Hole in the head PART 2

Ok. Here is where I would like to say yet again, I am green when it comes to being an aquarium hobbyist. I have gone to every local pet store (mom and pop) and no one has givin me the simple most obvious advice regarding my oscar and hole in the head. Not to mention that I have had another fish (blue devil) who has had a problem for some time and no one directed me to the solution. The blue devil has had almost a bubble under his skin and as soon as it heals another one appears somewhere else. He even lost an eye because of this. I treated my tank with melafix and it never went away, even though he seemed to be fine and the other fish were fine, the bumps kept appearing. With diligence I searched for a cure for the oscar as I am sick of hole in the head. I keep hearing its the water quality and I refused to accept that. When one changes the water every three days, goes so far as to pick up every dropping of feces on the gravel and added vitamin suppliments, one begins to feel as though the world is mad. Well with a search to the web and some serious reading I now know that it must be parasites. With the oscar and the blue devil. Say the water stresses them slightly... this makes the parasites multiply inside them and causes the hole in the head, the skin lacerations and so on. So there you have it. And the simple treatment is "Jungle Parisite Clear" or go to www.junglelabs.com. Drop in the pellet and it fizzes like Alkaseltzer. We have yet to see how fast or if at all my guys get well, but I am hoping and I feel sure this is the answer as I have tapped every resource. I just cant believe that no one in the pet stores mentioned this simple thing to me. So one thing you have to remember is this: many times people simply don't know what they are talking about. So before you throw chemicals in the tank and screw everything up "think parisite". NOT always bacteria or fungus. How does one know the difference between the two? I would have to say trial and error.

UV filtration

I just started a new 30gal tank in my kitchen. Its a very old style tank, probably from the 70's and it matches the old ice box. So there it rests, on top of the ice box. Im going to have Discus is this tank. I have been doing my research on the fish, making sure he won't grow out of the tank too fast, learning about water conditions (having low ph, high temp) and so on. I came across something I have not yet encountered on my five year obsession with this hobby, that is a UV sterilizer. Where does one begin to research such things. What is it? An Ultra Violet Sterilizer is a water filtration device that uses an ultraviolet light bulb to kill microscopic organisms that are free floating in the water. Parasites, viruses, algae and bacteria (good and bad) are the type of things that are "killed" after passing through the ultraviolet sterilizing unit. Some large water purification centers employ some sort of UV sterilization on the outgoing water. These sterilizer units are also sometimes used in outdoor ponds to help control algae growth and they seem to do a decent job.What would be best for my tank? Is it worth doing? Is is too much work and too complicated? Might it overkill the bacteria you don't want to kill? And why not this... why not have a UV light that goes on a few hours a day? It would give the fish the natural lighting they might get in nature, kill whatever its supposed to kill (bacteria wise) as it would in nature and u dont have have crack open your filtration system to add this suppliment filter. Well, here is an answer I found and I think I like it... "Do I really need an Ultra Violet Sterilizer for my aquarium?
For indoor freshwater fish tanks that are well filtered and properly maintained, you really don't need one. Saltwater hobbyists may have a good excuse for getting one because of the high price tags for many of the saltwater species. However, most hobbyists really don't need one if they are doing things properly. Doing things properly would mean using a quarantine fish tank for new arrivals and performing frequent fish tank maintenance."
Well, that is my thought for the day. Don't bother with more work than you need. Do your weekly upkeep and enjoy.

My 120gal Tank

Here is one of my tanks. The 120. I have three cichlids that I can not identify and I have to say I'm ashamed of that. They are fish I bought when I was just starting out with my tank and the pet store (petco) didnt have names for them. One looks like a brown camouflage helicopter. I got him at two inches and he grew to be over 12". Two are small about 2". The rest are as follows: 1 oscar - about 12 inches, two parot- about 6 inches long (whom successfully bread but the babies were eaten), 1 convict - about 3 inches, and arowana - about ten inches, placo - about 12" and a bala shark - 12"

Hole In The Head (HITH)

Oscars, as well as other large cichlids, are commonly afflicted by hole in the head disease (HITH). The symptoms are pitted areas or holes around the face and head area and along the lateral line of the fish – but the cause of HITH is not so clearly understood. I recently adopted my Oscar from a friend. He had hole in the head and after he was placed in my 120 he began to heal quickly. It was completely gone until a month later it appeared on the other side of his head.

Luckily, treatment is both easy and effective. First, begin a feeding program of vitamin enriched foods and supplements which can be found in most pet stores. Next, make regular water changes of 20-30% every three days and remove any visible waste matter daily. Then, add 1 tablespoon of aquarium or kosher salt for every 5-10 gallons of water in your tank and raise the temperature to 82F (remember to replace the salt that is removed during the water changes). Within a few days you should see an improvement in the Oscar’s appearance. After the “holes” have begun healing and shrinking in size the temperature can be returned to its normal range and water changes can be done weekly. Also, the amount of salt can be reduced to 1 tablespoon per 10-15 gallons.

Once your Oscar is well, remember to maintain your fish’s health by providing a clean, stress-free home and a varied vitamin-rich diet.

Plecostomus

One of my favorite fish, the Plecostomus are really cool. They tenaciously eat algae. One big pleco will keep a six foot tank crystal clean. My 120 was brown and green throughout. In just one night my new pleco made the tank look like I had a tank cleaning service over. For the best care, you should keep them in a tank with bright lighting to encourage algae growth, but you should also have some shade for them to hide in. Also feed them pellets as algae sometimes cant keep up with their appetite. Plecostomus are very expensive because they are almost impossible to breed in captivity. Most fish stores have the common placo which are not very impressive to look at but also not too pricey. If you search around or go to a site like www.riverwonders.com you can pick out an exotic looking one and their prices are not bad at all.

Arowana

I recently decided to add a new fish to my 120 gallon tank. I wanted something different as all I have are cichlids. Not knowing where to start, I went to a great fish and reef store and questioned the man helping me find the perfect fish. He suggested the Arowana. He is a beautiful fish, different in body and color and he conquers the top of the tank. At 8 inches long, the perfect size and fit for my tank. Little did I know and I would love to smack the sales person who helped me with this one, Arowanas can grow to be six feet long. As an adult he needs to be in a 250 gallon tank and even that is a tight fit. For now I love him but I will have to go up in tank size within two years. Something I always wanted to do and now the perfect excuse. Tune in for photos of my new addition.

It all begins here

Today its finally going down. I have always wanted to go to a site dedicated to freshwater fish where people like me, rather new to setting up tanks can go for piece of mind. Now I and others can have a place to write about life in our aquariums, to get or give expert advice. A place to simply share ideas and experiences!