Oscar looks bloated and very swollen

[jacquiinaz]

I just want to make sure this is bloat, and maybe some clarifications on what medicine to buy and how to treat my oscar.
what i'm currently running: 55gal fluval 304. under gravel with 4 uptake tubes.with 3 oscars and one pleco ( i know too many for tank size... working on a bigger one soon) nitrate 0ppm, nitrite 0ppm, hardness gh 150ppm, alkalinity 80ppm, ph-7.2. recent 20% change.

the last few days my oscar has seamed bloated and hasn't eaten in at least 3 days. he seems to be working harder to breath. his rectal area seams distended. he doesn't seem off balance at all. but isn't moving to quickly. i tried to feed him some frozen pealed peas but he wont eat.

should i quarantine him from the other fish. no one else is showing obvious symptoms but i don't want them to catch anything?

i believe this is bloat. not to sure how to treat it would like some clarification.
here are a few pictures:

 

[excuzzzeme]

No Oscar should be in a 55 and 3 are way too many. A single Oscar needs 75 at minimum and add 25-50 galllons for each additional. When you add in the pleco, you easily need a 150 gallon tank.

You need to quarantine in a tank of very clean water and maintain it. Bloat can be caused from stress, poor diet, poor water quality. Bloat is usually caused by the retention of water in reaction to parasites, virus, and the above mentioned.

Soak some food in garlic juice and add some garlic to the water to help stimulate the appetite. Do not feed live foods during this time.

You don't have enough filtration for the stocking and that needs to be addressed before you can attack other possible causes for the bloat.

 

[CatsMeowww]

i know too many for tank size... working on a bigger one soon

I see they working on a bigger tank, which you comment on.

I would try garlic as well...not the kind you use in cooking, but actual stuff for fish (maybe you can find it at your LFS?). I don't know if this is correct for oscars, but it helped my angelfish: add some aquarium/epsom salt to the water as well. Sometimes it just relaxes the fish and that helps.

 

[bazil323]

Garlic is a great way to encourage feeding. You can use fresh garlic by squeezing the juice onto the food, but it's easier to use the stuff in a bottle. Some vitamin soaks have a similar appetite-inducing effect.

On the disease/meds bit, I have no idea.

 

[blue2fyre]

nitrate 0ppm, nitrite 0ppm, hardness gh 150ppm, alkalinity 80ppm, ph-7.2. recent 20% change.

Nitrate is 0? What about ammonia?

Moving him to a quarantine tank might be a good idea. Just make sure to keep the water very clean and use some garlic to try and get him to eat. Unfornatly bloat is just a symptom usually from something else. Without knowing what's causing it, it can be difficult to treat.
I know some use epsom salt to treat for bloat. Good luck. It's one of those things where sometimes the fish pulls through and sometimes they don't :/