Need Help Please

[greenpuffer]

I am new to this forum so I hope this is the right spot to post this! I have been keeping fish for 15 years now and have never had this problem. I have a 5 inch oscar in a 20gallon ( I know! I am purchasing a larger tank soon!) with 2 penquin mini opf's and an undergravel with 250gph powerhead running. I have raised the temp to about 88 degrees but usualy run at 83-85. I perform weekly 25 percent water changes as well and usually siphon little to no detrius when I clean the gravel. My Oscar fitst got ich which I treated with rid ich and that is gone. Shortly after a grey/white patch formed on the pectoral fin. I got some pima fix and salt and the patch started shrinking. Soon it spread to 3 patches while treating and I noticed one white pimple in the middle of one. I got some coppersafe and the patches shrunk and the pimple is gone. However the patches are not continuing to shrink and I think I may need another med (preferrably something from mardell) but do not know what to get as I already treated for fungus/bacteria and parasites to limited sucess. The fish still eats and is in good spirits ( actually mean spirited ,rearranging everything and getting agressive torwards the chinese algae eater ,his only tankmate[4" big] . Please Help as I am stumped.

 

[Blinky]

Without knowing what type of infection the fish has I can't really recommend a medication - can you post a picture, or a very detailed description of the location, size, colour, texture etc. of the infection?
You already know the fish is stressed due to living in such a small tank, it's likely that weekly 25% water changes aren't enough to keep up with the waste produced by a 5" oscar in a 20g tank. My recomendation during any disease treatment is daily water changes of ~50% with gravel vacs - keeping the tank spotless goes a long way towards helping the fish fight off infection. Feeding a high quality food once a day should help - he'll get his vitamins without eating so much he fouls the water.
The only other thing I can suggest (until someone positively identifies the disease) is to get that larger tank ASAP.

 

[rohnds]

Most problems in an aquarium can easily be traced back to poor water quality and over crowding.
What other fish do you have in the tank besides CAE?
Rohn

PS Please take this adice in good faith, I am the last person that will advice anyone on how many fish you can keep in a tank, untill you have a problem.

 

[greenpuffer]

The algae eater is his only tankmate. I will have a water sample taken to a local store for testing. Yes his tank size is getting quite urgent but will have to wait until I find a job as I have been laid off. I wish I had a camera to post a pic with but that is out unless I can get my friend to do it this weekend with his.The grey white patches are receeding again but have been tough to break. Thanks for the reply and I will hopoefully soon post a pic of the patches or even better post a story of recovery.