Please Advise - Sick Oscar........*waldorf*

[Spishkey]

Hi all, its been a long time since i was on here, life kinda got in the way...but one of my beloved oscars are sick and ive tried everything i could think of and she's not getting better, so im turning to you guys for help.

It started 3 days ago...Waldorf was lying on the bottom of the tank, as oscars do when they get grumpy, i presumed Statler or one of the parrots had upset her. But the next day she was hovering at the surface, slowly 'gaping'. She's still doing it today, big wide open mouth movements, open close open close open close. No other fish are acting odd.
She's not even intrested in food, which is bad for an oscar.....

the only other symptom i can describe is she released a sort of..yeah how should i describe it...poop, but it wasnt normal..it was like i teeny tiny orange coloured ball (about the size of an oscar egg) covered in a slimy coating that sank....i was thinking maybe a piece of gravel? then after she passed this lots of bubbles came out...i suppose like a fart....(sorry!) her colour seems a little off (bleak) but not too bad.

ammonia is 0, nitrite is 0, nitrate is 20, PH is 7.2, temp 24 degrees

750L aquarium, running for nearly 3 years so well cycled. nothing new added in over a year, no new fish added, no plants....

ive checked her over, no injuries, no HITH, no obstructions in the gills or mouth, she doesnt feel bloated, she can still swim.

the only 2 things i can think of are a) shes swallowed gravel while digging and its blocked her somewhere...if this is the case what on earth do i do apart from pray?

b) age is catching up with her...we have no idea how old these oscars are....they were fully grown when they came to us 4 years ago...


if anyone could think of anything i could try id be so grateful

 

[snowflake311]

When a fish is gasping and water stats are in check you should add more surface water movement add a power head to help get more O2 in the tank. see if that helps her. I would do a water change see if some fresh water makes her feel better.

Oscars are like Labradors they eat anything. So you might not be too far off on the fact that she could be blocked. If she is blocked up you just have to wait.

Oscar life Span is 10-20 years.

 

[Spishkey]

When a fish is gasping and water stats are in check you should add more surface water movement add a power head to help get more O2 in the tank. see if that helps her. I would do a water change see if some fresh water makes her feel better.

Oscars are like Labradors they eat anything. So you might not be too far off on the fact that she could be blocked. If she is blocked up you just have to wait.

Oscar life Span is 10-20 years.

power head is on full force, plenty of water aggitation,its not so much gasping but big yawny gape movements, as if she was trying to fit something big in her mouth (hence why i thought she'd got something stuck in there but its all clear as far as i can see) fresh water is added every few days (we have a 200L water ton as a filter but the lid got cracked so water evaporates rather quickly, we add about 50L fresh water per week)
ive even tried the ol' pea trick to see if that gets things moving, but she just wont eat anything

 

[england]

Hey hey you, it has certainly been a while.

Hmm How was she proir to this incident? I mean feeding wise, aggrestion wise? has she been digging pits, cleaning of rocks etc?

 

[Spishkey]

Hey hey you, it has certainly been a while.

Hmm How was she proir to this incident? I mean feeding wise, aggrestion wise? has she been digging pits, cleaning of rocks etc?

prior to this she was 'normal' she digs and moves stones regularly so thats nothing out of the ordinary...i cant think of anything that has changed to make her act this way. she still hasnt eaten, i even tried tempting her with my finger...not the slightest bit of intrest i dont wanna lose her

 

[england]

Bacterial dieseases in oscars will make them breath heavily at the suface,check your ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH, to eliminate this, heating temp and having a good suface flow at surface, when the fish has an internal bacteria infection. In cases like this, a visit to a professional veterinarian is essential as they may be able to administer the drugs by injection.

 

[Spishkey]

shes took a turn for the worse during the night and lying nearly lifeless on the bottom of the tank,just a slow 'breathing' movement now and then.
i think its too late
im heartbroken


thanks for trying Nelly

 

[england]

Your welcome, i do think its a internal bacteria problem,i wish i could help, good luck, maybe try some good water changes, is she attempting to eat?

 

[Spishkey]

no she wont eat at all....ive tried all her favourites. she's still with us this morning so im gonna attempt to get her to the vets. shes sitting in her cave gaping very fast.

 

[Athena]

Hope you manage to find a cure before it's too late. Hopefully if you take her to the vets they will be able to pinpoint the exact reason for all that yawning and refusal of food.

I did have a fish doing this a couple months ago but that was due to a piece of gravel stuck in her mouth (which could be seen when face-on) - I had to use round-edged tweezers to remove it - such a scary thing to do as I was petrified of hurting her.

Regards, Athena

 

[Spishkey]

she passed away a little while ago


im heartbroken

 

[Athena]

Oh dear!! So sorry to hear that...

Waldorf


ps - keep an eye on your others for any signs of gill irritations - there's a possibility that Waldorf may have had gill parasites/flukes, if not gravel lodged in her throat. Gill parasites can cause that yawning as it's a way that fish try to rid their gills of them. Had just been reading up on it all before logging back into here...

Regards, Athena