Hole in head disease on Oscar

[Angel Chicken]

They are about 3" each so not too big. I know they will get about 12 to 13" so I will get a bigger tank latter on.

Oh yeah, they have plenty of time to grow out. 60 gallons should be fine for the next few months/year.

Please keep in mind though, that as they grow, they will need more frequent water changes and care... they are very messy fish!

Sounds like you have it under control for the most part. Keep with what your doing, and remember, since they are sick, to keep changing that water.

 

[perla123]

I saw the Emporor filter they are not that expensive the go for about $60. I was planing on getting a canister one. what do u think? I know is more expensive, but if its going to help me for when I have a bigger tank I rather get that one.

 

[Angel Chicken]

I saw the Emporor filter they are not that expensive the go for about $60. I was planing on getting a canister one. what do u think? I know is more expensive, but if its going to help me for when I have a bigger tank I rather get that one.

I prefer Emps over canisters, simply because canisters can get messy and time consuming.

Bio-Wheels are easy, once they are started, they never stop. Since setting my tank up, I've not once had any kind of illness or parasite... from any fish I get.

ETA: Canisters are good for show tanks, they can be hidden so not to draw attention from the tank itself. They also can go months without having maintenance. I was confusing canisters for wet/dry filters.... my bad!

 

[perla123]

OK thank you. I saw some filters on ebay for $46 to $50

 

[borzoimom]

I like whispers. http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3065443 You can see several of my tanks in the background in my borzoi videos.

 

[Criosphynx]

*sigh*


<------fish expert here.


I've kept fish for over a decade. I have bred ocsars and many other cichlids. I sold fish for about 4 years. I own fish personally that are 10+years old.

That said, heres my .02 take it or leave it.

I've read many studies on this let me let you in on a little secret....

VITAMIN C

Hole in the head is poor water quality combined with nutritional defeciences. Which is why you don't always see it or it takes a while to show up. It takes a while for liver and kidney function to dwindle.

Flood your fishs diet with Vit C. Check your food packages. Most, if not all Tropical and Cichlid food contain ZERO vit c. Most coldwater (goldfish, koi) food contain LOADS of it. Ever see a goldfish with HITH? Likely not.

Monitor water quality and feed your oscars goldfish pellets with a high dose of vit C. You will see it healed in about a week.
We as hobbyist waaay overmedicate our fish... Medication should be a last resort IMO

Also no more feederfish... They are pure fat and parasites and just plain risky to feed to your pets.


as far as hang on back filters go. Buy an aquaclear. Seriously. They have the most media and filteration surfaces for the size and $.


Hope this helps.

 

[joce]

Never deal with hole in the head but we had oscars for years and it was a lot of work-I think the salt water was easier!

I'd look into a bigger tank now. It seemed any time we ever had an issue with the fish a bigger tank helped. It doesn't seem like they are too large but the extra room seems to keep them less stressed and in general able to heal or not get sick/injured in the first place.

Also make sure the filter you get can handle the tank-especially if you will soon be moving up to a bigger one.

We fed feeders but also gave pelleted feed(which some people seemed to think one or the other was better.

Honestly we used to use the over the back wal mart ones Did fine. We didn't switch to canister filters until we got into saltwater. Now we have a 175(I think thats what it is!) with the penguin filters(again not positive-the fish is more the bfs area!).

What we seemed to have learned over the years is there are certain places you do and don't buy fish around here. The bfs cousin had horrible problems going to whoever was cheapest when he had the same set up as us if not better.

Our oscars were huge and we ended up giving them to the bfs cousin because the giant tank we had them in was just to much for the few fish we had in there. They were neat fish though. Now we have some smaller Cichlids, like yellow labs and some weird Chinese sucker fish things. Which we were given by a friend. I think we have all been passing the same fish back and forth for years

I hope you find something to work for you-Wish I had some specific advice. I do want to remind you a jack of all trades is a master of none-not getting into that argument but I do see a lot of advice given by some that seems to be pulled off a page and recited from somewhere.

 

[borzoimom]

How are your fish today?

 

[RedyreRottweilers]

Perla, I hope your Oscar fish is getting better. Please keep us posted on how he is doing. It looks like criosphinx and angelchicken had great advice for you.

Good luck!

