

first ur fish tank is a bit over stocked and second, how often do u do water changes? becuz he looks like he has lateral line disease, and that is usually caused by feeding it too many feeders and/or poor water conditions.

150 gal tank
Penguin biowheel 350 x 2
Magnum 350 x 1
Managuense (m) 7 inch
Managuense (f) 4.5 inch
Pink Convict (m) 5 inch
Dovii (f)? 5 inch
Texas Cichlid (m)? 3.5 inch
Blue Channel Catfish 6 inch
Albino Channel Catfish 5.5 inch
Common Pleco 7.5 inch
....and some live plants

Now there is the pot calling the kettle black!
You may be OK for now, but the Cats alone will be too big for that 150gal tank as adults.
The Mags and Dovii will go to war very soon,
the Tex and Con better find somewhere to hide while they duke it out if they don't get taken out in the opening rounds of territorial aggression.

 

[ChileRelleno]

ich IS a parasite. if your oscar has ich which has been treated with meds unsuccessfully, try salt. understand though, that if the conditions which allowed the ich or other parasite to take hold are not fixed, no amount of medicatin will cure the problem. have you checked your ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels? NH3 and NO2 should be ZERO and nitrate is best kept at 10 ppm or less.

If the ICH protozoa is still present a latent (not dormant) form then it can and will manifest itself as a full-blown infestation at some time of stress or etc.

More detailed info on ICH and its treatment.
Read this article,
http://aquariumadvice.com/article_view.php?faq=2&fldAuto=32

I would only recommend the use of medications as a last resort, and used in conjunction with the heat treatment.

If you follow through on the Heat Treatment as specified, I gaurantee the 100% eradication of ICH within your tank, unless you re-introduce it thru lack of quarantine.
Temp- raise it slowly, but ASAP, to atleast 86'f, preferrably 87'-88'f.
Duration- hold temp for atleast two weeks after the last sign of ICH.
Salt- Salt is not required but it is IMHO helpful, use at your discretion.
Be aware that some Cats/Plecs can have adverse reactions to salt.
Medications- IMO this is the last resort, a truly desperate measure for a ICH infestation gone unchecked...
I cannot recommend any of'em, use at your own risk.
Their effectiveness when used as directed is controversial, despite manfactures claims some still seem to affect a tanks bio-filter and many fishkeepers report undue stress related complications.
Many ICH meds will adversely affect/kill scaleless fishes and inverts.

If you use meds the read this...

Do a water change prior to starting treatment and remove the carbon from the filter media; not the entire filter. If the carbon is part of the filter cartridge, make a slit in the side of the filter media and remove the carbon.
Be aware meds will most likely destroy the nitrifying bacterial colonies. Be prepared to measure ammonia and nitrite levels, and reduce the levels if necessary, by water changes or ammonia/nitrite reducers (this is the only time you?ll see me recommend their use!). Water changes likely will affect levels of meds in the tank, and you may need to adjust doses to keep the meds at the levels needed to kill the theronts.
Once treatment is finished, you?ll need to remove the meds from the water. Best way to do this is to run fresh activated carbon in your filter for a couple of days.
** Do note, the directions on the meds are generic; if you remember from the earlier discussion ich has a life cycle with only one stage susceptible to meds. Do not follow the directions when it comes to length of dosing times as some will claim to eradicate Ich in as little as one dose. The first treatment will only kill a percentage of the parasites (remember the Ich life cycle). It?s better to continue treatment till 3 days after seeing the last white spot on your fish; this way you can be fairly sure you have eradicated all the parasites.

http://aquariumadvice.com/article_view.php?faq=2&fldAuto=32
These are my opinions, this is how I would treat my fish, just my $0.02...
Goodluck!

 

[Lucretia]

jeez ChileRelleno you must really like posting on this subject but i do have to agree with you & thats in your 1st post i also believe it is just scarring i have 2 oscars both around 9in atm & my red tiger has the same type of scrapes mainly attributed to a few scraps with its tankmate and when its a little to eager to get to the food & in his haste will scrape along a rock or what have you to get to it before my albino, i feed mine hikari gold and once a month i will give them some crickets & yabbies to dine on which can also leave a few marks on the fish if theyre not careful about how they hunt them.