# Oscar Fish - Hole in the Head Disease



## miley_take (Jan 13, 2012)

Hi guys, 

I'm hoping for someone who knows about HITH, as my baby has started showing signs of it. I feel absolutely terrible, as it is due to the fact I wasn't allowed into my house to look after her until she was moved to my current place of residence. As a result she was in filthy conditions for at least 6 months. She's about 6 years old, and has two small pits on top of her head (I am sure these aren't sensory pits or nostrils). 

I'm feeding her Chiclid gold (red packet), and just wanting to know the percent of water changes and how frequently and any multivitamins/supplements I could/should be using until it's fixed. 

Thanks! Emily


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## Aussie-Pride (Jan 13, 2012)

Heya 
HITH comes from poor water quality i'd be doing a 30% 40% water change each week with oscars being messy feeders, adding water conditioner and you can also get this stuff called stress coat the coats the fish. There's also these tablets you can get from the vet called Metronidazole that cures HITH. What size is the tank and what filtration system are you using? 

I feed my fish on peeling chopped up fresh green,king prawns from woolies they do wonders for the colours and growth also i feed them blood worms, meal worms, crickets, feeder fish, and the hikari cichlid pellets.. Basically any insect that i find around the house goes in the tank. 

If you keep up with the water changes and the stress coat it should heal up in no time.


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## miley_take (Jan 13, 2012)

Aussie-Pride said:


> Heya
> HITH comes from poor water quality i'd be doing a 30% 40% water change each week with oscars being messy feeders, adding water conditioner and you can also get this stuff called stress coat the coats the fish. There's also these tablets you can get from the vet called Metronidazole that cures HITH. What size is the tank and what filtration system are you using?
> 
> I feed my fish on peeling chopped up fresh green,king prawns from woolies they do wonders for the colours and growth also i feed them blood worms, meal worms, crickets, feeder fish, and the hikari cichlid pellets.. Basically any insect that i find around the house goes in the tank.
> ...



Thanks, I'm heading to the pet shop this afternoon to grab multivitamins, I have a friend who works there too. She now lives with me out on a small property so I'm much happier feeding her insects as when I was in town I was always worried about pesticides. My boyfriend has a ball feeding her feeder fish and grasshoppers. Was thinking about heading to Woolies and picking up some prawns for her as well. 

Starting 30-40% water changes, and as she was moved she was given all new water and tank scrubbed out before she went back in. 

Thanks for the tips! Keep them coming!

Also if you have Oscars, would love to hear from you on just general upkeep etc!  

Emily


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## grannieannie (Jan 13, 2012)

Yes, when we had an aquarium it happened a lot and we lost many fish, in the end gave it all away. I guess the truth is we didn't know how to care for fish like that. Cost us hundreds of dollars, quite sad really.


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## Smithers (Jan 13, 2012)

It can take a while to learn the proper care of water chemistry for fish grannie and there's a lot of different ways people do things so one may work for them and not for you,..there's a bit of tinkering and it's a costly hobby at times. But very rewarding too. I so miss my Cichlids :/


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## jbonsing (Jan 13, 2012)

gday 
i work at a pet shop and if someone came in with this i would seriously do a 60 - 70 % water change NOW ( majority of the time it is the water conditions that cause this problem) as well as adding ur usual conditioner/ager i would also add melafix to the water this kills all the desease and stops it from spreading this i must emphasise then buy a high quality fish food containing vitamin a and TEST ur water i.e ph (best at 7 - 8 ) and amonia levels ( but come carbon and ceramic rods in a old stocking and sit it in you tank or ask for carbon at the pet shop and then when at the pet shop ask for a food high is vitamins ( from memory a, b2 b3 b4 b5 b7 c d3 d4 and k there may be others but that off the top of my head) this should work and keep us up to date with how you going

hope it helps josh

p.s i know im only 16 but as i said i work in a pet shop and i have had this once myself and people come in with it i know it works so please do as i said to the best of your abbility


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## PythonLegs (Jan 13, 2012)

Hole in the head often happens in oscars and geophagus species, as already said it's usually eventually fatal- the best you can do is up your water changes ( at least 25% twice a week), turn off the heat and slow the disease down- However, as I am a genius (and already discussed this elswhere) I will pass on two treatements that are closely guarded secrets. Guard them well, padawan.

1. Indian almond leaves (or ketapang). Good aquarium stores sell them- I get mine from pet [email protected] mt. gravatt. You can put them in your canister filter (enough to fill a basket). I like the look of em in the tank and big americans like playing with em, so I have them in the tanks- you'll want 50 or so I'd reckon in a decent sized tank. Keep up your water changes, and these will work gradually- it will at least stop the holes getting bigger, and increases the generl health of the fish.

