Hi,
Can anyone give me any advice on this please?

My Oscars are getting white patches mainly on their heads reguarly. The patches are about the size of a pea or so, and usually flat but one was a bit furry a few days ago. They usually disappear on there own but last several days, the fish seem healthy and are eating well.

Main details -
450 litre tank
2 Oscars about 9 or 10 inches long
2 Plecs (they don't get the white patches)

Ammonia = 0 ppm
Nitrite = 0 ppm
Nitrate = 10-20 ppm (usually lower after a water change)
phosphate = about 4 ppm
pH = about 7.6 (not sure what this should be)

I feed the Oscars once a day on pellets and give them worms/prawns/beef heart about once a week or so.
I was using salt as a general tonic but have stopped as the pH was getting quite high, well over 8.
I clean the tank well every week, clean all filters and vacUum gravel, changing about 80-100 litres of water per week.

One other thing - I have a structured background in the tank which allows some debris to gather behind it which can't be removed, could this be a problem? I hope not otherwise it will have to come out.

Here are some pictures but they aren't great as they won't keep still long enough to take them.

Any ideas would be great thanks.

The white patches could possibly be some kind of fungal infection, especially as you described it as furry. If so, these are quite infectious, try treating the tank with some kind of fungal medication.

Any debris trapped inside the tank could increase the chances of poor water quality. Obviously at the moment your water quality is very good. If you can't get out, it will just keep building up. I should do something about it if I was you.

A perfect pH for Oscars would be about 6.5. However, anything between 6.0 and 8.0 is okay for Oscars.

If the white stuff is coming out of a hole it could be HITH but i doubt it as your water quality is good. I agree with OFL it is probably a fungus. Try taking some photos a bit further away to give a better view

Hi - thanks for the replies.

I will try and get another photo or 2 up tomorrow.

Cheers,
Stacy.

Hey Stacy!

I've been here and done this one. You are looking at the very early stages of a type of bacterial infection. My Oscars have had it and it damn near took out my Red Devil. It works really slowly over several generations. It's almost like it gets tougher and tougher as it goes. Eventually, if you don't kill it, your fishes immune system won't be able to cope with it and it will manifest itself as callus looking lumps. Myself and the guys at my LFS had never seen it before. Infact, the only way I know that it's a bacteria is by what it finally took to kill it! Aquarium Pharacueticals makes a product called Triple Sulfa. That stuff did the trick. I'm sure any other Sulfa based antibiotic will work though. I used Melafix and Pimafix and thought that I was getting it but it always came back. I'm pretty sure you're dealing with the same bug.

Thank's for the advice.
I'll try and get hold of the stuff you suggest.

Hi,
Out of insterest - does anyone think this is HITH?

I thought the holes where the sensors pits but are they too big/too many?

Cheers,
Stacy

I doubt that is HITH, there not holes, they seem to be white patches, suggesting the fungus like everyone else assumes.

Does anyone know anyone who sells 'Triple Sulfa' in the UK?
I've looked on the net including ebay and been to most of my local aquatics shops and can't find it.

They may not sell it in the UK. I have a few meds here that aren't available to you guys across the pond. If you can't find Triple Sulfa then just look around for another broad spectrum antibiotic. There's got to be something you can get.

Hi,
Turns out anti-biotics can't be sold over the counter in the UK so I'm trying an anit bacterial.

Cheers,
Stacy

This is the case with a lot of medications in the UK. You could always approach a veterinarian and get a prescription. Mind you, would probably cost a lot more than getting off the shelf medications. The chances are, he would probably want to see the fish before giving you anything which also poses problems.