Oscar Sick

[JayD976]

over the past few weeks or so i noticed this crater in my oscars face hes probably around 6-7yr or so full grown been in this tank since i got him. Since ive noticed it ive been doing increased water changes added additional aquarium salt and started to research what it could be or if he injured himself on a rock in the tank which he occasionally does but never that seriously. My guess is its HITH. His temperment has changes a bit he spends most his time sitting in his corner, he'll come out for a swim every now and then, but sometimes goes in a rampage just thrashing about then goes back to his spot. I also noticed he twitches a bit here and there. Hes been breathing a little heavy, his colors are normal, doesnt want to eat as of the last two days. Last time i saw his feces it was normal, normal color, size, etc. I have been doing large water changes of atleast 75-80% i found my tap water recently has about 40-60ppm nitrates. When i first noticed everything and did a water test nitrates were in the 40-60ppm range. After adding some Nitra-zorb to my chemical filtration they are now in a 10-20ppm range. Ive been dosing with Melafix to help with the open wounds/sores and fight any bacterial infection. I was feeding him Hikari pellets, but recently starting making my own food for him with fruits, vegies, shrimp, some of his pellet food etc to give him a more balanced and vitamin enriched diet.

Tank 90gal 1 Oscar and BN pleco
filtration AC110, Emperor400, and magnum 350 canister
Ammonia:0
nitrites:0
nitrates:10-20ppm
temp 78-80

i think that covers everything, the picture below is from about a week ago the main crater is about the same but smaller lesions have been forming in the area as well.

 

[england]

Is that seriously over just a few weeks,wow....Unfortunately that is quite a bad case of Hith....You need very good filteration and good clean water,id preform water changes every other day, around 40%...

Read this link, very good article, if you can find shelafishface, if i remember right she managed to sort a oscar out with this issue, obviously there will be scaring etc, but you can change it around,

Out of intrest do you use carbon in your filters, alot of people beleive this adds to the cause of hith

http/www.worldcichlids.com/diseases/Adamhith.html

 

[snake007]

<br />Is that seriously over just a few weeks,wow....Unfortunately that is quite a bad case of Hith....You need very good filteration and good clean water,id preform water changes every other day, around 40%...<br /><br />Read this link, very good article, if you can find shelafishface, if i remember right she managed to sort a oscar out with this issue, obviously there will be scaring etc, but you can change it around,<br /><br />Out of intrest do you use carbon in your filters, alot of people beleive this adds to the cause of hith<br /><br /><a href='http/www.worldcichlids.com/diseases/Adamhith.html' class='bbc_url' title='External link' rel='nofollow external'>http/www.worldcich...s/Adamhith.html</a><br />

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+1

 

[JayD976]

My filtration is fine, filtration- emperor400, AC110, magnum350. I found out what. The issue was there was a spike in nitrates in my tap water, when I was removing water during changes I was just putting it back in again with the fresh water. Since discovering this I have been treating the tank with nitra-zorb and it's been keeping the nitrates at a safe level of 10-20ppm. His behavior has been much better and he is doing much better. Just a matter of keeping a closer eye on the nitrates and getting those lesions healed now.

No carbon in my filters I stopped that awhile ago when the whole carbon theory became popular.

 

[nanoMama86]

I was also told by my fishy vet that oscars have an incredibly high vitamin c need, like humans and guinea pigs, and he suggested papaya and mango slices,since they eat these in the wild, every week to meet Fury's need. Fury is growing fast and strong, and while I do use carbon in my filters, I also use Kent's essential elements to make sure my water maintains the trace minerals she needs to thrive.

I follow my vet's advice to the letter and he has never steered me wrong! Try giving your suffering sweetie some mango, or if he won't eat that, you buy some E-mergen-C fizz tabs from your pharmacy and dissolve one in some tank water and soak some of his fav pellets in it. Man, vit C is amazing stuff!

 

[JayD976]

I have recently started making my own food for him recipe below, I also soak his pellets in seachem garlic guard which is 1000ppm vitamin C.
Ok well I made his food hopefully he will like it.

10 small shrimp
1 cup hikari cichlids pellets
1/3 cup spirulina wafers
1 jar banana baby food
1 jar peas baby food
1 jar carrots baby food
1 jar mixed vegi baby food
1 mixed jar squash/zucchini baby food
3-4 minced garlic cloves
1 orange
1/2 bell pepper
1 pack of gelatin

Blended all together and put in the freezer in old ice trays. Makes enough for a little more than 2 trays.

 

[nanoMama86]

The shrimp, unless it is brine shrimp, is very bad for him over time. It has a chemical in it that binds with other nutrients and keeps him from absorbing them.
All the liquid baby food is going to seriously pollute your tank as well.

Your best bet is a good, high quality pellet, which you have, plus fresh fruit like papaya and mango, and blanched fresh vegetables. If you live in a really soft water area, you can try the kent essential elements and just see how it makes feel. My vet recommended 1tsp per 30 gallons. Since you are not using carbon, I would do 1tsp per 60 gallons.


You might give the New Life SPectrum large pellets a go, as that is what I feed personally. Also, and this is a HUGE issue, large chunks of frozen food dropped in the tank are going to be quickly gobbled by our piggies, which can cause extremely DANGEROUS CHILLING of the fish. I applaud your efforts in trying to give your sweetie a balanced diet, as not many keepers do.

 

[JayD976]

I have moderate to hard water. And asforthe food I cut the ice cube sized portions into small cubes tha are more bite sized for him.they also don't come apart they stay together nicely actually and wha he doesn't eat I remove.

I'll look into replacing the shrimp next batch.

 

[Dieses Madchen]

A moderator on this forum suggested this to me. Vor vitamins, soak the pellets for a little while in Childrens Liquid Vitamins. Its healthy for the fish and will not polute the tank. Using this in conjunction with water changes should help. (it was advised to me when my boys had a slight case of HITH. they are healed now)