Urgent

[nk290]

I just noticed that my Oscars have divets on there heads and near the dorsal fins. Ones' nostil almost looks like it is disingrating, as it is torn upwards. Anything I can do for them, or is there not treatment. If there is indeed no remedy, what is the best thing for the fish, just let them die?

Nate

[theplatypus]

Sounds like "hole in the head" disease. If I remember correctly its a sign of poor water quality.

[Stang69]

That sounds like a correct diagnosis to me too. There is no cure for it that I know of but you can help him along with better water qualitty and also moving to pellet food. Live food is great however it is really high in oils and fat his body doesnt get in the wild. Night crawlers may also be an option as live but then again dont over do it with them. I would also as a precaution treat the tank for a bacterial infection this may possiably improve the pitting of his head and dorsal fin.


Jeff

[Junkzoo]

Jeff and P-Pus got it right i believe,,,
And ditto on the pelleted food, vs live,,,,last Oscar i had lived over 13 yrs,and other than a once inna while "treat" of feeders, ate mostly pelleted food, and did very well. Also, water quality is very important with large ,messy eaters like Oscars, so try to keep up on water changes, and proper filtration, and if the problem slows down , or stops, don't worry ,,,Your Oscar should do just fine, with some pock marks that will stay ,likely for the rest of it's life. It's been reported that it can be reversable, but IMO, the scarring will prob stick around ,,

good luck, and keep us posted!

[Stang69]

Thanks Jeff

[tims]

it is a also a food thing like ya said jeff. mixing up his diet will also help along with great water...

[Twitterbait]

With Oscars you usually want to double up on the filtration. I would also recommend adding salt (solar salt for water softeners) at 1 tbsp per 5 gal, and raising the temperature to 80 after you get the water changed and moving again. that will help them heal and resist further infection.

[nk290]

These are fish from Petsmart, and would never purchase fish from there again. I was unaware of the fact that they have one central filtration unit, so if there is a disease in one tank, guess what? They all get it. I bet the water quality was poor. I will try to vary the diet and do more water changes like suggested. I have been pretty good about them though. Will the Pleco in the tank get this same disease, or are they not affected?

Nate

[nk290]

BTW, I have two bio-wheels (one 70 gallon, one 20 gallon), an undergravel filter, and a Duetto internal filter. Should I add any more or is this sufficient.

Thanks,

Nate

[Twitterbait]

start with a big WC, 50% for starters. then add the salt and raise the temp. filtration sounds ok.

[Junkzoo]

FWIW, The latest FAMA mag(Freshwater and Marine Aquarium) i got in the mail today, had a article regarding Oscars, and their water quality/filtration issues.
Might want to check it out, if you can find the issue around you.

[Swanwillow]

hmmm, this may be old, but how are they doing?
I got a large 8+ inch oscar from an lfs, and had the same symptoms-i figured it was from being in a ten gallon for a year (yep-you got it!!! at least it was an open system!!!)

but, one day my friends were looking at my cool fish and said "whats this bug" GOD-he had parasites. they were VERY hard to see, clearish colored. they were chewing holes into her. they were really easy to see when they were on her fins, but otherwise I had to train an 8 inch oscar to let me gently pull her to the top of the tank so I could tweezer them off. THEN I got some clear-parasite stuff (no copper-reef safe even, otoh) and after a treatment of that, and in conjunction with tweezers... they were gone. I didn't see them at all until my friend pointed them out, and that was 2 months after getting her.

[Hondadude2k5]

Everyone missed the big thing that is good for helping heal an injured oscar. Go to the LFS and buy some Mela-fix and Pima-fix. It does wonders for curing HITH