i posted here a few days ago saying my oscar was sulking well it has been a week and i bought him a friend and they got along great but they still both kind of didnt act right they ate only when the food sunk to the bottom they were not getting bullied cuz they were the only two fish in my 75 gallon tank. So last night i go in and one of them is dead and this morning the other one died i check my water two days ago and it was fine this morning i checked it and the nitrates were way too high what caused this and were my nitrates high the whole time maybe this is why the oscars never really acted right does anyone know??? cuz i want to have fish in this tank but
Oscars
- Thread starter green0893
- Start date
Nitrates or do you mean nitrites?
How high was it? You have to give a number before we can tell you if it's too high.
I doubt it was nitrates since you didn't have them very long.
Was your tank cycled completely?
I remember an Oscar thread and replying that it's normal and give it a couple days but if they don't eat in a few days to post back. Was that you?
How high was it? You have to give a number before we can tell you if it's too high.
I doubt it was nitrates since you didn't have them very long.
Was your tank cycled completely?
I remember an Oscar thread and replying that it's normal and give it a couple days but if they don't eat in a few days to post back. Was that you?
cheesy feet
Fish Aficionado
There is a chance that as they were not eating the food festered and raised your nitrates.If it was over 75ppm this may have been the cause.
the nitrate was prob fine it was ok not great but the nitrite was at a 3.0 maybe even a 5.0 on my chart 3.0 is stress and 5.0 is danger so the nitrite is prob what killed them and yes gator i was the one who posted asking if it was normal if the oscars sulked like that so how do i solve my nitrite prob. and is thia what killed them???
High nitrites will kill fish, especially new fish that have been stressed from being rehomed. A 75 is fine for one oscar, too small for two. Two oscars just thrown together in a tank will in all probability end up with one oscar, especially in a 75.
How long has this tank been running, and what's the make & model of the filters you are running?
How long has this tank been running, and what's the make & model of the filters you are running?
see this is what i dont like bout these forums everyone chimes in when they dont know what they r talking bout my oscars were in a 75 intil my 125 cycles completely then they go in there and my gf works at my lps and these two oscars were in the same tank since they first got to the lps store so i bought both of them oscars can co exist if they get a long its not true that no two oscars can ever be kept together so maybe instead of you criticizing me you can answer my questions so that i can keep a safe fish tank i didnt post to get criticized i posted to get answers
demonmagus
spamming my way to the top...
when did you mention you had a 125 gallon tank anyway? No-one knew so that's why everyone chimed in. Also, how big were the oscars? Because I heard that they only pair with each other when they're older, when they're tiny they are fine together. Also, I wouldn't keep two oscars in a 125 because unless they are a deffo pair - just my opinion though, loads of other people will.
Did you find out the reason why the old oscar was sulking.? If one fish was not acting correctly, it's probably best not to add any further fish until this issue is resolved.
It was most probably the high nitrites in the tank that killed the fish. In effect, by adding a second oscar you have doubled the bio-load of the tank. The bacteria levels perhaps couldn't cope with a 100% increase in this way. I guess you would need to keep a closer eye on the stats if doubling the bio-load again.
What were the nitrate levels two days ago, they seem to have gone up quite quick, especially if not all of the nitrite is being processed.
Don't feel that you are being critisised, you had not mentioned the 125g tank, and people are trying to help.
If you want help, which you obviously do, then you need to answer some of the questions asked earlier such as...
How long has this tank been running?
What's the make & model of the filters you are running?
also.. how large was the first oscar, and how large was the second?
How long had the first oscar been in the tank?
How was the tank cycled?
Cheers
Squid
It was most probably the high nitrites in the tank that killed the fish. In effect, by adding a second oscar you have doubled the bio-load of the tank. The bacteria levels perhaps couldn't cope with a 100% increase in this way. I guess you would need to keep a closer eye on the stats if doubling the bio-load again.
What were the nitrate levels two days ago, they seem to have gone up quite quick, especially if not all of the nitrite is being processed.
Don't feel that you are being critisised, you had not mentioned the 125g tank, and people are trying to help.
If you want help, which you obviously do, then you need to answer some of the questions asked earlier such as...
How long has this tank been running?
What's the make & model of the filters you are running?
also.. how large was the first oscar, and how large was the second?
How long had the first oscar been in the tank?
How was the tank cycled?
Cheers
Squid
I would say that yes there's a good chance that the high nitrites is what killed them.
To answer how to solve it can you answer my question I asked in the beginning please? Is the tank fully cycled?
If it is, how much do you feed and how often do you do wc's and how much at a time?
You may have mentioned it previously but how big are your Oscars? I was under the impression these were smaller Oscars but I could be thinking of something else.
cheesy feet
Fish Aficionado
I don't see why it matters anymore.I would just empty the tank and start from scratch...
I certainly does matter.. Learning from 2 dead fish is better than killing another 2 by not learning.
If fish die its better to figure out why. If you stubbed a ciggie on your hand and it hurt, you probably wouldn't do it again
cheesy, you have enough fish and tanks to know that people should learn rather than go into things blindly.
Squid
Perhaps you should ask your uncle. Nobody here is critisizing, we are trying to help you with your situation. I never stated that no two oscars can ever be kept together, but the probability of getting a compatable pair out of two random fish is slim.
Your uncle being a breeder should be a big help, but you also have to understand that breeders keep fish differently than someone keeping the same fish in a show tank. Successful breeders stock much heavier than the usual aquarist, and have back up plans to cover in the event of a situation taking a turn for the worse. Unless you have the experience, as well as a good backup plan you shouldn't be stocking like a breeder.
The 125 is a good tank for two oscars, with the 75 as a spare you have room to work with any aggression problems. I would bet that the filtration is either not mature enough, or inadequate to support the bio filtration needed for the two fish. Unless you answer the questions about the filtration & tank maturity you are not going to get any constructive answers.
to answer some of your questions i use a 40 gallon top fin filter and another 50 top fin filter thats all i know bout the filters it had cycled since early december and i never did a water change because my fish died within five days of me putting them in there since the deaths i have empyied out most of the water and gravel vacuumed and refilled the tank and now there is ammoneia present and to the post above i wish i could ask my uncle but we r not on speaking terms because of a death in the family also i didnt feed that much because they never ate the food......
I would add additional bio filtration to the tank, a canister set up for bio filtration would work well. You could then use the two hob's as mainly mechanical filtration.
If they weren't eating, and the food was in the tank a little too long it could have started to deteriorate, causing the ammo & nitrite to spike.
Sorry to hear about the falling out with your uncle, there are plenty of experienced aquarists here th help you out with things.
If they weren't eating, and the food was in the tank a little too long it could have started to deteriorate, causing the ammo & nitrite to spike.
Sorry to hear about the falling out with your uncle, there are plenty of experienced aquarists here th help you out with things.
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