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my oscar is still acting funny, he ate 4 sticks yesterday but today will once again not eat.just finished treating 5 days with melafix+pimafix . for some reason my tank is still cloudy, callatya said its not normal but ive waited a day or so and still no response back from her.im thinking of removing filter carbon and retreating should i do thins?or shoud i wait and see if he'll eat later.when the tank lights are off he acts very skittish,and several mornings i have woken up to scales on the substrate or small tears in fins.my old oscar jumped but he bashes and runs into the hood of the tank and DW in the tank.not sure what to do, any replies appreciated.
Aso checked all of my parameters. ammonia 0ppm, nitrite 0ppm, nitrate 10ppm

CK
I think it is about time you try to locate a Cichlid site that specializes in your type of fish and tank problems.

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info
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Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith

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ok mate,ive kept oscars many times,ive bred them,raised them,i even got given 2 albinos that had the dreaded hole in the head disease,and after a treament plan and some antibiotics from my local vet,then after 3 and a half months they were finally clear of it.im not saying i will fix your fish or im some wizard,im just saying ive had plenty of experience with oscars!now there is deffinently something wrong with your fella,eating 4 sticks then no more,that just in it self is not normall,OSCARS ARE ALWAYS HUNGREY,if there not gutsing down there food and beggin for more,somethings off!so lets see if we can get him back to normall.ok first off i think no more melifix or pima fix,after 5 days if theres no change then its not helping him.thats also probly helping cloud your tank!i half dose with both of them when eva i use them!can you tell me what sort of filtration you have?what size tank is this guy in?how big is he?and how many water changes do you do weekly?also what is your ph reading?what is the tank temp?does he have any tankmates?how long has the carbon been in there?yes i would take it out,and put a fresh lot in,that will get rid of what eva meds are left.with regards to the clouding,is it the white colour or is the yellow colour,oscars are ruthless for large bioloads (polluting the water)thus if water changes and filtraion arent up to scratch,they pollute the water VERY FAST,then this in turn leads to other dramas.im not real sure about the darting around thoo,from memory my oscars wernt real active at night,is he chasing tankmates?they can knock them self against things at night if chasing some dinner down!they are more brawn than brains!well anyway answer those questions above and we can go from there.whateva is wrong with your fella,hopefully we can fix it,they are a very hardy fish to start with,ive seen them bounce back from all sorts of things!even thoo he is not eating much,he is still eating and thats a good sign

well knock on wood he is basically back to normal. but he still has a torn fin which is probably from ammonia burns. he was in a 30G well i moved, then into a 55G. when he was in the 30G i couldnt keep up with the water changes. ok to answer the questions here goes, since maybe you can help me out abit. filtration is a 55g whisper power filter and a tetra power filter which is good for 30-60G,as said before a 55G,approximately 8 inches, he is 10 months old.i usually do about a 30% change once to twice weekly as needed and if fed live foods, or just relatively more messy i will gravel vac, havent in about 4 days though because my nitrates are way low.0 ppm ammonia, 0ppm nitrite, pH 7.2, nitrate about 10ppm.temperature is 78F,no tankmates.just changed the filter media so it is all new carbon(i actually did this to hopefully suck up any left over meds, however they should be gone from the several water changes ive done since the med treatment a few weeks back) clouding is white which i suspect to be a bacteria bloom, however after a week or so it is still cloudy so i dont know could you possibly clear it up for me.i have joined an oscar forum which the people on there think he was not eating for a few days becuase he ate a heavy load of feeder guppies that i bred and he need time to digest.i have also experienced this after i feed him fruits or veggies, since sugars are a bit harder to the fih to digest but im told is good for them from the people on the oscar forum, and to just expect less to no eating a few days after fruits, veggies or certain nuts are fed.also after live foods eaten too.i also think like someone mention in another thread i posted earlier that the fish may have been skittish because the tank was cloudy and he could feel the vibraions from my footsteps but couldnt see me and it spooked him, then the tank got sloightly clearer and he could see a bit, but couldnt make out its me and any sharp movement would make him skittish and dart away, especially at night because th lights were offf and it was even harder.

like i said before though knock on wood things are basically back to normal and hes ate sticks for the last couple of days, i also think he doesnt eat as much because his growth is slowing down as he gets biggeer and older, as you may know oscrs do not eat as much or as frequently when they get older because they arent growing or minimally growing so there body doenst need the xtra calories/protein.

hopefully you can help, and if anything with the cloudyness
tthanks, cichlid

Wow, guys, use paragraphs my eyes are bouncing round trying to read that

Are you certain that your tank readings are right? Test kits all in date etc?

