Rescued Fish Help?

[Spishkey]

a few weeks back i won a large aquarium on ebay, and after a long wait i finally got to pick it up yesterday, we had said we did not require the fish it came with, hence why we waited a fair few weeks before picking up the tank so the owner could re home them. well when we collected them yesterday i spotted the poor fish sitting in a bucket outside, they hadnt rehomed them and were going to 'dispose' of them.

i hastily adopted them in the hope of finding a better place for them.

they had to endure a gruelling two hour drive in plus 30 degree heat and didnt look so good, but now they are hapilly swimming around in my bath tub!!!

the tank was a mess, obviously neglected (over three cm of algae/scum all around the glass and the smell was horrendous)

after 12hours of cleaning the tank is 'getting there'

but what i would like to know is can anyone id the fish so i can do some research on them? i will keep them for the time being until i can get them back to better health, a few are very scraggly/ragged looking with torn fins etc.

 

[maximinimus]

The top pictures look like oscars, I'm not 100% sure though, the two spotted catfish might be some kind of synodontis, not too sure though (edit: possibly "Waterlot's Synodontis"), the grey is definately a synodontis, not sure what type though.

I hope the tank you bought was big!

 

[johno]

Top ones are oscars

 

[Spishkey]

the tank was two metres in length. i will get some pics up once i have finished cleaning it, it is a mammoth task.


oscars - is that their proper name? is there a group of fish they belong too? * off to google*

also should their colouring be like that (light faded at top, brighter at bottom?) or is that due to bad health?


another quick question, the two 'oscars' have very different shaped tails. is this normal or has one been in the wars?

 

[shelaghfishface]

OMG the large 2 with red on are tiger oscars(1st pic), my favorite fish in the world, that man wants shooting, one of the tails looks nipped/bitten poor loves, how could some one do that,the one with long whiskers is a syndos catfish(3rd pic) ( i think thats how you spell it) i just had one with my new tank,theres at least one plec,im not sure about the last one tho, maybe a whiptail plec?? not sure tho, but those others im pritty sure about

all the best with these fish., and im sure everyone here will be more than willing to help you take care till you can rehome them,or get them back to health, i really hope they will be ok, im so annoyed for yu at this guy that an horrendious way to treat these beautiful fish

ps the oscars have probably been fighting ( tho i would expect to see lumps out of the faces and fins, but it would probably be better to rehome one or both asap xxxx
oscars will need some cichlid pellets,

 

[Spishkey]

im becoming rather attacthed to them though so i ùay keep them

thanks for the help so far, i will be needing more to get these fishes up to proper health i guess! i couldnt leave them there, i saw them on their sides (the big ones) in the bucket and had to say i'll take them.

 

[shelaghfishface]

well get the tank set up, and lets see how it goes, it would be cruel to keep them if they are fighting BUT they may have been squished in a bucket and stressed and may be fine in the tank, but its what is best for the fish that is first and foremost

 

[Miss Wiggle]

yeah definatley oscars, they are new world cichlids and get to around 16", they are messy and agressive so they need big tanks, it's also not advised to keep a pair together as they will fight and can kill each other. So a big tank is needed to keep one and I'd recommend you try to re-home the other, they do look like they've been in the wars so that's not natural colourings on them.

the good thing with oscars is they are pretty hardy so I'm sure they will recover from this with a little tlc, just get them good clean water, a decent diet (pick up some cichlid pellets and then supplement this with occasional meaty treats, get some melafix in the water to help heal up their torn fins. Read up on Hole in the head which is a fairly common oscar problem, something to watch out for, just keeping the water spotless should be enough to evade/cure it though.

 

[shelaghfishface]

how soon can you get them into the tank?? MW is right they are very hardy, but goodness knows how much stress they have had already, they will need a huge filter alone nevermind with the plecs/catfish too,get them into the tank with melafix and keep the lights off for the day and test the water regularly too

it isnt very often i get really really annoyed, but this has made my blood boil, those oscars are like a dog or a cat ( have massvive personalities), it amazes me at just how cruel peopl can be...... i think you will do a great job nursing them,and im proud of you for not leaving them in the stinking mess they were in, i really hope it all goes amazingly well for them and you

keep us updated

shelagh xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

[Spishkey]

aww thank you; i will do my upmost best for these fish, i promise you xx


they seem to have 'spikey spines' down their backs which sting?? (our helper guy yesterday got 'stung' by one and his hand is now very red and tender on that spot. they aren't dangerous are they?




also can anyone advise me the quickest way to get a two metre tank up and running (should i make a seperate post???)

i have a 60cm and a 1 metre tank which both have mature filters, could i use a bit out of each to put in the new tank to kick start it? or do i need lots more as it is such a large area???

 

[Miss Wiggle]

yeah just get as much mature media as you can in there then do a fishless cycle on it.

why not put a post up on the forum asking for media donations from anyone in your area as well, the more media you can get the less time you'll need to cycle it for. If you get enough media to fill it then you can basically get the oscars in straight away, if you just get some in then it will take from a couple of days to a couple of weeks, def quicker than starting with no media though.

Best for the oscars to be in a tank that's a bit small but with clean water for the time being, because they're such big waste producers you'll probably be doing something like daily water changes until the big tank is cycled for them.

There's no sting, they aren't venemous/poisonous, but they do have spines which could prick you. They've clearly been mistreated and as such will be wary of humans and agressive, so you can expect a few things like this, but they're quite smart fish and they will cotton on eventually that you're doing your best for them and that they do have a nice home and should become relativley tame.

 

[CentricOregon]

The catfish in the 3rd pic looks like a Synodontis Eupterus (Featherfin Catfish).will grow to about 8inches and get more active as they get bigger.Will eat pellets,flake,earthworms and frozen foods and will also occasionally swim upside down.The last pic looks like a hoplosternum catfish, very peaceful fish and will eat pretty much the same as the synodontis.

edit: the silver fish in 3rd pic may be a pictus but can't be 100% as i cant see the black dots.also the hoplosternum will grow to about 6inches.

good luck

 

[Amerce]

Oscars get quite big so you may need to buy a bigger tank for them, but they do look beautiful when they are 100% healthy.

Good luck and good on you for rescuing them.

 

[Spishkey]

they are huge already! (bigger than my feet!) we are just busy with the final rinses of the tank then we're gonna get it filled!

 

[shelaghfishface]

cant wait ti see it all set up and them looking back to normal