Oscar fish is a very popular tropical fish and is a member of the cichlid fish family, that originated in South America, in the waters of the Amazon. Various members of the cichlid family including the Oscar fish which suffer from the hole in the head disease, that leads to small holes in the region near the head and around the face area of the fish. The fish diseases pictures show you how they must be treated in a timely manner, so that you don't have to regret it later.

There are commonly thought to be four ways that a fish can contract HITH:

Environment

The environment of a fish is very important for the health of the fish, this can be either the water quality, or in fact the stress caused by conditions such as tank size, tank mates, aquarium decor, etc. If the water quality is not good then the fish are likely to get any number of diseases, HITH is commonly associated with long periods of poor water quality, it could also be caused by stress.

Diet

It is important to give your fishes a good diet filled with nutrients, just like it is important for people, without a good balanced diet fish can become seriously ill. HITH is commonly associated with a lack of calcium, phosphorous, and vitamins C & D, fortunately many good quality fish foods are jam packed with extra vitamins.

The carbon theory

It has never been proven, but there is much evidence supporting this idea - it is thought that carbon can be a cause of HITH, there are reports of people adding carbon to a tank and the the HITH disease developing, and then when the carbon is removed the HITH heals up.

Heximita infections

Heximita is an intestinal parasite which seems to reduce the amount of nutrients the intestines can absorb, it has been thought of as a main cause of HITH, but now it seems it might just be an extra problem for these fishes.

Disease Treatment

To cure HITH you need to take good care of the infected fish, you want to start by ensuring the water quality is as perfect as can be, experts suggest doing 20% water changes every 1-2 days to help, you also should add some aquarium salt (1 tablespoon per 5 gallons), a good diet is essential, so ensure that the food you give is high quality.

Remove all carbon - this only makes sense if you think it could be the carbon causing the problems, also raise the temp to around 82-86 this might help kill off the disease, and increase the speed of recovery. There are also medicines that may help the treatment of HITH, but you may need a vets prescription. Dimetridazole and Metronidazole are said to be effective as is Waterlife "Octozin".

"Hole in the head disease" (HITH) also known as lateral line erosion is a fish disease that is most commonly associated with cichlids, but can affect all kinds of fish. The Oscar fish pictured above has a severe case of HITH disease.

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The world of Cichlids fish is divided into two major groups based on the native location it was the African Cichlids and the American Cichlids. Grouping based on this native location needs to be done considering a variant of the Cichlids fish species are so many and very exotic. In addition, this grouping will facilitate us in knowing of these fish.

The first group is African Cichlids. The African Cichlids family contains over 1,200 species of fish, the majority of which are found in the Tanganyika and Malawai Lakes of central Africa. The African Cichlids species known as the exotic tropical ornamental fish and one of the most famous species of this group - not intended to exclude other exotic African Cichlids species such as Duboisi Cichlid, Moorei Cichlid including the phenomenal Peacock Cichlid family from the rocky, sandy shores of Lake Malawi - is Frontosa cichlid fish which have unique characteristics.

The first characteristic of Frontosa cichlid lies in the zebra-print black and white with vertical lines or a combination of dark blue, silver, and yellow. Another characteristic is on the head of Frontosa that similar with Louhan fish which it has a lump on his face.

The American Cichlids - the second Cichlids fish group which called as the New World Cichlids family is a diverse group of fish often referred to as South or Central American Cichlids. American Cichlids are a hardy, easy to care for fish species that add brilliant color to the freshwater aquarium.

The number of the Cichlids fish species in this group as much as the African Cichlids and the most popular is Oscar fish , one of the "ornamental Cichlids fish species" of the most sought after for its beautiful color pattern on its body and its ability to recognize the owner.

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A question often asked what are suitable Oscar fish tankmates? A lot will depend on what size of tank you have. As Oscar fish will grow big depending on the size of Aquarium they are in. Oscars together are fine as long as you add them at the same time and are the same size.

The must be considered here are do not introducing young Oscars to a tank with larger Oscars, as they could finish up being a meal. Oscars tend to be greedy eaters and will eat just about anything that will fit into their proportionally large mouths.

My number 1 choice of fish tankmates for Oscars would be other Cichlids providing they are not the larger breeds of Cichlids which have a very aggressive nature and could cause a lot of disruption in the tank.

Some other fish you could have with Oscar fish would be, Clown Loach, some Catfish such as Black Lancer and the Synodontis again providing these are large enough and not just young fish. Silver dollars are another choice you could go for.

If you are lucky enough to be the owner of a larger oscar fish tank say 400 or 500 gallons, it is possible to add some shoals of smaller varieties of fish providing you follow certain criteria. With this amount of space you should put in plenty of plants and rocks etc. to create lots of hiding places for these smaller fish. You should monitor this situation, as you should with any new introductions of fish to your aquarium, to make sure all is well.

Obviously this situation of introducing these small fish to your tank could prove risky and instead of having Oscar fish tankmates you would have fish food for Oscars. So you should take a regular head count and be vigilant, these smaller fish can be removed if not successful. If everything works out alright you will finish up with a really beautiful display.

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Oscar fish, or to give it its proper name, Astronotus Ocellatus is a species of fish from the Cichlid family. The Oscar fish is a South American Cichlid. They are piscivorous, which means they eat other fish, so care should be taken with what else you put in the tank. A section below "Fish Tankmates for Oscars" covers this in more detail.

Oscar fish body shape tend to be flat to the side with a wide dorsal and nearly meets the back. The size of the chest and abdomen dorsal medium, while the caudal fin slightly rounded.

Based on the color there are two kinds of Oscar fish, ie Oscar brown base color as in the photo below, and type of albino white. Brown Oscar has a body reddish brown or blackish with red, orange or golden yellow pattern adorned on the side of his body. While Oscar Albino has a white body with red or yellow pattern on the side of his body.

Brown Oscar with characteristic pattern-color of wide, strongly colored and has fins dark brown or black with red lines at the edges are classified as good-quality Oscar. Just as Oscar Brown, Oscar albino with a wide pattern is also very popular.

Today, there are several Oscar Fish Types available to the Oscar enthusiast. The most frequently found are (in alphabetical order) the Albino Oscar, Lemon Oscar, Lutino Oscar, Red Oscar, Tiger Oscar, and the Yellow Oscar.

Oscar fish are reasonably easy fish to crossbreeding and this has given us many varieties of Oscar fish types from the above list and adds more interest to the hobby.

The photo you see here is just one such cross breeds. This is an Albino Tiger Oscar fish obviously bread from an Albino Oscar and a Tiger Oscar and I think makes a very attractive variety.

Bear in mind that all these Oscar Fish types originate from the common Oscar and Cichlid fish family, native to the mighty South American rivers like the Amazon and the Orinoco. Due to breeders of Oscars we now have a greater selection to choose from.

Besides the color based, types of Oscar fish also distinguished by the size of the fin. Based on the fin's size , there are two kinds of Oscar. First is Oscar-Slayer with a long-finned and the second is a short finned Oscar.

Things you need to know about this fish, in normal conditions, Oscar fish behavior tends to calm. However, during feeding, while it is laying eggs, or feel disturbed, Oscar fish will be aggressive and fierce, so do not hesitate to bite anyone with his sharp teeth. Should be more careful when feeding or taking the Oscar fish eggs to avoid these fish bite.

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