my oscars well one of them has a whole will aquarium salt heal this or what do you reccomend for this ?

Answer 1

Probably Hole in the Head Disease. First, a single oscar needs an aquarium at least 55 gallons to himself. Since they're very messy fish, need very good filtration, I recommend a cannister filter and a large hob(hang on the back) filter, at the least. You also need to do weekly water changes, again this depends on the tank size, a smaller tank would require many more water changes. I've read there are possibly many causes of this disease, one being high nitrates in the water, & poor diets to name a few. I would suggest doing the water change now, and do them daily till your nitrate levels go down (need a test kit for that) below 20. Do not use feeders to feed your fish, not healthy and can spread disease in the tank. Use a good quality pellet food, once a week soak them in a liquid vitamin before feeding. Feed other foods as well, beefheart, bloodworms, meal worms, crickets, the list is almost endless. Pick up an antibiotic containing metronidazole and follow the directions for treatment. Salt alone won't heal it. You could add some aquarium salt, follow the directions on the package for treatment. Proper care and treatment, he won't die. But he will be scarred where the hole is.
Try looking on this site for more info:

http://www.oscarfish.com/

Answer 2

Hole in the head is commonly caused by two things - poor water quality and vitamin deficiency. It *IS* curable as long as you start treatment immediately.

First of all, you need to always make sure your water is in pristine condition. Test your nitrates and make sure they are at less than 20ppm. If they aren't, you need to be doing more frequent water changes. At the very least, you should be doing 20-40% every week. He should also be in no less than a 55-gallon tank, as anything less will allow nitrates and other toxins to build up far too quickly, and he will quickly outgrow anything smaller.

You will need to feed your oscar a quality fish food that is high in, especially, calcium, phosphorous, and vitamins C and D, as HITH is often caused by a lack of these nutrients. Do not feed feeder fish, as "many aquatic animal tissues contain thiaminase, which when fed raw to fish can lead to a thiamine (Vitamin B12) deficiency". You should supplement the diet with live foods such as: "crickets, mealworms, blackworms, earthworms and shrimp but avoid spiders and other poisonous/stinging insects and anything that could have come into contact with pesticides".

Aquarium salt will help heal external wounds, but it will not clear up the HITH on its own. Instead, use metronidazole as directed on the packaging. Make sure you continue the FULL course of treatment, or else you risk the infection coming back even worse than it started.

See source link for a great article about HITH and treatment.

Answer 3

I have a pair of male and female oscars, and i noticed other day my female had a small hole in her head with some stuff coming out of it...i put just regular Aqua Safe in their water, and the next day it was gone and she was bk to her old self, eating worms and grasshoppers. lol So if i was u try something in that sort, and then if it doesntseem to be getting better, if u have someone around where you live that knows ALOT about oscars, ask them to come look at it, or just for information.

Answer 4

It will help. I also removed my fish from tank, drained it, removed all the scenery, put it in the tub and cleaned it with bleach and antibacterial soap. I then cleaned the scenery with bleach and soap as well. I rinsed them all really good to make sure there was no residue. I refilled the tank, added the scenery, added water conditioner, New Balance, aquarium salt (one tsp per every 5 gallons), and tank buddies parasite clear, I think it is called. I use aquarium salt as part of my tank regimen. Keeps my fish healthy. I put some in every time I clean and refill my tank.

Answer 5

Remove Oscar from the tank and transport him to the nearest profession aquarium center so that he can be examined and treatment can be recommended.

Answer 6

If the hole is in his head there is nothing you can do. he has hole in the head a common deformity in the cichlid family. He will go on living for awhile but ultimately he will die. Sorry.