i have an oscar?

Question

i have a 75 gallon aquarium with pump dirt magnet , 60 gallon whisper filter , and a heater , the water should be fine i use start right for the water i have a oscar i have had him for about 3 years ive had it since it was about 3 inches and for about a month it hasent been eating it's slow he doesent look to good hes getting little holes in him i don't know what to do i love my fish and i don't like to see him like this

and he looks like hes haveing a hard time breathing

Answer 1

Hole in the Head Disease (HITH) This disease is arguably one of the most common ailments that Oscars develop. Hole in the head disease strikes fear into any Oscar owner because it can be fatal for Oscars if not treated properly. The disease itself can cause horrible lesions and holes on your Oscars head and body. This alone makes hole in the head disease particularly nasty.

If your Oscar does start developing HITH then you may notice small holes appearing in the body, especially in the head region. These holes will gradually developed into much larger craters/pits. You may also notice stringy mucus trailing from the wounds which has often been mistaken for worms. Your fish may also go off its food and develop a hollow bellied appearance.

Hexamita does often exist as a low-level infection in the intestines of fish. Strangely this probably doesn't have any affect on the fish. However, various factors such as poor water conditions and an unhealthy diet can cause the parasites to multiply and this is what causes symptoms to escalate out of control.

Relatively mild cases of HITH can be cured by increasing tank maintenance, and improving the fish's diet with maybe supplements of vitamins. However, severe cases of hole in the head may need medication. A lot of these medications are meant to be added to food but unfortunately, many fish that develop hole in the head disease go off their food so it can be problematic trying to administer medication. Luckily, there are medications on the market that just have to be added to the water. Two such treatments are dimetridazole and metronidazole. These two medications are only available as a prescription in certain countries so you will have to consult your vet. There are various other treatments available off the shelf. One such medication that is available here in the UK is called Octozin and is manufactured by Waterlife. These come in tablet form so all you have to do is add them to the tank wate

Answer 2

Your Oscar has Lateral line diseasae or Hole in the head disease. The only difference is where the holes are. This is caused by poor water quality and poor diet. The first theing you need to do is get the tank really clean without damaging the cycle. Clean the tank by using a gravel siphon and doing a 50% water change every other day for a week. Also change the filter media now and again after the week is up.

Begin offering your oscar all kind of frozen or live foods. Try to get him to eat anything for now. As time goes on, try to get him to eat as many different things as possible including the occasional each of veggie. You can even soak pieces of fish filet in fish vitamins and feed that to him. The idea is to get as much quality nutrition as you can in him.

Super clean water and a superior diet is the only cure for lateral line disease or HITH. You will need to watch for bacterial infections or fungus as they might attack the damaged areas of the fish. So be ready to treat for either of those.

You may also want to add a second filter to your tank. The one you have isn't really enough.

MM

Answer 3

If you feed him live feeder goldfish,STOP!. Do frequent partial water changes. Add another filter or even two. Follow the advice of the two people who answered your question earlier.