Hello out there please can anyone give me some advice on my albino tiger oscar, he is three years old, he was in the same 4 foot tank for 3 years with no trouble then i had to move house and put him in a 2 foot holding tank and there he started sulking and not eating as much, there was also a nitrite spike, so i placed him back in his for foot tank that i had been cycling out side, when i put him in this tank he just sat on the bottom and would not swim or eat, so i placed extra aquarium salt some epsom salts and some promethasul multicure,it didnt seem to help and in the next couple of days he started floating on the top of the tank, i took him to my local vet who had no idea but still prescribed metronidazole for a swim bladder problem, he did not no the dose rate so i found all this info myself and changed himto a 10 litre tank and started a 14 day treatment last monday arrvo, but it has started a really bad ammonia spike at 5.0 i have tried everything i know to lower it bottled bact, extra salt(aquarium and epsom),and ammonia removal rocks, but it is still at 4.0 and i am afraid that he will die from ammonia poisoning before i finsih treatmnet. IS THERE ANYONE OUT THERE THAT CAN GIVE SOME POSITIVE ADVICE OR ANYONE THAT HAS HAD A FLOATING OSCAR AND HAS TREATED THEM SUCCESSFULLY PLS LET ME NO
Sick, Floating Oscar Pls Help
- Thread starter hotdogs
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fluffycabbage
Fish Herder
Daily 90% water changes for a start, get out the water change gear now. Is he still eating? If so administer the metronidazole in his food, a bit of frozen brine shrimp with some sprinkled on will work well. The proper use of metro in water requires a large daily water change and redose at 40mg/ gallon, with an increase in water temperature to the mid 80'sF for a fish such as an oscar.
Metro is usually used for internal protizoans, but does have some antibiotic properties. Generally floating in odd positions indicates a swim bladder problem, staying near the surface but in a normal position indicate nitrites in the water.
Oscars are famous for sulking when things are changed, sometimes for several days, this is a normal part of being an oscar.
Metro is usually used for internal protizoans, but does have some antibiotic properties. Generally floating in odd positions indicates a swim bladder problem, staying near the surface but in a normal position indicate nitrites in the water.
Oscars are famous for sulking when things are changed, sometimes for several days, this is a normal part of being an oscar.
fluffycabbage
Fish Herder
Have you changed the water yet? 
thankyou so much for you replyHave you changed the water yet?
yes
thank you for your advice and now it is sitting at around 1.0 but i have not put he metro in yet as i was hoping for more advice about it before i did . do you have any personal oppinions on what could be wrong, your have you had any past experiences of floating oscars or maybe know someone who has cured this in the past , i have checked all levels in old 4 foot tank and they are fine and the other fish seem fine too.thankyou for your reply,i did the water change you suggested and the ammonia levels are now at 1.0 but i have not put the metro back in yet i was hoping for some more good advice first. He is most deffently floating up the top of the tank with not a mark on him but he is in a cruved position and he will not allow he to rotate him to the other side (would you call this a normal position or not)do you think this maybe nitrite piosoning and do you think he will recover as i no that nitrite effects the central nervous system of the fish??. you seem to know quite a bit do you think that these meds are a watse of time and money and should try something else, and no he is not eating he was three days ago and the day after that but he did not eat yesterday or today. Now you stated that i should redose at around 20ml per 10 litres is this correct because the dose i have been giving is 12ml per 10 litres as i was prescribed the liquid not the tabs, you also stated that metronidazole was for internal protizoans (can you pls explain the meaning of this word)?? pls reply soon have you had any past experience in floating fish or maybeno somone who has cured this in the past?? thanks in advance for your help
thanks guys, i put his meds in and the ammonia level is now below 1.0 i dont konw what would have happened without your advice can one of you please tell me how to soak food in a metronidazole solution i have heard 1% but unsure can anyone give me a ratio thanks again
Ammonia most often affects the gills, burning them, making respiration more difficult. Nitrite affects the fish's red blood cells, keeping oxygen from being used properly. An internal infection will often affect the swim bladder, making it difficult for the fish to maintain a normal position in the water.
Does the fish ever leave the surface of the water, and if it does does it seem like it has difficulty staying in a normal position? If he has difficulty staying away from the surface it is a swim bladder problem, most likely bacterial. If he is going up there on his own he's suffering from the effects of ammonia and/or nitrite.
I'm guessing that you are not in the US, metro is most often sold as a powder here. Letting us know how many mg/ml the medication is will help in dosing. When adding to food it is an eyeball thing, having always used the powder I sprinkle a little on the food, sort of like a powdered doughnut, and mix it in. Since it seems like you have the liquid form of metro a drop or two on some food mixed in would accomplish the same thing.
Protizoans are single celled animals, the ones that most often affect fish are hexamita and spironucleus. Cichlids, especially larger New World cichlids, are prone to these. While they are often a normal part of the digestive flora of many fish, being kept in check by their immune response a lowered immune response can allow them to reproduce unchecked, affecting the health of the fish. Stress lowers the immune response in fish, being moved as well as being exposed t ammonia & nitrite are stressful to fish.
Does the fish ever leave the surface of the water, and if it does does it seem like it has difficulty staying in a normal position? If he has difficulty staying away from the surface it is a swim bladder problem, most likely bacterial. If he is going up there on his own he's suffering from the effects of ammonia and/or nitrite.
