Oscar Fish Advice Forum: Hole in the head disease? (1/1)
Photo provided by Flickr
Now the poor guy is in my oscar tank with my other oscars and is acting just like the other ones (I just put it in with the others today). I have noticed after a week the hole in the poor guys head is getting smaller and no longer looks like another fish took a bite out of it. The hole is half the size of a dime.
Photo provided by Flickr If all else fails, you may need to use medication. The most common medication (in the US) is metronidazole. Jungle Hole-N'-Head guard and Octozin both contain metronidazole. Metronidazole kills the flagellate parasites that inhibit the intestine of the oscar fish.
Photo provided by Flickr
Photo provided by Flickr
Photo provided by Flickr
Hole in the Head Disease is probably the most feared disease amongst people who keep Oscar fish. Hole in the Head Disease is not always fatal if caught early and treated. However, it can often leave terrible scarring on the fishes head which may be permanent after the disease has healed.Hole in the Head Disease is relatively easy to diagnose. In its very early stages, you may notice one or two small holes appearing on the fish's head. Often the holes are very symmetrical, almost as if somebody has stuck a dart into the Oscars skin. If left these holes will gradually get bigger and grow in number. Holes and lesions may spread to the mouth area, around the gills and eyes. In severe cases, the lateral line may start eroding. Once the condition becomes very bad, you may notice stringy mucus trailing from the wounds, people often mistake these for worms. The fish may well go off its food and develop a hollow-bellied appearance.Treating An Oscar with Hole-In-The-Head -- 1/04/08 I have an Oscar that has hole in the Head Disease. I have treated him on two different occasions over a three month period with Fish-Zole. The places on his head just don't seem to want to heal. He is in a 75 gallon aquarium with a canister filter which gets cleaned once a week. He gets a 25% water change once a week. His water quality is in the good range on everything. He gets a variety of foods (no feeder gold fish). He gets pellets, sticks, krill and a mixture of beef hearts, garlic, spinach, vitamins and other ingredients twice a week. He also gets Vita-Chem added to his pellets 5 times a week. He has a very good appetite and seems to be growing. Should I treat him with the Fish-Zole again or is there something else That I can use to heal the places on his head. I don't want to loose him. Your help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance. Nancy One theory put forward is that a poor diet lacking in vitamins contributes to the development of hole in the head disease. An unhealthy diet weakens the fishes immune system which can then allow the Hexamita parasites to become more troublesome. Feeding your Oscar on a healthy diet is very important if you want to keep it healthy. A good quality pellet feed will contain all the vitamins your Oscar needs so this should be the staple part of its diet. A lot of people give their Oscar fish live foods such as goldfish, aka feeders, these are unsafe and should not be part of your Oscars diet. Feeders are often bred in large numbers and are not taken care of, they often harbour disease which can be passed onto your Oscar. Feeding your Oscar greens as part of its diet is recommended. Try peas, pieces of courgette, even carrots if your Oscar will accept them. If your Oscar won't eat vegetables then the easiest way to introduce vitamins into their diet is to feed them foods such as earthworms, snails, shrimps, prawns, mealworms, cockles and mussels. All of these are readily available from the fish store, supermarket, fishmongers, pet shop, or you can even harvest some of these foods from your garden.