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my oscar had hith and i treated it and he got better. now he starting to get new holes and the old one are opening up again. im using metronidazole how long should i treat him for because the box only comes with 10 capsules and it says used 1 per ten gallon and i have a 30 gal. so there almost gone.

How big is your O? My thought before knowing the answer is that you're going to be fighting a battle with HITH, nitrates, and other demons as long as you're keeping him in that 30 gal. Do yourself a favor, and get at least a 55. In the meantime keep your nitrates below 20ppm. HITH tends to be an indicator of stress and less than optimum water conditions. Very hard to keep them optimum with an oscar in a 30 gallon.

if i do alot of water changes will this help until i get a bigger tank.

Originally posted by longlivehavoc
if i do alot of water changes will this help until i get a bigger tank.

No. Water changes stress Oscars and make them more prone to disease (because it frightens them), so increasing frequency may improve water conditions but won't help the Oscar. You need to get the 55 or larger right away, frankly -- it's just a $125 or so investment. If you can't afford one, you probably need to move him to a friend's tank, or go talk to the manager of a pet or aquarium specialty store, tell him your situation and see if they will either house your Oscar for a while or take him off your hands. But if I were you, I'd borrow-beg-steal-sellsomething and go get the 55

--Mark:cool:

is there anything else i could do to keep the water in good enough condition? because its not that i dont want to get a bigger tank its because i live in a dorm room and the max tank i can have is 30 gal. im moving in may/june and plan on getting at least a 120 gal.

Got a bathtub?? what!?

I am just trying to give you a laugh. The trouble is, the only solution is to get a larger tank. There is no easy way to get through till june. you will have to test your waters nitrate. You will have to keep it low, under 25ppm. This will mean a lot of water changes, which are going to stress the fish. The easiest way not to stress the fish is to slowly change the water, so as to not lower and raise the osmotic pressure. This would mean, syphon off maybe 5 gallons. Then syphon the water back in, not pour it. You would have to use a slow syphon, maybe a 1/4 dia. one, not a bigger one. Feed him everyother day, to keep the waste down. Its not going to be easy. Even this might not help, if the HiTH is stress related do to tank crowding, well, nothing but a bigger tank will fix it.

thanks