This thread was provided to better ensure hobbyists whether their fish has the famed HITH.

biggamehunter has another thread with many more pics of HITH and other ailments.

(mods please sticky this thread)

Anyways, hole in the head... or not?

Oscars have something called 'sensory pits' all over their face. Here's what they look like:



Notice that a group of pinpricks together forms a 'sensory pit' and the oscar has several groups all over the head. When a fish gets HITH, the group of pinpricks will fade away and will be replaced with one, single crater. This is a photo of an oscar in the earlier stages of HITH-



Notice the large craters. HITH can come very quickly, I have seen oscars go from looking like the first photo to the second in a matter of days.

So, now you know your fish has HITH. What do you do now? Sorry to tell you, but there are no medications for HITH. There is a remedy, though: Water changes! HITH is caused by poor water conditions. If you do lots of water changes, HITH can clear up. In some cases, poor lighting and an unvaried diet can also result in HITH. So, turn some lights on, and vary the diet!

Also of note, if you notice mucus (looks like slimy white worms) and other bizarre things going on with your oscar you may want to invest in some metridoizale.

More info on HITH can be found here: www.oscarfishlover.com/index.php/Hole-in...ad-Disease-HITH.html

Good post, this should help people a lot

OFL wrote:


Thanks Penn

i used your pic in my pics thread ...check it out

looks nice

good job. now hobbyist can rely on the GURUs who always
give practical and very factual ideas.
what else can we ask!

Good info on the sensory pits!

FWIW I've had four Oscars for years now and I think they've all gotten HITH at some point. Jungles "Hole N Head Guard" treatment works every time. It's basically just metronidazole but I haven't found another treatment that works as well as theirs.

No matter how bad the holes have gotten they grow back closed and look good as new after treating them and giving them time to heal up. Keeping the water pristine during this time helps recovery too.

-Rich

how long does it take to treat and whats the cost of this silver bullet please..............thanks for the info vizette

The directions are:

25% water change
one teaspoon (5g) per 5 gal of water every other day up to 3 treatments w/25% water change in between each

Honestly I don't do the full dose as I don't like to med them hard unless I'm forced to. Usually the first one helps.

As far as how long... I usually notice it start to heal up over a few weeks time, making sure to keep the tank extra clean during that time.

It's relatively inexpensive:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/pr...play.cfm?pcatid=4821

Metronidazole (aka flagyl) is a protozoan/bacterial treatment (Ich, Hexamita, etc) and I really like that it doesn't stain or color the water and it doesn't upset the biology. The fish don't seem to mind it either (some meds they clearly don't like). It does take a while to dissolve though.

Smells kinda nice too

-Rich

thanks for the additional info.
it will help others by just clicking this
thread.

HITH is also a result of poor nutrition. Oscars need a varied diet and a good diet at that. Also by adding once in a while some vitamen B (Blackmores executive stress formula is a good one) and some none sugared vitamen C to the tank is a good idea. I use Vitamen B when ever I get a new shipment of fish in that have been in transit too long and a freakn out. The fish absorb it through the skin so it works very effectively. After I water change my Oscars and they are sulking and stressed I usually pop one in. 1 tablet in a 350l tank is all I use.

debbie82 wrote:


The Vit C will have to be digested to work or will that be adsorbed by the skin too?