2. Much more involved and advanced, but but always works. 5 drops of clove oil in a 10ltr bucket of water. Put the fish in- as soon as it goes updside down, lift it out- it's anaesthetised. Lay the fish on a wet towl, and gently push a condis crystal (sp.?) into each hole. Put the fish back into its tank, supporting it with your hand under its belly 'til it wakes up properly. If you're sure there's only 2 holes you can probably get away with skipping the clove oil and just netting it- the sedation is risky, as too much/too long and the fish will die.

HTH- I lost my fave oscar to this, so I feel your pain.

Also- you may get advised to use cabon. Carbon is widely regarded as on of the causes of HITH, so if you have any, bin it- it's constantly breaking down and putting fine dust into your water.


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## miley_take (Jan 13, 2012)

Smithers said:


> It can take a while to learn the proper care of water chemistry for fish grannie and there's a lot of different ways people do things so one may work for them and not for you,..there's a bit of tinkering and it's a costly hobby at times. But very rewarding too. I so miss my Cichlids :/



I love them, so full of personality! 



jbonsing said:


> gday
> i work at a pet shop and if someone came in with this i would seriously do a 60 - 70 % water change NOW ( majority of the time it is the water conditions that cause this problem) as well as adding ur usual conditioner/ager i would also add melafix to the water this kills all the desease and stops it from spreading this i must emphasise then buy a high quality fish food containing vitamin a and TEST ur water i.e ph (best at 7 - 8 ) and amonia levels ( but come carbon and ceramic rods in a old stocking and sit it in you tank or ask for carbon at the pet shop and then when at the pet shop ask for a food high is vitamins ( from memory a, b2 b3 b4 b5 b7 c d3 d4 and k there may be others but that off the top of my head) this should work and keep us up to date with how you going
> 
> hope it helps josh
> ...



She's had a 100% water change, as she was moved from my old house to my new one. Just completed a 30% water change and she's looking a lot happier.




PythonLegs said:


> Hole in the head often happens in oscars and geophagus species, as already said it's usually eventually fatal- the best you can do is up your water changes ( at least 25% twice a week), turn off the heat and slow the disease down- However, as I am a genius (and already discussed this elswhere) I will pass on two treatements that are closely guarded secrets. Guard them well, padawan.
> 
> 1. Indian almond leaves (or ketapang). Good aquarium stores sell them- I get mine from pet [email protected] mt. gravatt. You can put them in your canister filter (enough to fill a basket). I like the look of em in the tank and big americans like playing with em, so I have them in the tanks- you'll want 50 or so I'd reckon in a decent sized tank. Keep up your water changes, and these will work gradually- it will at least stop the holes getting bigger, and increases the generl health of the fish.
> 
> ...



Thanks for that! I'll try the water upkeep, vitamins and the leaves, I'm also going and grabbing another filter, as the one in there at the moment only cycles the tank 1-2 times an hour. I use a hang on back but am going to pick up a canister too. If it still doesn't help, I'll go with the more involved and drastic method. Thanks so much guys! Keep them coming!


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## mysnakesau (Jan 13, 2012)

Remember that a brand new filter will take weeks to cycle. As brand new, it has no bacteria in it that helps keep water nice and clean, so for a while your tank may appear cloudy, or you might think it isn't doing any good. Give a brand new filter a good 8 weeks before you judge it. Canisters are the best, and if you have to, put your old filter media from your hang on back, inside the canister - this will help speed up bacteria growth and get it working on the water quality the way a canister should.

You can add some salt to your tank when you do water changes - I can't remember the measurement - a teaspoon or tablespoon per 20L? I better check that but salt is an excellent and inexpensive disease killer. I cured many fish, including an oscar who had finrot by giving him a 15 second bath in a very strong saltwater, and adding it to his tank. And let the temperature stay up a little higher than ideal which will speed up the lifecycle of bacteria and kill it before it can do too much more damage. Oh and stressed fish like lights out. So if you have a light on your tank, leave it off while until she is fit and healthy again.


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## Chanzey (Jan 13, 2012)

Hope it all works out well!


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## BJC-787 (Jan 13, 2012)

i was once told by a very well known fish keeper that hole in the head is also caused by too much protein in the diet,so you may want to look into the diet of the fish


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## Tsubakai (Jan 13, 2012)

What sort of feeder fish are you giving it? Put some photos up if you can to confirm it is HITH. Be very careful with clove oil as it is very effective as a euthanasia agent. It can also cause neurological damage if used incorrectly.


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