Emergency..oscar Is Not Doing Well.....anyone Had This Problem?

[becketlady]

ADVISE PLEASE........i hate to leave the gravels in the tank with Oscara. She gets bored of course. Butttttttttttt, why cant I used real plants in a hamster ball with holes to help take in nitrates so I don't have to change water weekly or less? I am told that oscar likes to tear things apart and plants can kill the oscar if eaten etc. Thank you all. Jackie
. 

 

[becketlady]

I tested the critter ball and put plants in there.................BINGO!!!

 

 

 ! it works.....It reduces the ammonia and I didn't have to change water weekly. Yet the plants are growing inside the ball.  Even though I still have to have the water test to be sure its normal. Also, I only feed two med pellets twice a day. yet Oscara is begggggging for more food. 

 

 

[fluttermoth]

How big are the pellets, and how big is the oscar now? Two pellets doesn't sound like very much!
 
Well done with the critter ball idea though

 
Are both ammonia and nitrite consistently at zero now?

 

[becketlady]

yes they are for a month. lol.....i love to learn and challenge with new ideas. As we all know that we have to fight ammonia to keep it down constantly. awwwwwwww at least i can relax. 
she is about the same size maybe a bit bigger  10- 12 inches. since she is alone and have had a great change in her personality. she loves attn like she never wants to get near humans before as she was always afraid. since she lost her mate....it change her around to become very friendly and full of characters. I am trying to download pics....ugh frustrating. all i can do is use photobucket. 
 
 
ok let me get info on the pellets called Cichlid Gold Large pellets made by Hikari
 
http/www.thatpetplace.com/cichlid-gold-pellets-large-8oz?sc=10&category=2743

 

[fluttermoth]

Once your filter is cycled, if it's big enough, you shouldn't have to be fighting ammonia all the time.
 
Pellets aren't the best diet for oscars, and they're also a messy food (I'm sure you've seen yours producing lots of particles from her gills when she chews them up!) which doesn't help the water quality.
 
It would be better if you could wean her onto a diet of raw white fish (only use sea fish for feeding freshwater tanks) and/or prawns. Some oscars will take the crickets sold for feeding reptiles (mine won't, he swims to the other end of the tank and lies on the sand 

). Some oscars will refuse to eat those at first; you might have to starve her out (it won't do her any harm).
 
In the meantime, I think she needs a few more pellets; mine is a little smaller than yours and gets three or four, twice a day, if he's having them (he only gets them once or twice a week).

 

[becketlady]

fluttermoth, I am not fighting as much since my mom passed away. She is home with me as I look after her for mom. She is in a much better care with me. I heard from one of the pet store that mom overfed her.....tsk tsk...no wonder she got sick etc...and ammonia was creeping and hurting her. I feel bad for scolding mom and she passed away. What a sinking heart i have. 

  and.............oh no, not the raw sea fish and prawns, no more feeding fish.....they are loaded with some surprise ick or diseases. Oscara used to get sick from the feeding fish. I cannot trust any local pet store with feeding fish as I dont know who the dealers are raising the fish and just making money..... At the time, mom tried to feed her diff. food and she spit it out. She likes the food I have been feeding her. I am nothing but am into organic. so any better idea than this one im feeding and the suggestion you made??
 
yes, she likes crickets, feeding fish(fresh water)
shall i start growing my own feeding fish? More $$$ to kill me....ugh. no thanks. 

 

keep searching!!!
Thanks for making me laugh....Oscara will go to the bottom of the tank and lie there while changing water.....lol or adding things to the tank will spook her and she just go down and hide. lol
 
ok I shall give her 3 pellets twice a day and test the water every day to see the result of the ammonia. My only observation.

 

  

 
let me know if you come up with any more suggestions as i love to learn and grow. the fish love me more....lol

 

[fluttermoth]

You won't give her ich or diseases, if you make sure to feed her sea fish. Buy stuff at your supermarket rather that the pet shop. Diseases that live in salt water can't survive in freshwater.
 
She probably will make a fuss and spit it out at first; they're like naughty children who only want candy and chips and won't eat their fruit and vegetables! Unlike children though, oscars can easily go without eating for a week, so do try not to give into her!
 
Don't feed her live fish; she doesn't need them, and most of them contain a thing called thiaminase. which will build up in your oscar's liver.
 
It's common for oscars to rearrange their tank and to lie down with the sulks during water changes. Mine doesn't do it now he's in a bigger tank, but he used to flop over like he was dying when he saw me coming with the water change buckets 

 

[becketlady]

LOL........lol....i cant help laughing. boy, your fish is something else.....more like a child.
 
 
 
 

 You won't give her ich or diseases, if you make sure to feed her sea fish. Buy stuff at your supermarket rather that the pet shop. Diseases that live in salt water can't survive in freshwater. ok How can i be sure it doesn't have chemical to preserve the fish when going to the store or the markets?
 
She probably will make a fuss and spit it out at first; they're like naughty children who only want candy and chips and won't eat their fruit and vegetables! Unlike children though, oscars can easily go without eating for a week, so do try not to give into her!lol....they do act like children.....are very intelligent fish. spoil and wants what they get....not in our world..lol
> 
 
Don't feed her live fish; she doesn't need them, and most of them contain a thing called thiaminase. which will build up in your oscar's liver. Oh I didn't know and thanks
 
It's common for oscars to rearrange their tank and to lie down with the sulks during water changes. Mine doesn't do it now he's in a bigger tank, but he used to flop over like he was dying when he saw me coming with the water change buckets 

  oh my goodness....lol

 

[fluttermoth]

lol, yes oscars are a bit like toddlers; ours is certainly a character! He's taken against one of my mum's dogs and tries to bite her through the glass (his tank is on the floor; it was beyond my skills to make a stand

) but he mostly ignores our dog, although he does give him evil looks sometimes. And he started spitting sand at my teenager after he bleached his hair 

 
Cheap frozen fish from the market shouldn't have anything else in, but look at the label to make sure.

 

[becketlady]

hi.....i updated Oscara in my photobucket.com....please check it out.

 you can see the difference with her looks, fins and the color too. she has come a long way and trusted me alot.

 I can pet her on the back or the side. If she is hungry enough, she will jump and take a chunk out of my finger or skin.

 

 

 

 ugh....lol. I told her that im not to eat but to take care of her. sometime she will nose to nose with me on the glass..oh she is something else. I cant get enough of her. 

that is hilarious....i bet you cant get bored with this one. 

 

lol, yes oscars are a bit like toddlers; ours is certainly a character! He's taken against one of my mum's dogs and tries to bite her through the glass (his tank is on the floor; it was beyond my skills to make a stand

) but he mostly ignores our dog, although he does give him evil looks sometimes. And he started spitting sand at my teenager after he bleached his hair 

 
Cheap frozen fish from the market shouldn't have anything else in, but look at the label to make sure.

I wouldnt even trade Oscara for any fish or else. She is a special fish who took a turn to become happy and trust me. 

 

[Sophie]

Sounds like a beautiful relationship of fish and human forming right there.

 

[SimpleDog]

And I somehow miss all these posts.....I am still learning how this forum works.