 

[DanL]

I had a breeding pair of Oscars in a 55gallon tank. The male was about a foot long, the female slightly smaller.

Yes, they are messy, but that is pretty easily managed. A few minutes a week is all it takes.

Borzoimom, I can't see how keeping feeders quarantined for a week would keep you from introducing any kind of disease or parasite to your fish. Some things take longer than that to show up, and internal parasites might never be found unless you are dissecting them to check.

 

[borzoimom]

..
Borzoimom, I can't see how keeping feeders quarantined for a week would keep you from introducing any kind of disease or parasite to your fish. Some things take longer than that to show up, and internal parasites might never be found unless you are dissecting them to check.

I use to quarantine the feeders for the week because since most fish diseases occur quickly from not visual to detecting the condition occurs pretty quickly. Fish in some ways are like birds- meaning they will act normal as long as they can so to speak. By the time the condition shows up, it usually doesnt take long for them to go down. Also I would ask them how long they have had the feeders. The place I use to get my feeders from most would rotate tanks meaning one bunch would go in one tank, the next new batch would go in another tank so seperate how long the feeders were there without having the newer fish. They did the same thing with their birds to isolate illnesses.

 

[Criosphynx]

I use to quarantine the feeders for the week because since most fish diseases occur quickly from not visual to detecting the condition occurs pretty quickly. Fish in some ways are like birds- meaning they will act normal as long as they can so to speak. By the time the condition shows up, it usually doesnt take long for them to go down. Also I would ask them how long they have had the feeders. The place I use to get my feeders from most would rotate tanks meaning one bunch would go in one tank, the next new batch would go in another tank so seperate how long the feeders were there without having the newer fish. They did the same thing with their birds to isolate illnesses.

quarantine does nothing for internal parasites. Which, besides the fact that feeders are pretty nutritionally Moot, is the main reason I've not recommended them as a food source.

With so many wonderful diets out there that are better nutritionally and less expensive there is no reason to use feeder goldfish in the diet on a regular basis.

If you want to watch your fish be "natural" or whatever, go buy mealworms, crickets or other INSECT baits that are gutloaded and disease free. Insects are a wonderful food source and probably much much closer to a wild diet.

 

[borzoimom]

I agree- it would be better for a wild diet.

 

[drmom777]

I believe that Borzoimom had her fish some time ago--which is why her advice, which was seen as correct at one time, is now out of date. Just so there's no harm done, all is well.

I hope perla's fish are doing well--very interesting about the vitamin C.

 

[Criosphynx]

I believe that Borzoimom had her fish some time ago--which is why her advice, which was seen as correct at one time, is now out of date. Just so there's no harm done, all is well.

I hope perla's fish are doing well--very interesting about the vitamin C.

Its very similar to Scurvy in other animals and people. If you go to public aquaria that has top of the line filtration, you ussually will still see HITH and LLD in alot of the older occupants.

These are animals that are not stressed by there enviroment so it took longer to show up. A stressed imune system aggrivates it, which is why poor water quality has always been seen as a factor.

The fish industry knows this, at least alot of "them" do. Its hard to sell medications to people who never have sick fish.









oh ya, and we need pics of the fish in question ;P

 

[Angel Chicken]

Criosphynx, Thanks for your input in this thread.

Out of all the research I've ever done, I've never heard of the Vitamin C thing for HitH! Consider that tucked away in my mind forever now

 

[Lilavati]

Notably, I'd cut the feeders out all together, just on general policy. Not only do they carry diseases, but they actually aren't all the nutrious. Bugs, if you can get them, would be good, but i kept Oscars for years on high quality pellet and frozen food. Its more nutrious, and easier to feed anyway.

And yes, the consensus is the Hole in the Head is as much nutrition as anything else.

 

[perla123]

Hi guys,

Sorry it took me so long to reply. I got home very late yesterday and I'm still at work right now . I didn't even have the chance to get the water levels for you.

The Oscars are doing well. The one that is sick is acting as if there is nothing wrong with it. This morning he ate normal (I'm so glad that he still has his appetite)

I will keep you posted

thank you Criosphynx I have heard about the Vitamin C and was goung to buy a block of it today. like this one http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2753999

 

[borzoimom]

Ohhhhhhhhhhh thats a good one! Good luck

 

[perla123]

Thank you!