ok it seems that i got the levels under control again! he seems to be doing a lot better and almost all of the ich except for about five parasites seem to remain on the fish. my oscar is acting normal again and ill check on him bright and early in the morning. thanks for your help everyone. one last question. what usually helps to keep the balances normal in a tank besides adding chemicals all the time? it may be a vague question, but i was wondering how to keep my nitrates, nitrates and so on and so forth down normally...