Oscar with hole in the head disease

Question
We have an oscar along with a large plecko in a 40 gallon tank that has been set up for about two years now.  I'm not sure of the PH, ammonia and nitrite levels in the tank because my husband is the caretaker of the fish.  He is very dilligent about doing weekly water changes, though, and does water tests regularly.  We give the oscar a varied diet, but no live fish.  He ocassionally gets frozen beef heart.

The oscar developed hole in the head disease about 6 months ago.  My husband has treated the tank with medication for the disease.  The oscar eats well and doesn't seem to be sick in any way.  He does have an odd behavior, though, which is why I am writing.  Every once in a while he will just go ballistic, rushing around the tank, bouncing off the sides and top of the tank, knocking over the large rocks in the tank, and just generally going nuts. He does it so violently that he actually splashes water out of the tank.  I am just wondering if the hole in the head disease has anything to do with this behavior.

Any insight you can provide will be greatly appreciated.

Carolyn


Answer
Hi Carolyn;

He may be irritated by the lesions on his head and the swimming erratically helps his itching or whatever he is feeling. Poor guy. It's also possible he has outgrown the tank. Nervous swimming and bolting like that can be a sign of frustration. Oscars get so large that they need a 55 gallon or larger all to themselves. It's possible the HITH is secondary to that. Being in a smaller tank than needed will cause NitrAtes to rise to unsafe levels. (not nitrIte, it's different)It's even possible the pleco is bugging him. I have one that does that to my fish sometimes.

Hole-in-the-Head is often not a condition that can be cured with medicine. There may be no bacteria, parasite, or virus present to treat. A few possible causes are vitamin deficiency, Hexamita infection, stray electrical current from improper grounding of your equipment, stress, or chronically high nitrates. Here is a link to an excellent page about it. It's a bit long and detailed but well worth the read;

http://www.duboisi.com/diseases/hith.htm

I hope he feels better soon....

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins