# question about my oscar, and oscar tank..



## hvc801 (Mar 18, 2008)

I have two oscars, very pretty, look healthy.

One of them seem to have a hole right in the middle of his forehead. I'm not sure what thats about, but since I had him from when he was real small it was only really a small dot. Now that he has gotten bigger, its grown with him, and I'm curious about it.

Another question is. I just transferred them to a new tank about a month ago, and there was a mini cycle present. Everything has now leveled off and the quality of the tank is great. The only thing is.. The pH is really low, Its dropping below 6.2.. Should I use pH up? or just let it be??

Thanks for the insight!


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## Cacatuoides (Feb 2, 2009)

What size tank? DO you got pics?


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## hvc801 (Mar 18, 2008)

its a 55 gallon, no pictures, but I'll take some when I get home.


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## trashion (Aug 24, 2007)

55 gallons=way too small for 2 oscars. Your oscar probably has "hole in the head disease," which from my experience stems from too-small tanks.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

search for "heximita"


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## hvc801 (Mar 18, 2008)

Whats a relatively good sized tank for two oscars?


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## StripesAndFins (Dec 31, 2008)

2 oscars, i would say 100g and up, but thats just me. 75g for 1 oscar. 

Hope this helps


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

You don't say what size the fish are now, but bigger is better for oscar tanks. Look at pictures of "hole-in-the-head" and see if thats what your fish have. You may need to medicate and change a lot of water. People think hole-in-the-head is caused by a lack of specific nutrients which is usually caused by heximita, but could be caused by other things such as feeding only feeder goldfish.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

if it has been there for any period of time;it is not hole in the head(heximita)..this is a disease that was once common with discus.at that time it was almost always fatal.my discus got it ; but with the help of a friend they were saved.. had to make a few changes in their maintainance.


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## Kurtfr0 (Nov 2, 2008)

Oscars can adapt to high or low Ph... If your that worried about it just put some rock, or even a bit of crushed coral to even it out.


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## redpaulhus (Jan 18, 2005)

I often find low pH goes hand-in-hand with high nitrate - which in my experience makes Hole-in-the-head worse.
You may find that doing a weekly water change of at least 25% of your tank keeps the pH stable and the nitrate lower.

Oh - and I've rescued Oscars that had permanent scars from HitH, and most of them have been likely to get a fresh outbreak at any time. My latest was at least 5 years old when I got him and had a seriously deep hole on his forehead. over the years I had him, I was able to "cure" it for the most part (lots of good food and very clean water), but if I skipped a water change (50% weekly on a 125g tank) - *bam* the pits started to open up again.

For some reason, fresh carbon also would cause his pits to open up again, so I very rarely used carbon in that tank.


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## hvc801 (Mar 18, 2008)

redpaulhus said:


> For some reason, fresh carbon also would cause his pits to open up again, so I very rarely used carbon in that tank.


I just recently put fresh carbon in the filter. Instead of using carbon what do you use to substitute it?

The fish are getting quiet large, And I know I'm going to have to upgrade to at least a 125g tank. The thing is, I just got this new tank, and I'm low on the dough. They look like they swim comfortably in this tank .. as of now, but until I get enough cash to purchase, new stand, lights, hood, tank...etc. They'll be in this tank.. 

My LFS has some medication for hole in the head disease, they just recently ran out though, and have to re stock the item. 

As of now, I've been doing weekly 25%-50% water changes, with gravel vac, and maintaining good water parameters. I recently added ammo-chips due to the ammonia levels being very high. They have been in the filter for about 4 days now, and yet the ammonia levels have not lowered.. Is the ammonia safe? Or is there more drastic measures I must take in order to fix this problem?

Again, I thank you guys for the helpful information. Its really appreciated.


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## Guest (Mar 7, 2009)

Water changes will help the ammonia. Also try craigs list to try to find a used tank.


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## justintrask (Jun 29, 2008)

ammonia is NOT safe at all.

how long has the tank been set up? is it cycled? in a cycled tank with proper filtration, there should never be ammonia in the tank.

I wouldn't use ammo chips. I would do a 50% water change, then another 25% every other day for a week, and then do your weekly 25-40% routinely.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

If you can get it, look for a brand of food called "Lifeline." It's frozen. It is the best fishfood that money can buy, and it reverses lateral line disease ( hole in the head ) quite nicely. Barring that, you can try to supplement the diet with more vitamin D and potassium, which also cures it, since a lack of these is a common cause of it. As for _Hexamita_, these intestinal flukes cause dietary deficiency by eating all the fish's food in the intestine, much like tapeworms. A regimen of Metronidazole should eliminate that possibility.
Finally, of course, make sure the water is clean, which for oscars can be a challenge.


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