EMERGENCY!

[Lithomunky]

My friend had to move out of town with no warning, so I have to take his 55gal tank, 2 Oscars, and Pleco. One Oscar is about a half foot and the other is a little smaller. I do not have much to work with since it's 12:30am where I am and this is my first big freshwater tank.

I started with about 4 inches of water to movie it with the fish in a bucket, when I got home I filled it up with the bucket floating in the aquarium. I used stress coat and stress zyme, the appropriate doses. The PH is high, about 7.6 if not higher. I've had the filter running for about 45 minutes now and there is no heater. I do not know if he just didn't give it to me or what.

The filter is a TOP FIN 60 and I have it on high. There was a lot of waste on the bottom when the water started to settle so I sucked it out. I still have it just in case I need it for the PH.

The PH in the bucket with the fish is low. About_________ nevermind the filter I had for O2 made the bucket sink and now the PH is the same.

Pulled it out back up to the top.

Any advice would help. :help:
Thanks.
Mike

[Lupin]

This is confusing. What pH is it right now? pH is no concern if both your water ands your friend's is close or similar.

[tonytheboss1]

:confused: Forget about the PH for now & test the water for ammonia, nitrites & nitrates. Please post & we can go from there. Off the bat the 55g is gonna be too small to house 2 'O's & a pleco for long term. The filtration is somewhat undersized for the huge bio-load you're gonna have. "T"

[Lithomunky]

I just added most of the water. Right out of the tap. That's all I could do. I'm just working with what he gave me for now until I can get to the store tomorrow.

So right now, there is no ammonia or nitrates. Plus I have no tests.

I Transported the fish with about 10-15 gallons of the water that my friend had, and the pH was low, 6.0 or less. Now the pH is in the tank is 7.6ish and the water in the container the fish are in is mixed but it's coming up as 7.6.

[tonytheboss1]

:confused: You said there's no heater. If you have a thermometer, chk. to see. If low 70's to low 80's, you're good for now. If below you can raise slightly w/ warm W/C's. I'm certain you'll need to make quite a few. "T"

[Lithomunky]

Should I go ahead and let them out into the tank?

[tonytheboss1]

:confused: I take it you don't have a test kit. Put that at the top of your shopping list for tomorrow. Till then, W/C's is all you can do for them. Hopefully you have some type of water conditioner. "T"

[MIKE D]

Aquasafe if you have it. it removes any harmful elements in the water. It even removes pickle brine. dont ask its a long story.

[Bansart]

I would just leave the fish in the bucket for now with an aerator and a top cover. Do plenty of water changes in small amounts until you can figure things out. Dont be tempted to just drop your fish right into the tank. This could be disasterous

[Lithomunky]

Yeh, I used Stress Coat. So now I have them in the tank. I'll post some pics, but remember this is all I have to work with at the moment.

Feeding them worms. Owner said they would eat pretty much any kind of meat, and gave me a thing of worms.

pH seems to be perfect. See how long that will last.

.

[Easydoesit]

well, the pH is okay. but what you need to worry about is the ammonia(NH3) and the nitrItes(No2). NitrAtes will come into play later.
You are using the filter he gave you, so that should boost the cycle. If you are using the gravel he gave you, that should also boost the cycle a good amount. Someone else should chime in about how quickly this will cycle the tank.
You should keep ammonia under .25. This may mean many water changes. Once the ammonia has disappeared as well as the nitrites(which should also be kept near 0), nitrates will come into play. Nitrates arent harmful or stressful to the fish in small amounts. Try to keep it under 20ppm.
Check out the cycling articles here in Aquaria Central, or just google it.

Oscars need a temperature of about 75-80. Somewhere in the middle is best.

I dont know, just research a bunch and good luck.

[Lithomunky]

Thanks everybody for all your help!

[tonytheboss1]

:confused: Well eating is usually a good sign. Ph is good as long as it is stable approx. 6.8/7.2 Neutral is best but not critical like ammonia & nitrite which can kill very quickly! Nitrate takes a bit longer but can also kill! (testing for all 3 is a must!!) You might wanna buy a 'quality' pellet & some wafers (spirulina / algae) while you're shopping. Worms are ok, but they need more balanced diet. An additional filter will work wonders ('hob' or 'can') if it's in your budget while you're deciding on future housing for 2 of your 3 guests. (55g good for only 1 'O' to thrive) As well as a 'quality' heater to maintain somewhat of a consistent temp. W/C's are gonna be your best friend & frequency / amount will be dictated by your test readings. Good luck, "T"

[Lithomunky]

2nd Day:

Ammonia: .25-.50
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0

pH of tap water: 8.8 :(

Fish seem to be doing well.
Except that my Albino Tiger Oscar has two holes in it's head.

Do not know the sex of any of them.

Feeding
Hikari Chchlid Staple(Oscars do not like the floating food)
TOP FIN Algae Thins(Have not seen the Pleco eat any)

[MySpace Mike]

May be HITH (hole in the head) disease, may be not. But its mainly caused by poor water conditions.

