HELP! Hole in the Head??

C

ConvictKid

AC Members
Jan 17, 2003
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Warwick, RI
www.wrestlingwire.net
Today I noticed a mark on my oscars head. He is in a 150 gallon tank with a jack dempsy, about 3-4 inches, firemouth, about 1-2 inches and a striped raphael catfish that sleeps all the time. My oscar and dempsy get along fine. My dempsy never attacks the oscar, but the oscar will chase him a little if he comes close when he is eating. Could this be whole in the head? Or somehow could the jack dempsy take a bite out of him?

Here is a pic, I marked an arror for the Sofa King Dumb people.

oscarhithdscf0089.jpg
 
I couldn't get the link to work, but go to page 3 or 4 in the cichlid forum and find "Is HITH contagious" and read Harry's post. If it is in fact HITH, he put out some great info in regards to it.
 
Its a wound it got attacked. HITH does not do that it will look like alot of pin holes but its gradual. You just got a injured oscar. The only way HITH will look like that is if it has it really bad and untreated for along time will being in some bad water conditions.
 
There have been a number of articles on HITH but they are all useless. These articles fail to identify what really cause HITH, but simply repeat the many old hypothesis that might cause HITH. Don't expect to find a cure from these articles either. Clean water, as recommended, isn't a cure or prevention for HITH either, because poor water quality is a catch all cause of all deseases and HITH has been known to develop even in clean water. So after reading these articles, there is still not a clue on how to treat or prevent HITH.
 
I know my oscars had it before and I did major water changes 100% water changes (I was 7-10yrs old did know better) and it went away. There are items that help slow it down and make most of it go away. Yeah the root cause is still yet to be found some say water qaulity some say parasite some say fungus others say genetics. I would guess genetics and water quality.
 
Most vulnerable fish are soft water fish like Oscar, Pick cichlid, Geophagus, discus and angels. Hard water fish like African Rift lake cichlids don't seem to ever get HITH. If the water quality is bad, African cichlids will simply die from bloat so there is no time for them to ever develop HITH. I don't have much experience with hard water CA but have never seen or heard of complaint of HITH in CA cichlids.
 
If it appeared all at once, I would say it is more likely a wound than HITH. And not a bite, either. I think your oscar may have violently jerked away from something and scraped his head on a rock or piece of driftwood. Should heal up on its own, as long as you maintain high water conditions (water changes, etc.) and there is no chance for secondary infection.

Beautiful arrow graphic, by the way.
 
awww, poor oscar got a boo boo head.
 
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