Feeder Fish

[Vip]

I have had trouble with feeder fish, i seem to get HITH when ever i feed my oscar them, this is what im thinking of doing, place a breeder net on the side of my tank leaveing the feeder fish in there..
Will i reduce the chance of getting hole in the head because they have been conditioned in my water?

[Jui Kuen]

breed them in another tank

[Vip]

thats what i used to do, it doesnt work, they get disease.

[cichgirl]

I think, from what I've read, that HITH can be associated with lack of proper nutrition. Do you feed the feeders well balanced flakes or crumbles right before feeding them to the oscars? Are feeders your oscar's staple diet?

[Poet8102]

HITH is more of a water quality/nutrition issue then a feeder fish issue. If you buy feeders, I don't think you put the water from the feeders in the tank, but that could be a problem if you do. If not, try stepping up you water changes.

[Vip]

really info guys, thanks for that..
I change my water 2 times a week, each time about 40L's of water and i condition it with GEO-LIQUID..
Your right when you say i dont put the bag water in the tank...
I Just dont know what the hell is going on, i have a good canister filter, i do my water cHanges and clean out the tank, its really getting to me now.

[Vip]

Some guys goes to me, its not HITH and that those are sensory pits, is this true?
Here is a close up pic, tell me what you think

[Vip]

this one is abit more clear..

damn thats a good shot!

[Neil N]

doesnt look like hith to me

p.s. nice fish

[Poet8102]

That doesn't look like HITH to me. Although I have never seen those "sensory pits" on my oscar either. I have no idea what they are. They do seem to be in some sort of pattern though, maybe some sort of parasite? I don't think they are "sensory pits" though as I don't have them on either of my Oscars.

Nice sharp, clear pics though.
What kind of camera is that?

[knux16]

wow great detail in the 2nd pic there. great color, and no i dont think its HITH since i just saw a large O at the LFS and he had a HORRIBLE case of HITH, making it so obvious that he was in some way being neglected. you seem to take good care of your tank, but i suggest maybe getting the feeders from a different store that may take better care of them, or, stop the live food diet =(

[knux16]

how big is that fish by the way? in what size tank?

[Vip]

he is 10" in a 79g tank

[Vip]

Poet8102=doing 80 liters water change per week, would you think thats over doing it or is that fine?

[cichgirl]

I agree with that. Those are sensory pits that seem to get more pronounced the bigger they get. Both of my big o's have them. At 10" I would be suprised if they weren't visible.

I would watch the "cloudy" spot over the temple and to the rear of the head. Each of my oscars would get those and they would go away, so I wouldn't recommend meds yet.

Is that white fleck IN the eye or is it on the surface of the lens?

[Vip]

cichgirl, it look like both, its hard to explain what its like..
Its like he has hit his eye really hard and at somthing pointed, so its like it has punched the eye lens and scratched the inside as well

[Vip]

it hasnt gone any bigger as well

[Poet8102]

I would actually step up the water changes from the 25% to about 40 - 50%. Especially for Oscars. As you know, they tend to be very messy eaters.

[cichgirl]

Yeah, just as poet said, I would just step up your water changes. I would only consider medicating if it begins to get worse. All of my oscars have scraped their eyes at one point or another. I feel like I am constantly changing their water! :)

[Vip]

i have steped up the water changes and those pinholes seem to be going away, his eye looks like the outside of it has gotten better but the inside doesnt seem to be better or worse.

[Poet8102]

Sounds like good news. Hope everything goes well.

[Vip]

This might sound dumb, but, i think it was a pimple, cause it looks like it poped and only a little bit of his eye left over white bits on it, its almost improved 100% and you can hardly see it