oscar has hole in the head

[tessie16]

I have an oscar named Yoda that is about two years old & I love him to death! He has gotten hole in the head disease & I need to know what I can do if anything to save him!! I will be going to the pet store to get whatever I need but I wanted some advise from here first. The people @ my pet store don't know a whole lot but it's the only one for miles (ex: they told me when i got my oscar that it got along well w/parahnas)

(i realize this should be in the cichlid forum, but no i don't know how to move it..)

 

[reg2k2]

HITH

If it were me, I'd follow that and get some Vita-Chem (if you're in the states).

I'm sure the cichlid pros sh. be along soon w/ better advice.

 

[smb]

Can't really say much more than that article mentions. Noone knows what exactly causes HITH but make sure you keep to a regular schedule of cleaning and vacuuming the gravel and feeding a varied diet meeting the fish's needs.

What size is the Oscar and what size tank and other inhabitants do you have?

Depending on where you live, you can try Metronidazole. If it's in the latter stages you might want to try an anti-fungal med also.

Make sure that any meds you give are safe for all fish in the aquarium if you don't have a hospital tank for the Oscar.


Edit: BTW, no you posted in the correct forum.

 

[Kossy]

Yes you should get some remedy and bump the temp up a bit and maybe not feed it for a while.

 

[tessie16]

Thanks. I got some pills containing Metronidazole from the pet store. Right now I only have a 29 gallon tank. He is about 5 inches long. I have a 2 inch oscar in there also & a 2 inch blue Gourami.Got the gourami when I got Yoda (didn't actually understand what an oscar was) & Yoda gets along w/ the little guy great. Don't think they are generally supposed to be tank mates, but I think Yoda is just used to him cause he grew up w/him. I'm planning to upgrade to 100+ gallongs w/in the next couple months. What kind of anti-fungal do you suggest. The medicine I am using now is called "general cure". Lists HITH as something it's used for. If you can think of anything better lemme know- I'll try anything!!! & what temperature should I turn the tank up to? I don't wanna make it too high??


And in regards to diet, what would you suggest I feed him? All I can get him to eat are goldfish. Pellots & flakes & dried shrimp & bloodworms I have tried... he just spits them back out.

 

[smb]

And in regards to diet, what would you suggest I feed him? All I can get him to eat are goldfish. Pellots & flakes & dried shrimp & bloodworms I have tried... he just spits them back out.

Try krill and earthworms also. If he doesn't eat pellets and whatever else you feed him, make him go a couple days w/o eating then try. If that doesn't work make him go a week and try. Usually after 3-4 days w/o eating they'll eat anything. The key is a variety of as many different foods as possible.

 

[Kossy]

YEs, good luck and I hope he will live

 

[AquaNut]

Good luck with Yoda! If he survives, you may want to look at breeding your own live food (guppies work great for this). Most feeder goldfish sold in petstores are of wretched quality and are a nasty way to introduce disease and parasites to your tank.