Oscar

[holidayinn]

Recently bought a tank with an oscar and a pleco.

Had to refill the tank and put the fish in asap been fine now for 48 hours

ammonia levels and nitrite levels r cool and pleco seems fine but oscar

ain't eating tried prawns, pellets, bloodworm paste

What may be wrong or anything else i can try?

Thanks

 

[smb]

This tank isn't cycled yet or when you say refill the tank you just mean partially?

 

[holidayinn]

more or less complete refill only able to keep water that the fish were temporarily stored in

the oscar also seems to open its mouth wide now and then is this gasping?

it also makes a grab for the food but then spits it out. i was told they are fussy

eaters

if the water hasn't cycled will the oscar be OK?

i am a complete beginner i have no real knowledge any help is much appreciated


Cheers

 

[smb]

I'm honestly not sure what to say here. I feel so bad and want to help, but I have never heard of anyone cycling a tank with an Oscar before so I have no experience to go on.

I do know that Oscars are prone to certain diseases after being exposed to them for prolonged periods of time, and that's usually many months, but the cycling process of the ammonia and nitrites can kill fish that aren't anything but the hardiest. Even the hardy fish that do survive a cycling, their lifespans are shortened and their health is not good at all. The ammonia attacks the gill membranes of the fish, which is equivalent to someone strangling a humans neck and us fighting to breath.



Do you live in the US? I would get Biospira and add it per directions. That will cycle your tank in a few days.

If not, is there any way possible that you can take your Oscar and plecostomus to your LFS and have them hold it for a 4-6 weeks? Mine would for me and if they have an empty tank available I'm sure yours would also.

 

[smb]

BTW, if neither of my 2 suggestions above work, ask for some gravel from the lsf that is from an established tank, (put in a nylon or mesh bag) and some filter media from them. That will jump start your tank with the beneficial bacteria you need.

I also have one more solution, but it's not the best and I'll hold off until we see if the other 2 I suggested in my last post work before I mention it.

 

[impur]

Oscars also have a tendancy to pout if they are stressed. Especially when moved. You may find him just lying on the bottom at times. This is pretty normal and they eventually come around and eat and eat and eat.

But in your situation I think it is due to the tank not being cycled. Take smb's suggestions before you lose the fish. I recommend you try the bio spira or take both fish back to the LFS and do a fishless cycle.

 

[holidayinn]

thanks for your advice

i live in the UK but i'll try my lfs store and see if they can store the oscar for a while
i'll look for an alternative to the product u suggested
he ammonia and nitrite levels are fairly low at the moment as i checked the water levels yesterday

he oscar is a big fish about 9" long 4" high so I hope it'll pull through
i'll let u know how i get on fingers crossed!

 

[cichlidmaster]

No one has asked the really obvious question here.................

What size tank is this 9" oscar in/// I hope it's at least a 70 gallon tank (48x18x20)

Anything smaller and your asking for trouble. At a size of 9" and a body height of 4" your oscar still has a long way to go until it reaches it's adult size and any tank smaller than a 70 gallon will hamper it's growth.

Oscars IME are not fussy eaters!! I brought in 7 gold oscars several months ago.

They were in transit for 12 hours and were eating within one hour of being placed in their tank.

They were around 3" at that time and are now nearing 5". They share a 120 gallon tank with 9 F1 firemouths.

They are also nearing the size of being to big for 120 and are going to be placed in a 180 shortly.

Please do yourself and the fish a favor and find someone to either hold the fish or take them.

IMO artificial bacteria will not cycle your tank properly for this size fish!!

smb's suggestion of getting some aged gravel or filter material is a good one, but there again we're talking a 9" fish here and have no idea of the size of the pleco or the tank so it's really hard to say if even this method will work.

I wish you luck....as oscars are a great fish to have.

CM

 

[holidayinn]

tank size is 48*12*18
in the water the oscar appears to be 9" by 4-5" and the pleco is abou 9"
i agree that the oscar maybe too large for the tank esp. if it is to continue growing in size

the gravel and the fish came with the previous owner who had them for a year the tank also came with two air pumps and a fluval 4 filter, is this good enough to filter a tank this size regardless of the oscar?

which fish out of the pleco and oscar produces stringy waste?

the only food the oscar seems interested in is other fish even though i have repeatedly been told it'll eat practically anything. Put a small fish in the tank and the oscar hunted it for hours.

I am planning to do a water change of about 30 per cent now as my lfs told me the ammonia might have something to do with the fish not eating. This is the first water change in a tank with new water and should i do more or less?

 

[briangk_77]

I would say your Oscar is just pouting. IME larger fish (like your 9" Oscar) seem to get more stressed from netting/transport than smaller fish. Try to stimulate him/her with some nutritious live food such as earthworms or crickets. Another suggestion is to add some sort of stress-reducing water conditioner.

Best of luck!