Oscar with popeye?

E

ejmeier

AC Members
Jun 15, 2003
60
0
0
www.nano-reef.com
I just got a tiger oscar that I am taking care of for my cousin. Since I don't really know how they are supposed to look regularly, I was wondering if the poor guy has popeye...

Yes, oscars' eyes' can stick out of their head right? But how far? I just can't tell how much is normal...

Here is my reasoning behind the popeye diagnosis, for and against:

For Popeye:
Both of his eyes bulge out farther than it looks as though they should... (maybe I'm wrong:confused: )

He was taken from a 29g tank (oscar is in excess of 10") where there was a 1/8" layer of detritus on the gravel. Nitrates were probably measured in the hundreds in that tank...:(

Against Popeye:

Although his eyes bulge out, they don't really look distorted or "poppy" just stuck out kinda far.

No other fish in the tank have signs popeye. Inhabitants include two gold gouramis and three small clown loaches. This disease is contagious right? I would have thought that other fish would be infected as well...

Please advise...
 
The disease can be treated with an anti-bacterial medication. I like the Maracyn products. You should quarantine the fish immedieately. Sounds like the poor water conditions stress the litle guy out.
 
I hope when you get him nice and healthy that he is not going back in that 29 gallon tank:mad:. I really hate that, and i know it probably wasnt your cousin but some stupid LFS employee trying to get a sale. Sure the oscar will only grow to your aquarium, a 29 gallon will be fine, sure you could put a couple of tank mates in there with them..... Ya know that would be a good way to see if a LFS is worth going to, pretend I was stupid and see what they tried to sell me.
 
Thanks guys!
After looking at some more pictures of oscars, I am fairly certain that the oscar doesn't have popeye.:)

Right now he is in a 20g holding tank. The tank is bare except for a huge piece of petrified wood. However, the tank is being filtered by a Aquaclear doing 300 GPH. :D This is only until I can get a bigger tank set up for him - hopefully by this next weekend.
 
Dave hit the nail on the head here... I would never sell an Oscar to someone with a 29g... 55+g are required from my newb understanding, and they do tend to get BIG (as in round, not necessarily length).

Also sounds like your cousin needs to either put a little more effort into his fish keeping practices or find another hobby.
 
Last edited:
Just curious to know - what is the main reason for the big tanks that oscars require?

The reason I ask this is because in saltwater, you can keep a lionfish in a 20g tank, even though it can get up to 10 - 12" long. They are somewhat inactive and don't require a lot of space.

However, many tangs grow to a max. length in the neighborhood of 7 - 10" yet require very large tanks (at least 4' - 6' long) because they are such active swimmers....

So is it because the oscars just need room to swim around? Or is it because they are sloppy eaters and need the extra water volume for stability? Or perhaps more room to feel comfortable in an enclosed environment?
 
how would you like it if someone put you in a 4'x2'x7' box? And told you that you had to stay in there..........permanently? Oscars in the wild are accustomed to large territorys, when placed in a 29 gallon or 20 gallon when full grown(some oscars can reach 15") they will not even be able to turn around. Also their their territories in the wild are normally more like 100'x100'. Also to keep them in such conditions will stundt thier growth and significantly shorten thier life. Generally it is about the health and hapiness of your fish. Personally I love all of my animals and want them to be spoiled and super happy. What other reason is there to keep pets? Some people think fish are just something to look at when in reality a Oscar can be one of the friendliest pets on earth when given proper accomodations.
 
It's the dwarf lions that are appropriate for 20s...and that's a bare minimum! They're also housed with much more filtration (in the form of LR) than what is made available in FW tanks...

Oscars are much larger in terms of girth than Lions, plus they take a lot more territory in the wild.

I'm glad to hear that the O doesn't have exophthalmia...kinda hard to tell with those little buggers, eh?
 
Yeah, I was just using the lionfish as an example. What I'm really trying to say is:

Suppose you had a 10,000 gallon tank, complete with all kinds of filtration and such to keep the water pristine and clear. Now, suppose we add eggcrate to form a three dimesional box to enclose over the tiger oscar - what would the minimum size of this box be?

That is, with water quality out of the picture, what size of room does the oscar need to swim in?

Most fish don't really swim up and down, it's usually back and forth, so a strict gallon of tank size would be inaccurate if you are talking about tank size. For instance, a 75g and a 90g have the same horizontal swimming area, but the 90 is taller, giving it a higher volume. Same with a 33g long tank - it is horizontally the same as a 55g.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom