ok i have one oscar in a 55 gallon with some kennyi a black ghost knife and a pleco a few weeks ago my oscar starting gettin a white film over his body and he was swimming wierd. well about 2 weeks later a 75% water change, and 2 kennyi later the white film is gone but his fins are all tattered his body has scratches and he still swims on his side. the wierd thing is that when im feeding him he gets right back to normal and once he is done he is back to swimming on his side again. can someone tell me whats goin on?
sick oscar
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What are your water parameters? How old/large is the oscar? What are you feeding these fish since they all require very different diets...?
-Diana
-Diana
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the oscar is probobly around 6 years old which i think is youn i have heard reports of them living to be 12 years or older. i am unsure of the water conditions i had the tank running for 8 years never tested the water never had diease untill now. i feed the all of the fish pellets called omega 1
the oscar is probobly around 6 years old which i think is youn i have heard reports of them living to be 12 years or older. i am unsure of the water conditions i had the tank running for 8 years never tested the water never had diease untill now. i feed the all of the fish pellets called omega 1
First off a 55gal tank is really the absolute, barebones, rockbottom minimum for a adult Oscar 
...
By himself, no tankmates
...
But, its still like you living in a small closet :mad2
A Oscar is a very very messy eater/pooper!
!!
It sounds to me like your water chemistry got wayyyyy out of whack and the toxins poisoned the fish
, causing the various symptoms you described.
I'd be willing to bet your poor Oscar and tankmates have been living in swirling toxic maelstrom.... FISHY HELL :thud:
Has your Oscar lived in this tank his entire life? I would love to see a pic of him. You may not realize it but he may well be suffering from stunting, deformities and/or disposition to disease resulting from a inadequate enviroment.
This could be the proverbial straw that broke the Oscars back, he may never be the same again.
OK, consider yourself well flamed
, now lets work on your fish.
A solo adult Oscar in a 55gal with really good filtration with atleast 10x turnover will IMHO need bi-weekly gravel vacumnings with 10-20% PWC's and the filters cleaned of solid waste buildup every other week.
This would probably succeed in keeping the NO2 levels at or below 40-50ppm.
I speak from experience ..........
You should be testing your water chemistry weekly for NH3, NO2, NO3 and PH.
You've been very lucky that "You" seemingly haven't had problems, but I bet your fish have...
Now your both miserable and its time for you to take action.
If at all possible, please get atleast a 75-100gal to even consider keeping the Oscar and Knife together.
Get your water chemistry under control, NH3-0. NO2-0, NO3-0-40ppm and a steady PH of 6.5-7.5 (Ideal) and institute a weekly/bi-weekly tank maintenance schedule similar to what I outlined above.
Treatment for current condition; I would get the water chemistry straight and then add a little salt, some Melafix and observe closely.
Start feeding your Oscar a varied nutritous diet.
Man... errr... Fish should not live on pellets alone! Pellets, carnivore sticks, krill, fresh or freezedried crickets, earthworms and mealworms, algae wafers, bottomfeeder sinking wafers, shrimp pellets, bits of fish and shrimp, bits of veggies and etc...
A good high qaulity cichlid pellet/stick should make up atleast 75% of his diet with other foods given as supplements/treats.
Notice I didn't mention feeder fish? Good, don't bother with'em
Sorry to hear about you losing your two kennyi (spg?) :sad
... By himself, no tankmates
...But, its still like you living in a small closet :mad2
A Oscar is a very very messy eater/pooper!
!!It sounds to me like your water chemistry got wayyyyy out of whack and the toxins poisoned the fish
, causing the various symptoms you described.I'd be willing to bet your poor Oscar and tankmates have been living in swirling toxic maelstrom.... FISHY HELL :thud:
Has your Oscar lived in this tank his entire life? I would love to see a pic of him. You may not realize it but he may well be suffering from stunting, deformities and/or disposition to disease resulting from a inadequate enviroment.
This could be the proverbial straw that broke the Oscars back, he may never be the same again.
OK, consider yourself well flamed
, now lets work on your fish.A solo adult Oscar in a 55gal with really good filtration with atleast 10x turnover will IMHO need bi-weekly gravel vacumnings with 10-20% PWC's and the filters cleaned of solid waste buildup every other week.
This would probably succeed in keeping the NO2 levels at or below 40-50ppm.
I speak from experience
..........You should be testing your water chemistry weekly for NH3, NO2, NO3 and PH.
You've been very lucky that "You" seemingly haven't had problems, but I bet your fish have...
Now your both miserable and its time for you to take action.
If at all possible, please get atleast a 75-100gal to even consider keeping the Oscar and Knife together.
Get your water chemistry under control, NH3-0. NO2-0, NO3-0-40ppm and a steady PH of 6.5-7.5 (Ideal) and institute a weekly/bi-weekly tank maintenance schedule similar to what I outlined above.
Treatment for current condition; I would get the water chemistry straight and then add a little salt, some Melafix and observe closely.
Start feeding your Oscar a varied nutritous diet.
Man... errr... Fish should not live on pellets alone! Pellets, carnivore sticks, krill, fresh or freezedried crickets, earthworms and mealworms, algae wafers, bottomfeeder sinking wafers, shrimp pellets, bits of fish and shrimp, bits of veggies and etc...
A good high qaulity cichlid pellet/stick should make up atleast 75% of his diet with other foods given as supplements/treats.
Notice I didn't mention feeder fish? Good, don't bother with'em
Sorry to hear about you losing your two kennyi (spg?) :sad
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Out of curiosity I went searching your prior post.
Not trying to flame you again....
But, it looks like you have had problems previously
A six year old Oscar is a mature adult and should be well over nine inches (9") long, more like eleven to thirteen inches (11-13") and weigh in at a average one to two pounds or more (1-2 lbs+).
This is termed as "Stunted growth" and usually comes hand in hand with deformities.
This is almost always the result of overcrowding and/or inadequate enviroment (Too small of a tank).
I agree completely with the above. Since you have found this amazing resource on the internet, read everything you can about oscars on this forum. Do a search. You'll find every bit of evidence you need to convince yourself to make better conditions for your fish. Oscars are amazing fish but they require tons of room and care.
Oh, I forgot. You might wanna check out this link:
http://www.worldcichlids.com/diseases/Adamhith.html
Awful.
http://www.worldcichlids.com/diseases/Adamhith.html
Awful.
Ok, I'll make a quick site suggestion too.
I frequent and highly recommend www.oscarfish.com for a Oscar specific website and forum. The people and advisors there know and love Oscars and can give you sound guidance in any area of Oscarkeeping you could possibly inquire about.
Wanna talk to Oscar Gurus, talk to the Adviceteam at Oscarfish,
I'll be there too
I frequent and highly recommend www.oscarfish.com for a Oscar specific website and forum. The people and advisors there know and love Oscars and can give you sound guidance in any area of Oscarkeeping you could possibly inquire about.
Wanna talk to Oscar Gurus, talk to the Adviceteam at Oscarfish,
I'll be there too
ok so i took some water in and it tested out perfect and its just my luck that the day after i write this he is swimming normal again lol yes i know that a 55 is small i originally had plans to move him into a bigger tank but come to find out my floor would not hold him
Poor helpless fishies :sad
You cannot be a responsible fishkeeper and keep that 55gal stocked the way it is. It is large enough for the Kennyi only, perhaps the Oscar but only as a inhumane isolation cell :mad2
Your problems will continue, your fish are already injured beyond repair.
Unless your living in a very old house/apt or a carboard shack then a
75-90gal tank placed against a loadbearing wall perpendicular to the floorjoist should be just fine.
I wash my hands of this thread....
You cannot be a responsible fishkeeper and keep that 55gal stocked the way it is. It is large enough for the Kennyi only, perhaps the Oscar but only as a inhumane isolation cell :mad2
Your problems will continue, your fish are already injured beyond repair.
Unless your living in a very old house/apt or a carboard shack then a
75-90gal tank placed against a loadbearing wall perpendicular to the floorjoist should be just fine.
I wash my hands of this thread....