Hi
My Oscar has HITH and I been treating him for about 3-4 weeks with Melafix and 250 mg of Metronidazole and 75 mg of Praziquantel. He has a few pits on top and under his chin and little pin holes around the eyes. Its doesnt look like its getting worse but I was curious how long it takes to heal. Does it get worse before it gets better? I have removed carbon from my filter and have been doing 35% water changes every 3 days. My water has been fine (as I test) but I was only feeding him Cichlid Gold Food for about 9 months. Now I am mixing it up with some freeze dried krill. If the pits on the top of the Oscar go from white to darkening up, like the color of his scales, does that mean he is healing? The little pins hole do not look like there getting bigger. Im just looking for signs of healing. Any suggestions on if I should change or try anything different? My Oscar is about 9.5 inches long. Also if I keep this disease in check, how long could he live with pin holes and pits as long as they dont get any worse?
Thanks for your help

Giving you a conclusive answer of how long it will take to heal is virtually impossible. You are obviously doing okay since you are noticing an improvement. The best thing you can do is keep the water in pristine condition and feed your fish on good quality food. Most medication should be administered for a certain period of time and then you stop for a while. It's quite easy to see improvement, the wounds will disappear gradually. As for the pinpricks around the eyes, just doublecheck they are not sensory pits.

I don't think it will get worse before it gets better. If you give the fish a healthy environment, that should help dramatically

Thanks for the info, on other points how long would you treat with medication?
Also what is your opinion on using carbon to clear the medication out of the water and would you continue to use it? How long would you go after you stop using medication before you start up again, and also I show some coloration on the pits where they were white intially. Like a dark green grey color is filling in. Would this be a sign of healing?
Sorry for all the question, but im trying to get a good hold on this issue.
As a side note. This is my second Oscar, and the first Oscar I had I kept in a ten gallon tank for 4 years and only did water changes once a month and he lived that long, crazy huh? It was my first Oscar and I didnt know anything about them.

I would probably leave it a few days in between medication. Is it possible to post a photo of your fish? It would be helpful to see what we are dealing with. It's difficult to help without seeing the extent of the disease.carbon will remove impurities from the water which is what many people use after medicating tank. Personally, I don't use carbon at all. I haven't had to medicate my tank much thankfully. In my opinion, I wouldn't even bother leaving carbon in your filtration. It can become saturated and then start leeching toxins back into the water if you leave in a filter too long.

The problem you have with hole in the head disease is it doesn't affect all fish species. Many fish diseases are easy to treat because they affect all fish. If a fish develops white spots, it is very easy to treat. You can go on virtually any forum and somebody will be able to help you. Unfortunately the same can't be said about hole in the head disease.

Anyway, if you can post some photos, it will help us a lot

Heres Pics of my Oscar with 2 pits on top of his head. I seem to have them in check right now, they seem to be darkening. Is that a sign of healing?


s449.photobucket.com/albums/qq220/mozzmann/

Heres a pic

What do you guys think about using aquarium salt to help in aiding the healing of HITH?

the pictures shows it is indeed a HITH. medication usually
take 10 days per session. pristine water is the most effective
ways to combate any illnesses. once the cotton like edges of the
HITH disappear, it is a sign of healing off. if the oscar is all
alone in the tank, i would let the medicine remove by regular water
change.

salt do helps in medication by enhancing the oxygenation and softening
the water, but too much of it will not make any good in fishkeeping.


how big did it grow? what happen? do you think the fish become happy?
oscar in a small tank is like a person in a prison cell. i hope you won't
let your present fish experience the same.

Surprisingly I believe he was happy. I had him between 1998-2001 so I cant remember very much about him, but he was a trooper, he was probably about 7 inches maybe 8. I would take him out of the tank, do a full clean job and toss him back in. I guess you really never know sometimes with Oscars.


Anyway,back to Stanger,(My Oscar) I am doing water changes every 3 days and I am using 2 tablespoons of aquarium salt and Melafix plus stress coat after the water change and I am starting to see results and the top pits are darkening and getting smaller. I am feeding him Hikari Cichlid Gold and freeze dried krill. Does this sound like a good plan to help heal the Oscar and keep him healthy?

Please let me know what you guys thinkB)

you plan sounds good to me. personally i dont use salt but if its working dont change a thing. as for the food you might try adding earth worms beefhearts and shrimp into their diet. other than that keep up the good work.

salt should be applied with caution.
add for the amount that has been change,
otherwise, too much concentration will be
bad to your fish. salt never evaporates, it
will remain in your tank unless change the water

Could you please tell me what the best diet is for a mature Oscar
Im feeding Cichlid Gold and freeze dried krill.
I believe my Oscar got HITH by just eating Cichlid Gold for 9 months.
He is now recovering and getting better.
Just want to make sure he has a good diet to stay healthy
Thanks

most HITH are caused by poor diet and bad water condition.
cichlid gold and freeze dried krill should be fine. they are
formulated and tested for fish keeping. giving variey of fruits
and vegetables helps to maintain good digestive system but some
oscars do not take them right away. they have to be tried every
now and then.

pristine water is the first defense in any fish sickness, not just
clear water but good water parameters.