[Sploke]

Ok a few things, now that you have some test kits and the fish seem to be settled:

A 55 is nowhere near big enough for those 3 fish now, never mind when they all reach adult size, so you may want to start considering options there.

Hole-in-the-head (HITH) is an interesting disease. I have yet to see anything solid that indicates an exact cause (parasites, bacteria, etc) but its pretty generally accepted that it results from long-term exposure to poor water quality. This goes back to my point above - with that much fish in a tank, the nitrate levels will reach toxic levels in a matter of days, rather than weeks or months in an appropriately stocked tank.

While you're cycling the tank, be prepared to do water changes daily to keep parameters somewhat low for the fish; but at the same time, you may have to start thinking about upgrading the tank or rehoming the fish long-term.

[krytan]

I agree with what everyone else has posted but would like to also say that the pleco will need a peice of bog wood in the tank, they eat it to help with their digestive system. Pleco's also need a varied diet including vegetables and carnivorus foods.

The 55g tank is way to small and under filterd for those fish, they will need a 100g+ tank with a lot more filteration.

[wataugachicken]

be careful of feeding the oscars meat. while earthworms and fish (like the fish you would eat, not feeder fish) are safe, fish have a hard time digesting the kind of fat found in beef, pork, and chicken. beef heart is okay as a treat though, as it is very very lean - almost no fat.

[Lithomunky]

Why not feeder fish? What about minnows. They're smaller then the goldfish. Or guppies.

[wataugachicken]

while feeder fish seem like a natural choice, the truth is they're pretty crappy. since they are born and bred to be feeder fish, they are not meant to last very long - and treated as such. they are usually infested with parasites and/or bacteria - and the breeders and stores just think," so what? they're going to die anyway". they can potentially make your 'pet' fish very sick.

goldfish as a rule are very fatty, kinda like giving your oscar twinkies and oreos instead of real food. goldfish and rosy red minnows also contain a chemical (thiaminase) that makes it very difficult for your fish to absorb Vitamin B (thiamin). A lack of vitamin B leads to skin/scale problems, issues with muscle and skeletal development, and a bad immune system.

if you choose to breed guppies, mollies, or convicts as feeders for your oscar, go right ahead. as long as your fish are healthy, then your oscar will not get sick from them. alternately, you can choose to quarantine the cheapo feeder guppies for 3-4 weeks to makes sure they are safe, but you'd be surprised at how many don't even make it that long.

[FreshFish82]

Man sorry to get off your topic but I really feel like crap about the HITH, I had a guarmis with it about 2 weeks ago. 1 treatment and he was fine within 48 hours, all healed up but is it really due to long bouts of poor water????? I do constant water changes and gravel cleanings feed them a good diet and spend so much time with them, now I feel bad. :(

[wataugachicken]

there are thought to be a variety of reasons for HITH/HLLE (hole in the head/head and lateral line erosion), including bacteria (hexamita), incorrect food, bad water, or even the use of carbon in our filters. very controversial, and it will continue to be until someone solves it once and for all.

[Lithomunky]

Yeh, the guy I got the tank and the fish from was a...well, lets just say he lived on Dale Earnhardt Road. I could tell he did not care for them often. And did not do water changes. I've been doing about a 10 gallon water change every day. The supplies I have are insufficient. Waiting on a heater to come in. I bought everything from him for $70 so I'm not complaining. Tank is super plain.

What kind of treatment did you use for the HITH?

I have a HOB filter, and it has two filters in it. I cleaned one and changed the carbon today cause the water was smelling so bad. I'll probably change the other one when I get back. I'll be out of town for a few days.

[Lithomunky]

Ammonia is.....ZERO!!!:headbang2:

[AfroCichlid]

If you moved the tank quickly and used all of the media you probably will not experience much of a cycle at all. There are treatments for the HITH, and better water quality will help as well. Medications with Dimetridazole or Metronidazole are siad to be effective treatment, but I have not used them.
You've got an awesome new 55 gallon tank, but the wrong fish stock in it right now. Think about it: you have 3 large fish and very limited aquascaping opportunities. Something is bound to go awry with that much bioload and attitude in such a small space. There are some really awesome cichlids that would be very at home in a 55.

[Lithomunky]

What if....I suck all the **** out of the rocks...every day...or every other day at the least. Cause...I might get another filter, and I need a full hood, cause this ghetto **** is not working right now.

I'll make the best of what I have...if I can find another tank pretty cheap, I'll get it. But for now, I have to work with what I have.

I've been low on money, start my new job Monday. So...that's what's up.

[BigFishKeeper]

Hows your oscars doing now???? You can heal hole in the head with turning the temp up and buying some hole in the hole meds. I suggest melafix.

[Lithomunky]

They're doing really good. The Pleco has been eating lately even though he has some lighter patches throughout his body. I made another thread. To keep a journal.

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=149225

:)