What's wrong with my oscar?

[Jorfee]

He used to swim around and be energetic somewhat but now he just barely moves at all and stays on the bottom...he also used to change and get white stripes and they would go away I was assuming it was from stress or something...now one stripe stays and hes pretty pale...eyes look a little bugged out more than usual but I can't tell if thats my imagination or not...He hasn't eaten in about a week...anything I can do? He doesn't look good at all.

[Jorfee]

are oscar's eyes normally this far out from their head? I can't remember but I don't think his was....its been like this for a week or so since its been so long is it fatal?

[deogan]

How old is the oscar in the tank? did you change the tank setup recently? or added a new fish? oscars generally get white stripes under stress.

[Fishguy54]

Originally Posted by Jorfee

He used to swim around and be energetic somewhat but now he just barely moves at all and stays on the bottom...he also used to change and get white stripes and they would go away I was assuming it was from stress or something...now one stripe stays and hes pretty pale...eyes look a little bugged out more than usual but I can't tell if thats my imagination or not...He hasn't eaten in about a week...anything I can do? He doesn't look good at all.

See all that calcium dried onto the front of your tank? That means your water is hard as a rock. Start doing 50% water changes everyday to dilute it. Crank the temp up to about 82 and see if he starts eating again. I would also test your water for ammonia, PH , and nitrite. Don't even bother testing for hardness we already know your water is full of minerals. Tell us whats going on in a couple days.

Also that Oscar is a cull. That's why his dorsal fin looks screwed up. Culls tend to be weaker fish so you might wanna just get rid of it anyway although it may live to a ripe old age.

[Fishfirst]

1) Test for ammonia, nitrIte, nitrAte... pH isn't really a factor unless its swinging up and down. If that is the case... I'd test for alkalinity as well.

2) post these tests on the board

3) I'd do a water change anyway... 25%

[Scuba Kid]

How long has the tank been set up? How big is it? What are the other tank inhabitants? Have any new fish been added recently? What are you feeding the oscar?

Id also suggest testing your water for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates. pH and hardness are not usually a big problem unless they are constantly fluctuating and swinging.

The large eyes are commonly refered to as "pop eye" and characterized by the eyes starting to bulge outward. Its a sign of an underlying problem though, so your oscar could be suffering from a bacterial infection or disease.

[Jorfee]

I put some fungal stuff in the tank and its been running for a few months now
theres a minnow he hasnt eaten and a convict in there. I know my water is real hard idk what to do about it...nitrates and all that r fine though. 55 gallon tank and I feed him those chilchid sticks. he wont eat the minnows...only the convict does

[Fishfirst]

sigh...

never medicate until you've figured out what the problem is... or at least have some idea. I would do an immediate 20% waterchange and add fresh carbon. Another water change in two days of about 20%... and another in two days of about 20%. Its not fungus. He has no symptoms of fungus... plus fungus is the LAST thing a fish comes down with as it is almost ALWAYS secondary to a bacterial infection.

As for the convict and him getting along. That COULD be the problem, but we won't know unless you POST THOSE VALUES that we've asked for!!!! A mature convict is much quicker and much more aggressive than a poor oscar.

[Fishfirst]

again don't worry bout the water hardness
"See all that calcium dried onto the front of your tank? That means your water is hard as a rock. Start doing 50% water changes everyday to dilute it. Crank the temp up to about 82 and see if he starts eating again."

DO NOT DO 50% water changes unless you do them weekly or more often anyway. Raising the temp will not help either.

[Scuba Kid]

What are your water parameters exactly? Saying "oh yeah, the nitrates and stuff are fine..." says NOTHING! Test the water and tell us the numbers!

[redpaulhus]

"minnows" are a poor choice of foods for either a convict or an oscar.
(and your oscar is going to need a much larger tank within the next few months)

As was noted - we can tell you alot more if you give us actual water quality numbers.

Also - how often are you changing water, and how much ?

While I'm waiting for you to answer those, I'll join the long line of folks who are recommending (or thinking but not typing) :
water changes, water changes, water changes !

[Jorfee]

yeah water changes I haven't done in a bit...and the water testing strips I have don't have numbers just color coded. The temp is always 82 and he has pop eye which the medicene says it fixes...yeah the convict is alot faster and my oscar is not very aggressive at all which surprised me. What kind of live food should I be feeding my oscar? I realize I need to do a water change...the carbon filters I have 4 of and are pretty new...and i'll need a bigger tank than 55 gallons for my one oscar and convict? that seems a little excessive

EDIT: so the first thing I should do is a water change? as of now the carbon filters are out because of the medicene...

