Oscars hole in the head

Question
Hello, I have a 90 gallon freshwater tank, and in there I have two oscars, both about 5-6 years old, one silver dollar, and one catfish. Within the last month I have noticed that my oscars have hole in the head disease. At first, I thought they may have had a fight so did not worry, until it got much worse. If I can not get ahold of Dimetridazole or metronidazole from my vet , then what else can I use for the more advanced case of hole in the head, will malafix work as well? If treatment does not work then what? Thank you for your time.

Answer
Hi Sherry;

There are several causes and many possible treatments for HITH so it would be hard for me to pin it down in your particular situation. I will give you some good web pages to check out and the profile page of a volunteer cichlid expert that can probably help you more than I ever could. It is very important to keep the tank water very clean and avoid overfeeding. Replace 25% of the water once a week and vacuum the gravel every 2 to 4 weeks. High nitrates caused by infrequent cleaning and/or overfeeding are related to HITH. Also, feeding nutritious food is important. Many experts believe that malnutrition is a major contributor. Here are some links;

http://oscarcichlidfanclub.htmlplanet.com/custom3.html
http://www.flippersandfins.net/HITHarticle2.htm
http://www.duboisi.com/diseases/hith.htm

Ron Coleman's profile page;
http://www.allexperts.com/displayExpert.asp?Expert=21527

I hope they feel better soon......

Chris Robbins