Oscar straight from LFS with HITH

[chillout]

My wife brought home two 8" Oscars from the LFS 2 weeks ago as a suprise for my lonely plec, i noticed straight away 1 of them had a case of HITH, i contacted the shop and they said they had not noticed but if i brought them back they would swap them for another pair, the question i have is that are some Oscars more likely to have this than others. after 2 weeks there is no sign of it getting better, but the other Oscar is fine, they are both eating well and the one with HITH has been moving pebbles around to make a flat space for a bit of loving! i dont want to swap them but if he is always going to be prone to this i might, its just that the other is in absolute top nick?
they are in 100gallon tank with weekly water changes.

Swap or keep?

 

[jollysue]

What's HITH??

 

[chillout]

it is HOLE IN THE HEAD, I just want to know if some oscars are more prone to it than others

 

[jollysue]

I asked to know what that was and to pull your post up hoping you would get an answer. I think I've seen medications that are recommended for HITH.

 

[freddyk]

Hole in the head is a disease caused by stress - most likely those Oscars weren't treated as well as they could have been in their last home. This is why I like to raise them myself. At least they have a good home now, in a spacious tank with excellent filtration and regular water changes. The damage from the disease is permanent, but treatment will stop it's progression. Good conditions will keep it from happening again.

Here

 

[playfulalliecat]

From what I have read in doing research on HITH, no one is completely sure of what causes it or a true cure for it. Some thoughts are stress, bad water conditions, and/or poor nutrition (one reason why its not recommended to use feeder fish).Some fish get it and it seems to go away as in not get worse but the holes will usually not go away. Oscars, as a whole, are more prone to HITH but not all oscars get it. With your fish showing normal behaviors and eating well, I would think, it should be ok.

Allie

 

[lucky62]

I agree with the above comments , providing water changes on regular basis is one of the best things you can do for your fish , nitrate build up can weaken and stress fish causing them to become ill .....or worse .


Yes many larger fish [ messy eaters/poopers ] will get HITH usually because of mis- managed tank maintenance .


Good cleaning , and water changes are key .


They are in good hands now

 

[chillout]

i have just set up the Eheim professional 2 -2028 external filter from Aquacadabra , thats my spending money gone! should i see anychange in the hith? meaning will the white moon creater go back to normal colour? or will it always be white? i am thinking it is just like someone having bad acne, they always have the indents on their face but the colour is normal.
i went back to the LFS yesterday for a digital therm, and they were really friendly in saying they would happily swap for the 2 red tigers they have in, but i said ive kinda bonded with bertha as she has a real foxy personality!
Ernie is the one with hith
fins crossed he gets better

 

[playfulalliecat]

I have never had a fish with HITH but I don't think that white crater will ever go away or change color. My best advice is to feed well and keep your water pristine and that oscar could live for years. Sounds like you really care and are working hard to make everything right for it now. Keep up what you're doing!

Allie