[Jorfee]

Also should I remove the convict and place him in my 10 gallon tank by himself? Most likely a good idea


EDIT: ok i moved my convict into the 10 gal tank by himself...now its jus the oscar...a minnow and a algae eater. I will remove the minnow shortly..im about done with the vacuuming/water change...and I found the numbers on the test strips you guys were talking about and I will provide you with them shortly. and btw will the oscar get that big where he should be in a tank bigger than 55gal?

[Fishguy54]

Originally Posted by Fishfirst

again don't worry bout the water hardness
"See all that calcium dried onto the front of your tank? That means your water is hard as a rock. Start doing 50% water changes everyday to dilute it. Crank the temp up to about 82 and see if he starts eating again."

DO NOT DO 50% water changes unless you do them weekly or more often anyway. Raising the temp will not help either.

Yo? Do you know how hard his water has to be to create deposits like that on his glass? I would bet he has been topping that tank up all summer instead of doing partial water changes. I would also bet his Ph is low. Those fish are messy eaters and I bet his gravel is a methane pit. If he does a 50% water change while plunging his gravel most of that methane will go right up his syphon hose. He will be removing half his hard acid water and deluting it with softer water at a higher Ph. When he adds the new fresh water he will also be creating alot of aggitation which will disipate the remaining methane in to the air. Thats what I think he should do.

[redpaulhus]

An adult oscar is over 14" long (I have one about that size in a 125g tank and do weekly water changes to keep it healthy.)
A 55g tank is only about 12" wide.
No fish should spend much time in a tank narrower than the fish's adult size.

I like a 75g tank for a single adult oscar, or 125g for two.

I rarely feed mine live food, but when I do its earthworms, ghost shrimp, or crickets. Feeder fish are a bad idea for most aquarium fishes, and oscars are not primarily fish-eaters in the wild - they are more invertebrate predators.
Mostly my fish get pellets, frozen krill, frozen shrimp, frozen "formula I", and occasional fresh scallops.

[Jorfee]

Originally Posted by Fishguy54

Yo? Do you know how hard his water has to be to create deposits like that on his glass? I would bet he has been topping that tank up all summer instead of doing partial water changes. I would also bet his Ph is low. Those fish are messy eaters and I bet his gravel is a methane pit. If he does a 50% water change while plunging his gravel most of that methane will go right up his syphon hose. He will be removing half his hard acid water and deluting it with softer water at a higher Ph. When he adds the new fresh water he will also be creating alot of aggitation which will disipate the remaining methane in to the air. Thats what I think he should do.

I did almost a 50% water change and it's all filled back up...But the oscar isn't looking very good at all...What else can I do? If he has pop eye and I have fungus medicene that fights pop eye...why not use it? I have very hard water. and I vacuumed the tank all out and removed the convict.

[Jorfee]

Originally Posted by redpaulhus

An adult oscar is over 14" long (I have one about that size in a 125g tank and do weekly water changes to keep it healthy.)
A 55g tank is only about 12" wide.
No fish should spend much time in a tank narrower than the fish's adult size.

I like a 75g tank for a single adult oscar, or 125g for two.

I rarely feed mine live food, but when I do its earthworms, ghost shrimp, or crickets. Feeder fish are a bad idea for most aquarium fishes, and oscars are not primarily fish-eaters in the wild - they are more invertebrate predators.
Mostly my fish get pellets, frozen krill, frozen shrimp, frozen "formula I", and occasional fresh scallops.

Damn...well I mean it's gonna have to do cause I don't have the funds for a larger tank...in the future yeah but right now I have 2 55gallons and a 10 gal tank.......I will be back in about 20 minutes with the test strip results...

[Jorfee]

ok...nitrates are 40 safe zone
nitrites are 0 safe
hardness is 300 very hard
chlorine is 0 safe
alkalinity is 300 high
ph is an 8.4 I think

His fins also seem to be deteriorating

[Jorfee]

and hes got fin rot now...soo I dont know if its worth giving him medicene idk if he will make it

[redpaulhus]

Test your ammonia - at that pH, ammonia is extremely toxic even in small amounts.

In the meantime - keep doing those water changes !