Oscar not eating

[silentskream]

For now, i would do the same small (you said 10-15%) water changes every day for the next week.
After that, i would start doing a 75% water change every half week for the rest of the fish's life. Its better to do small water changes initially so that the fish doesn't go into shock, but once the fish is used to the clean and healthy water, she'll be able to handle bigger water changes (so you wont have to do them as often)

Most of us do 50% changes every week, but since this tank is less than half the recommended size for an oscar, you should plan on working twice as hard. I would also recommend that you start thinking of ways to get this fish in a bigger tank. I know there are circumstances that limit what kind of tank you have, but do what you can to find a better long term solution.
A python will REEALLY make your life easier. I wasn't sure it would be worth the money, but I am VERY glad that i finally got it.


Also, are you SURE this is only a 30 gallon tank? do you know the dimensions? An oscar reaching that size in such a small tank is very rare.. particularly without water changes.

 

[silentskream]

another thing i should mention:

I heard this once and thought it was the most ridiculous thing I'd ever heard, but now i have expeirenced it and it is the truth:

It's actually easier to take care of a larger tank than it is to take care of a small one. an example would be this... if you put a drop of red food coloring in a cup of water, the cup of water will turn red. if you put that same drop of food coloring in a swimming pool, there is no noticeable change in the swimming pool.

similarly, if something goes wrong in a small tank, it's likely to have a devastating effect. if something goes wrong in a large tank, it's much more likely that you'll be able to catch it before it's too late.
the ammonia that watauga chicken was talking about is one of these things. if one fish were to die in a tank, it's really easy for the ammonia to spike up in a matter of hours in a small tank. in a large tank, one fish death would cause the ammonia will spike less quickly, and you would have plenty of time to remove the fish before there were any negative effects on any of the other fish.
My 250 gallon tank is the easiest tank to take care of. Even though it's the most water, and even though it's the most aggressive tank we have, it's MUCH easier than our 20 gallon was.. and easier than our 55gallon is. In fact, the filtration malfunctioned on this tank not too long ago. it was at least a day before we caught it, and there was still no ammonia in the tank.