Did you change filter media before or after this started?

Can you still see or smell medication in the tank?

When did you move him into the larger tank? What decor/substrate did you use?


The only thing I can think of is to maybe try a diatom filter, but they are horribly expensive. Maybe you could borrow/rent one?




For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

yes all dates are fresh, changed filter mrdia as previuosly stated.just substrate, have checked and rechecked readings several times for accuracy.

ok if you say things are getting back to normall thats good,but honestly mate,i think he needs a bigger tank,alot people say 55gal is ok,and even i used to say they were,untill i started a tiger oscar in a 75gal,just that extra tank space made all the difference,he was more active,he grew faster,he grew bigger,it was the best thing i done!so if you can,a upgarde may be in order!also only at 8 inches,he shouldnt really be slowing down eating that much,even in your 55 gal he still has some growing to do,i didnt really think oscars ever slowed down eatingthe pigs they are!
with regards to your wcs,so far your routine looks ok,allthought id still do the 2nd waterchange (once everything is normall)even if it dosent look like it needs it,simply becuase hes a oscar(poo machine,and MESSY eater) and you give him live foods,that warrants the extra wc rite there!
now the filtration,you said it was rated for a 30-60gall,id go for more,basicly you want your filter to empty that tank 10 times a hour,ive stuck to that rule when keeping oscars,and never had dirty water,it was always clean and clear.i know you probly cant afford to dash out and buy a bigger filter and a larger tank(who can),but this is just what ive done in the past,and it worked extremly well for me!
many moons ago when i first got into the hobby,i had kept a oscar in a 30gall,with tankmatesand not enuff filtration,and yes the water was yellow colored,i was forever doing waterchanges,and couldnt keep up,my oscar didnt look real good,he was acting weird!in the end,i was very annoyed thinking it was all the oscars fault.so after doing some PROPPER reserch,i made some changes,a bigger tank,very good filtraion,a good cleaning routine,and boom it all came good.i cant express enuff on the filtraion mate,i think with oscars its a must have!ive seen oscars that have basicly been living in a toilet,living in there own waste,due to porr filtration!
not a real good life.
calla sorry for the post,im hopeless when it comes to writing and spelling ect,ect..

i also have the 55Gwhisper filter too.just thought id say that so incase you missed it, its a 55Gwhisper power fiter on the left side of the hood and a tetra 30-60G power filter on the right side.

so these are the hang on back type then?if so thats probly your problem then,oscars need a good quality cannister filter,then use the hang on back filter to help the cannister too,or i use a smaller internal power filter aswell as the cannister!even thoo the flow rate mite be ok with your HOB filters,with oscars you need a cannister with atleast 4 stage filtration,you know how the cannisters have the 3 or 4 different baskets stacked on top of each other,them!if your budget allows it,i would be upgrading to a good sized cannister filter!how is the oscar going now?

he is doing perfect.all params. in check nitrate is at about 15 ppm.i will continue to spot vac food or waste out, and do a WC when the nitrate gets over 20ppm(i like to keep mine under 40ppm as there is no need for nitrates in my tank with no plants)he ate sticks this morning and i plan on bringing him back a treat like brine shrimp or crickets from the lfs,or if i dont get a chance to go there maybe just more sticks.

pimafix & bacterial bloom

Not sure if this is 100% relevant given the fish is acting normally, but it might be a possibility.

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

thanks callatya, i breifly skimmed through it and i guess maybe the pimafix didnt treat the sickness but why would the bacteria die just because of the meds?though mela and pima were bacteria safe?