Over the past two days my Oscar developed a huge lump inbetween his eyes, last night we noticed a white bump on it like a pimple. Within about 2 hours of noticing the new bump we realized it had opened and this white gooey/stringy stuff is coming out. We then moved him to a new tank and put MelaFix (it says "Antibacterial Remedy") because it's an open wound and we don't want an infection. Is this a fungal problem he has? Also, ever since we moved him he's not very responsive (he was quite an active fish when we where by the tank) and mostly sits on the bottom, sometimes he floats on his side.

Am I right in saying that it resembles cotton wool and little bit? It does rather look like a secondary fungal infection that could be located above a wound. It's difficult to say really because I didn't see the fish before.

There are various medications that can treat this condition. I will list them

Griseofulvin, Fulvicin tablets

Malachite green oxalate

Nystatin ointment

Some of these are probably contained in fungal treatments so have a look at the ingredients, or you may be better off going to see a vet

I better just to add that in cases like this, you are very wise to isolate the fish. Also, some medications can have a detrimental effect on the biological filter so always check this before putting medication into a main tank

Thank you! We isolated him last night and today I will get that medicine for him. Should I change out all the water out of my main tank right away to help get rid of the problem and keep my other fish fungal-free?

Do a water change and make sure the water parameters are good,ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. Don't change the water while you are medicating the tank. Once you're finished medicating the tank, do a small water change. if need be, medicate the tank a couple of days later. Make sure there's no carbon in your filters when you are medicating the tank

UPdate

I got the API fungus cure kit (little bags of powder turns the water green)

as soon as i added it my Oscar started moving around instead of lying on the bottom.

I tested my water before (this is a small 10G hospital tank i just set up for him) all levels were low except for PH and Nitrate. i have heard that Oscars like a higher PH so thats ok, and i didn't have a filter for this tank so i think thats why the Nitrate was high. i put a new filter in and removed the charcoal. everything seems fine and I'll let you know how this goes.

Thank you for all your advice. you may have just saved my Oscar's life

oscar can live comfortably in a wide range of ph but the ph level should remain constant and have no drastic changes. as for low water readings your ammonia should be 0 nitrite 0 and a nitrate reading ideally below 20

hope your o gets well soon

The fungus is nearly gone but now he has a hole in his head. is this natural? some other disease? or possibly a pre-existing wound that the fungus infected?

I have just over a day of quarantine left before the fungal cure says he should be good as new. I am worried because normally when i drop live food in he goes crazy but so far two white cloud guppies have been living safely for 3 days now. (I figured they might keep him active)



here is the link to the full sized pic
i37.photobucket.com/albums/e75/duckie23foxy/IMGP1833.jpg

Good to hear that the fungus is finally clearing up. As for the hole that has appeared on your Oscars head, very difficult to say because the picture isn't that brilliant. I have copied onto my PC and Lightened it up but I wouldn't like to say whether it's hole in the head for sure. It does look a little bit like it but I think you should monitor the hole for around a week and see if it improves, or gets worse. Make sure that your water is in good condition all the time, this will certainly help the situation.