Addressing Hole in The Head Disease

Three years ago I started down a path of becoming an avid Aquarist. Like anyone getting into a hobby they know very little about I researched a fair amount of time, maybe a few months if not more. I knew I wanted something colorful, but wanted a little more than the average goldfish. I decided that I'd take on the challenge of raising young fish fry until adulthood. I settled on raising Astronotus ocellatus, specifically a Red Oscar.

World... meet Fred.

I noticed right away that this Oscar had an above average of larger sensory pits on it's head. I started this tank as a bare bottom without any gravel on recommendation from my research. Gravel traps fish waste and food where it is unable to be efficiently moved out of the ecosystem. A chocolate Pleco was the only other tank inhabient at this point, helping to keep the algae in check. Lighting was an 24" t8 aquarium bulb and filtration started off as a HOB filter. I soon realized that I was having water quality issues when i noticed the jaw line of this fish start to erode.

I knew with my prevoius research that Hexamita was a parasite that is introduced into a tank by another species of fish or through overcrowding in tanks, especially in cichlids.

After talking with a few people in the fish hobby through forums and a call up to Dr. Fosters And Smith, I found one direction that I could try.

Clout!

It's a broad spectrum anti-parsite medication for fish. I had a hard time sourcing the medication, Dr. Fosters and Smith were out of stock and local fish shops didn't carry it. I eventually found a source for it and ordered a few boxes of it. I followed the directions of the medication within the 48hrs it takes for treatment. I chose to treat in a hospital tank for added measure. I noticed however that the fish was really stressed and wasn't doing very well after the treatment. I followed up with a 80% water change and raised the tank temperature to 80F. The more callories I could feed into this fish, the better of a chance that the fish would recover.

The next problem is that this disease is also enhanced by poor diet. After stopping the pet shop recommended diet of flakes and seafood I furthered the treatment by selecting a food that was vitamin enriched and high in protein. The fish would need to have high protein in it's diet to rebuild muscle tissue lost to the parasite and low fat to help out with metabolism . Hikari Gold Staple food was what I switched the fish over to for the staple of it's diet. I also supplemented the diet with dark green leafy vegetables and Norri (seaweed). I also didn't cut out shrimp out of the diet as treats, as they still contain a good amount of protein and pigment to help coloration of the fish. The fish is still on the diet today after a good year and a half and is doing great.

Water quality was another issue that was addressed. Starting with deionized reverse osmosis combined with Stress Coat was my base for water quality. The tank still has trace nitrates, but water changes keep them in check. I also added a few floating plants, which seem to not get picked on. Guess my little guy doesn't mind a little green in the tank.

In summary:

• Removing the parasites was a key step in the fish's health. Clout helped out with this and one treatment was enough to cure this fish.
• Diet was addressed. A staple food plus a variety of treats help keep the fish interested in it's diet and healthy. Crude protein, total fat and vitamins are the keys to selecting the correct food. Hikari Gold Staple food is highly recommended.
• Water quality helps with prolonged improvement of the fish's health. The fish seems to do much better with RO/DI water instead of tap. I went from 400 PPM in my tap water to 0 ppm as a base.