Hi,
I have a juvenile Oscar with Hole in the Head disease. When I got him about a year ago, my plan was to keep him in a 30 gallon tank until he grew a little bit more sizeable, and then to transfer him to a 175 gallon tank. Just days were left before my Oscar was to pack up his things and head to his mansion to join a few other “tank busters” equal to his new size. It was then that I first noticed the tell-tale signs of Hole in the Head disease.
The disease revealed itself in the form of two small craters superior to his “nostrils”. I checked a few of my tank’s vitals and they were as follows: pH 8.4, temp 83, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 70 (!). The tank is fitted with the Eclipse filtration system, which was working fine. I knew the pH was high, but it had always been and attempts at lowering it had been utterly fruitless so far—I even endeavored to hire a water quality expert to determine the problem, which turned up no solutions. The nitrates were unexpectedly and unacceptably high so I immediately did a water change. This brought them down to around 40 ppm, which was still high but, again, due to the water quality of my tap water, as low as I could get them. I also diversified my fish’s plate for several weeks thereafter, adding vitamin drops to his food and trying new, more nutritional foods. The craters showed slight improvement, but were not healing as I had hoped. I then removed the charcoal from the water and added Parasite Clear for two days and saw minimal benefit. Panicking, I began to add Cichlid Salt to the water (trusting in the theory that a fish with this disease may have a lack of trace minerals in his diet) as well as sea salt. One day, after no improvement had been noted, I added quite a bit of sea salt to the water in the amount that was recommended to me by a “fish expert” from my local shop. This clearly stressed him out and he began to float sideways at the bottom of the tank. Poor guy. I did a 100% water change and he soon recovered, albeit cursing my name.
Paradoxically, what almost killed him perhaps cured him. Within a day, his lesions began to heal and no trace of them could be found after 3 days. So...what cured him? Was it the frantic water change? The salt? The change in food? Parasite Clear? I’m dying to know because my poor fish has somehow contracted the disease again, and I don’t think he’s going to make it through this time. The disease has created new craters where the others had healed, as well as two on the right side of his head. The two on this side are healing pretty well after the above treatments, but the two craters on the front of his face have gotten deeper. Worse still, there appears to be holes within the holes themselves. They are small, but appear to be growing in diameter—like expanding peepholes peering into what may soon be his brain.
Needless to say, I’m utterly distraught at these developments. There is one thing I haven’t tried, and that is the “almost-kill-the-fish-with-sea-salt” technique that Deus ex machina saved him last time. I’m hesitating with that option, but may go with it if I do not see improvement in the next few days. Or maybe I should continue with Parasite Clear, even though the box only calls for a total of two treatments? I also thought that perhaps I should just move him to the bigger tank, in the hopes that the extra space would cure him. I reconsidered only because I was able to heal him last time in the same 30 gallon tank.
I’m very unsure of what to do, and am very afraid of losing my pal. I’ve saved him before—once when he was almost eaten alive (he lost almost every fin and scale on his body) and again when he got Hole in the Head the first time. I’d sure love to see him alive and well in that new tank.
-Chris
I have a juvenile Oscar with Hole in the Head disease. When I got him about a year ago, my plan was to keep him in a 30 gallon tank until he grew a little bit more sizeable, and then to transfer him to a 175 gallon tank. Just days were left before my Oscar was to pack up his things and head to his mansion to join a few other “tank busters” equal to his new size. It was then that I first noticed the tell-tale signs of Hole in the Head disease.
The disease revealed itself in the form of two small craters superior to his “nostrils”. I checked a few of my tank’s vitals and they were as follows: pH 8.4, temp 83, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 70 (!). The tank is fitted with the Eclipse filtration system, which was working fine. I knew the pH was high, but it had always been and attempts at lowering it had been utterly fruitless so far—I even endeavored to hire a water quality expert to determine the problem, which turned up no solutions. The nitrates were unexpectedly and unacceptably high so I immediately did a water change. This brought them down to around 40 ppm, which was still high but, again, due to the water quality of my tap water, as low as I could get them. I also diversified my fish’s plate for several weeks thereafter, adding vitamin drops to his food and trying new, more nutritional foods. The craters showed slight improvement, but were not healing as I had hoped. I then removed the charcoal from the water and added Parasite Clear for two days and saw minimal benefit. Panicking, I began to add Cichlid Salt to the water (trusting in the theory that a fish with this disease may have a lack of trace minerals in his diet) as well as sea salt. One day, after no improvement had been noted, I added quite a bit of sea salt to the water in the amount that was recommended to me by a “fish expert” from my local shop. This clearly stressed him out and he began to float sideways at the bottom of the tank. Poor guy. I did a 100% water change and he soon recovered, albeit cursing my name.
Paradoxically, what almost killed him perhaps cured him. Within a day, his lesions began to heal and no trace of them could be found after 3 days. So...what cured him? Was it the frantic water change? The salt? The change in food? Parasite Clear? I’m dying to know because my poor fish has somehow contracted the disease again, and I don’t think he’s going to make it through this time. The disease has created new craters where the others had healed, as well as two on the right side of his head. The two on this side are healing pretty well after the above treatments, but the two craters on the front of his face have gotten deeper. Worse still, there appears to be holes within the holes themselves. They are small, but appear to be growing in diameter—like expanding peepholes peering into what may soon be his brain.
Needless to say, I’m utterly distraught at these developments. There is one thing I haven’t tried, and that is the “almost-kill-the-fish-with-sea-salt” technique that Deus ex machina saved him last time. I’m hesitating with that option, but may go with it if I do not see improvement in the next few days. Or maybe I should continue with Parasite Clear, even though the box only calls for a total of two treatments? I also thought that perhaps I should just move him to the bigger tank, in the hopes that the extra space would cure him. I reconsidered only because I was able to heal him last time in the same 30 gallon tank.
I’m very unsure of what to do, and am very afraid of losing my pal. I’ve saved him before—once when he was almost eaten alive (he lost almost every fin and scale on his body) and again when he got Hole in the Head the first time. I’d sure love to see him alive and well in that new tank.
-Chris