I'm guessing that you are not in the US, metro is most often sold as a powder here. Letting us know how many mg/ml the medication is will help in dosing. When adding to food it is an eyeball thing, having always used the powder I sprinkle a little on the food, sort of like a powdered doughnut, and mix it in. Since it seems like you have the liquid form of metro a drop or two on some food mixed in would accomplish the same thing.
Protizoans are single celled animals, the ones that most often affect fish are hexamita and spironucleus. Cichlids, especially larger New World cichlids, are prone to these. While they are often a normal part of the digestive flora of many fish, being kept in check by their immune response a lowered immune response can allow them to reproduce unchecked, affecting the health of the fish. Stress lowers the immune response in fish, being moved as well as being exposed t ammonia & nitrite are stressful to fish.
thankyou so much, that info was most informative,
well since he has been floating he has just sat in the same curved position and no he does not seem to have trouble staying in this position at all, in fact he seems cramped in the same position all the time, (so he never leaves the top),he does not move much at all he did not try at all to submerge himself ever until maybe day 4 of treatment, then he tried maybe a couple of times but in a sidewards motion when he seen food and even tried to bite me when i was annoying him but i think that the ammonia has made him feel worse and yes his gills have turned fins have turned red proberly from the ammonia but he has had red streeks inthem since he started floating ,and he is not eating again
the mg/ml is 500mg to 100ml if that helps any ... what food would you suggest to mix the drops on if i dicide to go with this method??
if this is a poisoning of some sought by ethier ammonia or nitrite what would you suggest i do and please tell me if you think he will recover???
one more quick question i am told that metro liqid is not very water soluble and i am unsure if it is doing anything can you tell me if i could be doing something wrong
and no i am in aus where you can only get metro by vet prescription bumma really when the vet i went to had no idea...
well since he has been floating he has just sat in the same curved position and no he does not seem to have trouble staying in this position at all, in fact he seems cramped in the same position all the time, (so he never leaves the top),he does not move much at all he did not try at all to submerge himself ever until maybe day 4 of treatment, then he tried maybe a couple of times but in a sidewards motion when he seen food and even tried to bite me when i was annoying him but i think that the ammonia has made him feel worse and yes his gills have turned fins have turned red proberly from the ammonia but he has had red streeks inthem since he started floating ,and he is not eating again
the mg/ml is 500mg to 100ml if that helps any ... what food would you suggest to mix the drops on if i dicide to go with this method??
if this is a poisoning of some sought by ethier ammonia or nitrite what would you suggest i do and please tell me if you think he will recover???
one more quick question i am told that metro liqid is not very water soluble and i am unsure if it is doing anything can you tell me if i could be doing something wrong
and no i am in aus where you can only get metro by vet prescription bumma really when the vet i went to had no idea...
If he's still in the 10 liter tank, which is 2.6 gallons, you would want to dose with 100 mg of metro, or 20ml of your medication. Ammonia can cause some permanent scarring of the gills, this may affect respiration in the future. As far as I know there is little long term effect from nitrite.
Being a liquid you could put a couple of drops on some pellets, or mix a couple drops in with some frozen food such as brine shrimp. I's avoid anything heavy in protein such as bloodworms, these tend to lead to constipation & bloat, something you don't want to deal with at this point.
Metro mixes in with water just fine at tropical tank temperatures, it will precipitate out of a solution at around 70F or lower.
Being a liquid you could put a couple of drops on some pellets, or mix a couple drops in with some frozen food such as brine shrimp. I's avoid anything heavy in protein such as bloodworms, these tend to lead to constipation & bloat, something you don't want to deal with at this point.
Metro mixes in with water just fine at tropical tank temperatures, it will precipitate out of a solution at around 70F or lower.
Tolak,
thankyou for your time, he is alot livelier tonight and made an awful mess earlier splashing in his tank, but today i noticed 2 white spots on his gills(maybe scarring) and on his belly that protrudes out of the water that is a sore starting that looks like an olsar or something of that sort could you tell me what this may be??? amonnia levels are loower still today inbetween 0.50 and 1.0 thanks again i am going to putsome drops on his pellets and see how he goes, but i can see he is hungary but peas are to fiddley and he doesnt seem to care much for the pellets and i have no brine shimp is anything else that he would really go for so i no he well eat it.??
thankyou for your time, he is alot livelier tonight and made an awful mess earlier splashing in his tank, but today i noticed 2 white spots on his gills(maybe scarring) and on his belly that protrudes out of the water that is a sore starting that looks like an olsar or something of that sort could you tell me what this may be??? amonnia levels are loower still today inbetween 0.50 and 1.0 thanks again i am going to putsome drops on his pellets and see how he goes, but i can see he is hungary but peas are to fiddley and he doesnt seem to care much for the pellets and i have no brine shimp is anything else that he would really go for so i no he well eat it.??
OKAY I WAS JUST PICKING OUT THE PELLET HE JUST SPIT BACK OUT AND I PICKED UP SOME FEACES AND THE WAS A LIVE RED WORM IN IT SO I LOOKED AROUND AND THERE ARE MORE A FEW DEAD IN FEACES AND BUT MOSTLY THEY ARE SWIMMING AROUND LIKE THEY OWN THE PLACE CAN YOU PLEASE TELL ME WHAT THEY ARE,THEY ARE ABOUT LESS THEN THEYARE ABOUT 6 TO 7 MM ? AND WHAT CAN I USE TO KILL THEM...THIS JUST GOES ON AND ON
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