Better Life for Triton

[Big Vine]

Just over a week ago I was browsing through some high-res closeups (w. flash on) of Triton, and I noticed what appeared to be whitish holes or 'pitting' on his head area; particularly around/above his eyes (look here...Oscarfish.com :: View topic - 'Grow Into' Sensory Pits?). I immediately thought "oh no, the dreaded HITH (hole-in-the-head disease)!" Through a discussion with the experts over on oscarfish.com, I'm not certain that it is HITH, but some investigating that went along with this inquiry has revealed several problems (mostly tapwater-related) that could have been causing him some distress.

Long story short, I have taken some corrective steps, and I'm fairly confident that Triton's 'quality of life' is now starting to get much better...

-discrepancy between tapwater pH (8.8 ) and tankwater pH (7.2) drastically reduced via aging the water overnight (down to 7.6 pH)
-chloramines and 0.5 PPM ammonia in tapwater (previously untreated because I was using only a dechlorinator) now treated with Prime
-added Hikari Cichlid Bio-Gold+ to Triton's diet

On the way from drsfostersmith:
-Boyd's Vita-Chem
-Tetra brand freeze-dried jumbo krill
-AquaClear 110 HOB filter (will be added to my current 55 gal. tank's two AquaClear 50 HOB filters)
-digital thermometer

Also in the works:
-75 gal. tank BY Christmas at the latest
(all gravel, decor, and filters to be moved to it from my current 55 gal. tank)

BV

 

[Fuzz16]

muur...dang. thats kinda scary to even think that Triton may have HITH

 

[Katie217]

Sounds like your doing whats right for the little guy, when he's older Im sure he will look nicer because of better health

 

[Hamburgler]

I just noticed my uro with the same thing (although i suspect HITH), which baffles me since the water quality is mint, good filtration, varied diet, warm temps. I'm thinking of picking up a vitamin supplement to see what happens.

 

[burtoncb47]

wow! you scared me BV..when i saw the title of this thread it sounded like you were giving Triton away or something...but im glad that you caught it early and possibly saved his life!

Burton

 

[Big Vine]

It may not even be HITH...I don't know for sure.
Other people's young oscars---some, but not all---show these whitish 'pits' as well (in high-res/closeup pics), so perhaps it is normal.

I'm just glad the pics prompted me to do a more thorough investigation which led me to discover the huge discrepancy between the pH of my tapwater (8.8 ) and that of my tankwater (7.2); not to mention the presence of chloramines and 0.5 PPM ammonia in the tapwater as well. *SICK*

I'm thinking of picking up a vitamin supplement to see what happens.

Definitely wouldn't hurt.
IF your uro does in fact have HITH, there are a couple of detailed articles I have come across which explain courses of treatment. One is on Oscarfish.com :: Home, and the other you may well have already come across over on www.cichlid-forum.com The basic ideas in both articles involve keeping the nitrAtes in the tank below 10 PPM and using a liquid vitamin supplement (to soak the food in).

BV

 

[Hamburgler]

Thanks for the info..upon closer inspection i think my little guy is ok. All the "holes" look symmetrical on each side. But i definitely want to be prepared, good luck!

 

[sphed]

Im glad to see you are taking the proper steps to give your oscar a better life and upgrading to a 75 gallon. Its a good thing I didnt make that bet.

 

[Fuzz16]

lol...i was staring at Peanut this morning and he went and hid from me.
for a second i think i saw an indention...but i think i am just paranoid now *tearness*

 

[FreshwaterJeff]

So, I've been shockingly absent lately (sorry about that) - but I'm glad to hear you're still working hard to give Triton the best possible conditions

 

[Big Vine]

Thanks, guys.
Fuzz...I didn't mean to cause mass-paranoia, so don't worry too much about little Peanut! Just keep an eye on him so you can act quickly in the event that something does show up. He's probably just fine.

Its a good thing I didnt make that bet.

Actually, I was gonna give him away to the LFS later this afternoon, but since you said that ^^^ , I guess I'll hold off (but only for the sake of not losing our 'bet', lol).

I've been shockingly absent lately (sorry about that)

Yes, very shocking indeed!
But I'm glad you've owned up to your transgressions and apologized. Perhaps you should make a more general announcement for the rest of the public to see. You know...start a thread of your own and admit how cruel it was of you to withhold showing us more pics of your fish in their wonderful planted tank.

BV

 

[IDunnoWhy]

Wow, that title had me spooked, I was thinking you gave him away

With your recent water quality issues, it's made me want to actually test my tap water here, although I haven't encountered any real problems, it's probably still something worth doing.

 

[FishGeek]

Yeah Im gonna have to be honest, I too thought you were getting rid of him too.

 

[Big Vine]

Lol...you guys honestly think I'd give up on Triton?!? No way, Jose! *crazysmil
He's my little buddy, no matter what. Poor fella jumped clear out of the tank last night during feeding time---landed on the carpet and started flopping around as my pug darted for him from across the room. I had to quickly lunge and scoop him back up into the tank with my bare hands before he became dog food. And gosh dang it, his dorsal spines are really sharp!

BV

 

[Orion]

Back in the day, my little one had holes in the head as well. At first I too thought it might be HITH, but eventually blamed it on tank decor and scar's. He never showed any symptoms of HITH other than pits on the head.

 

[Big Vine]

Ah, good to know, Orion.
One thing I've noticed is that oscars seem quite capable of standing up to considerable amounts of abuse; be it self-inflicted or otherwise. Anyway, yours was one heck of an oscar, that's for sure...best tiger oscar I've ever seen, to be perfectly honest with you! Feel free to share more pics of him any time...heck, go ahead and stick em' in any of my threads if you want. I seem to recall you mentioning something about possibly creating room for an oscar again at some point---any grand visions in that regard?

BV