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hi guys. after my oscars finish there treatment(hith,treatment metronidazole)if all goes well,can i use this like once a month or whenever as a preventative,jsut incase a parasite does pop its head up again i can be ready so to speak.

that really shouldn't be necessary. I have never been a fan of using meds unless they are absolutely necessary. most people believe HITH is caused by either lack of proper nutrition or poor water quality. I'd step up your water change schedule and maybe add a powerhead and/or another filter to make sure the water quality stays up to par. as for nutrition, you may want to start picking up some fish vitamins. I believe you can get these in liquid form at many different lfs. I think you soak the food in the vitamins for so long before feeding.

I agree with jason, vitamins are far better as a preventative than adding meds. I personally think meds throws off the balance in the aquarium.

I soak all my pellet foods and krill with zoe/zoecon, which packs some fabulous vitamins into your fish's diet. You need to soak the food about 5-10 minutes before feeding.

I dont add vitamins directly to the water anymore, used to, but soaking it in the food is much more efficient.

ok great.once again thanx guys,and the tank and filtration upgrade is coming in mid january(A WOOPER,an 8x2x2,with a mini reef,that pumps 3120ltr an hour),for $1320au wholesale,this was recomended by my vet to house 4 oscars properly he said that setup would be fine.do you guys think this will be big enuuf(god i hope so,had 2 sell 2 fish tanks,a cannister filter and a petrol control car to get it).1 more thing,do u think i should put some melifix in with my oscars to speed up the healing of there skin.ive just found it great in the past on things like torn fins,so i thought maybe it could help,but i always ask first.

8 x 2 x 2 is plenty large enough, imo, for 4 oscars. about the filtration though...the filter you're going to use you said pumps 3120 litres (or approx. 825 gallons per hour). the tank is approx. 240 gallons so your filter will be turning the water over about 3 and a half times per hour if I figured right. With fish as large and as messy as oscars I'd want at least 10x per hour turnover so I'd look to at least double the filtration you were planning on. otherwise sounds like you are well on your way to having some excellently taken care of oscars.

oh, and as for the melafix, this and pimafix are the only 2 meds I actually don't mind using a bit liberally. I still think excessive water changes are the best thing you can do, but I don't think that adding melafix would hurt anything.

well thanx heaps jason,ill give a bit of melifix a go,as for the mini reef,the filtration can be changed easly the guy said,that was only the one advertised in the add,so going bigger wont be a problem,i cant wait to get it set up and cycled,so you rekon four oscars in this tank will hit there full size?one more thing,i had another fishkeeper from my lfs tell me that i could put a couple of more fish in there too(the 8 footer),but i disagreed with him,what do u guys rekon,i just had more 4 oscras in mind.

240 gallons is alot of water, even for 4 oscars. If I was in your situation, I would get some plecos and catfish. If your going to devote a tank this large for your oscars, I wouldnt put anything else in there that might hurt your oscars since you seem attached to them.

You can also get a school of fish, such as silver dollars or tinfoils. Full grown giant danios may work, but just make sure the fish are large, peaceful, and schooling.

i like the idea of silver dollars (almost mentioned them in my last post anyway) and catfish. I'd probably put in a few synodontis like occellifer and eupterus. a bichir would also make a nice contrast to everything else if you could keep the oscars from eating it.

Ah, Bichirs are awesome, I would get one in that tank for sure!

Synodontis eupterus > Occellifer Especially in a tank that large, they'd look stunning.

If you'd fork over more money, a bunch of red irian rainbows would look splendid with the oscars.

well i was just guna put my four oscars ,anf the 2 b/n ive got in with them now,they dont seem to bother the b/n,the male b/n is just under 13cm,and the female is about 9cm.so it will be the 4 oscars and the 2 b/n,do yous think i could do 1 more bottom feeder.

Of course, you'd probably get away with more. I would bump up the bristlenoses and try to breed them.

well i would but the male DOES NOT LIKE the female,he came from a friend who got out the hobby ,and the female he was with died,and they like to stay a breeding pair ive heard. so he dosent like her,i was thinking maybe a pleco.

well i would but the male DOES NOT LIKE the female,he came from a friend who got out the hobby ,and the female he was with died,and they like to stay a breeding pair ive heard. so he dosent like her,i was thinking maybe a pleco

Ahhhh bless. He misses his girly.

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~~~ My fish blow kisses at me all day long ~~~