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Water changes with oscars every 4 months is IMO just asking for trouble.

What are the other fish in the tank, and can you provide us with NitrIte and NitrAte numbers. Has there been any change in diet @all, and are there any visible symptoms besides the behavior.

Adding an airstone to increase surface agitation will also help in increasing oxygenation of the water.

^_^

Odd you should be doing just the opposite of good fishkeeping...

Partial water changes take place at least once every two weeks in a 38 gallon tank. Anything less with that size fish is a recipe for disaster, which you are now experiencing.

To dose a "water replenisher" product for months on end is just plain dangerous to all occupants.

Your Oscar requires at least a 75 gallon tank. If that cannot be provided then consider finding a better home for him.

Right now a 45% water change must be done with matching pH and temp and another change of the same within 3 days.

Try to catch up with the modern way of fishkeeping by studying and requesting help from this Site.

It may be too late for your Oscar who most likely has been severely damaged by polluted and stale water.

--garyroland.

[span class="edited"][Edited by garyroland 2004-07-01 11:45][/span]

The fish has been fine for over 6 years utilizing the same method and same food. This is the first problem i've ever had, i do have an aeration stone in the tank to help with oxygen level.

The other fish in the tank, well i dont even know what kind they are, but one is what is commonly called a "kissing fish", there is a fish similar to an eel along with a large bottom feeder. Needless to say all of these fish have lived with each other for the 6 years this tank has been setup. I do not have anything to check for nitrates and actually checking from the last time i changed the water was approximately about 6 months ago. I only use the water conditioner in small amounts to treat the water before i let it sit for a week, before adding to the tank. This whole illness isn't something that has slowly developed its just occured in the last 4 days.

As for behavior there are no other signs of him being sick. Currently he just lays on the bottom with very little fin movement, he does have good eyemovement and will follow you with his eyes, if he is pressured to move he will move a small amount but with no major source of energy.

An Oscar that long needs a tank larger than 125 gallons.

With an Oscar, water changes every 2 or 3 days is not um, I can't think of what I was going to say...

Either way, get a bigger tank or give 'em to someone who has a pond.

Kissing Gouramis need a 75 on their own, and if it is a fire eel, like I think, then it needs a 55 too.

[span class="edited"][Edited by TheGoldenDojo 2004-07-01 12:45][/span]

An 18 inch fish in a 38-Gallon tank? How does it even turn around?

In addition to what is most likely REALLY poor water quality he may have just givin up because he really has no room to swim. Oscars are moody and he could just be pouting but I think there is more to it.

Imagine yourself living in a closet. After a while you might just go sit in the corner too.

He can turn fairly easy. The tank issue will be taken care of shortly, i had ordered a 150gallon tank from a local store a few weeks back, but when it arrived it was broken, so i'm still waiting for the replacement to come in. Should be about another week or so, I know he's not pouting or anything because normally if i were to reach into the tank to fix things he would swim away, right now he doesn't even care if im right next to him. Its just like he has no strength to do anything.

We're not comming down on you kerNol, but you did ask for advice and that's what you're recieving. I was trying to be as nice as possible, but garyroand said exactly what needed to be said.

The tank is way too small, and the fish is likely living in some pretty filthy water. Especially if you're running a UGF without reverse flow. Goldfish have been known to survive in 10 gallon tanks for years, even though they become horribly stunted (a two year old "feeder" goldfish should be 9" long). Just because they can't tell you anything is wrong doesn't mean that nothing is wrong. Fish can't scream, or call for civil action.

If you're truely interested in what's best for your fish, follow the advice that's been given, fish IME dont' "gradually" become sick, more often than not it's a sudden thing, sometimes due to some change that you can put your finger on, other times it just happens.

^_^

I didn't think anyone was coming down hard on me they were giving advice and thats how i did take it. I went out and got a nirite and nitrate test kit so i can check those out when i return from work. I understand that with that size fish i'm bound to have some dirty water, luckily he's the biggest in the tank and all the others are small enough he could swallow them whole, except my bottom feeder. I do change my filters on a regular basis of once a month or even two times a month on my power filter.

On another note something that has been on my brain for a while, is a while back someone told me when you utlize ammonia removing filter substrate or other means your left with some bi-product from the removal. Is this true? and what would it be?

Thanks Again

Just to clarify one thing that may have become blurred on what garyroland said, i wasn't using a water replenisher, i was using fresh new water, but treating it for heavy metals, etc. So it wasnt stale water.

Thanks everyone for the advice, hopefully with my nitrite & nitrate tests i might reveal something tonight.

Hello, I'm new to this site and it couldn't have happened at a better time. I'm hoping to find some information on what could be ailing my Oscar. Now for some background on this, first off he's an Albino Oscar about 6 years old and approximately 18" long, I have him in a 38 gallon tank along with 3 other fish. I keep the water around 76F all year round and utilize a Whisper Power Filter good to a 60 gallon tank along with an undergravel system, with partial water changes done about every 4 months. Ph around 7.2 and zero trace level of ammonia, along with using Fresh Start water conditioner during every change. Recently the Oscar has begun to act weird, he has slowly lost all appetite and has begun to lay on the bottom of the tank with very little movement. I can see him *gasping* although it doens't look to severe, to breathe. I have tried hand feeding him as I have done to sick fish in the past *not in this tank* but he spits it out. There are no physical signs on his body that he has a sickness, but he is getting progressively worse. A few days ago he would swim to the surface for a short time and then head back down, now he doesn't even do that. I have lowered the water temp to around 72F in hopes of picking up the oxygen level to help him breathe better. No other fish in the tank show any signs of sickness nor have any ever shown any signs in the past 3 years. I have not dont any partial water changes in the last 3 months to believe that is the culprit and no fish have been added to this tank since it was setup 6 years ago. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Jason

No matter how hard I try I just can't picture an 18-inch Oscar in a 38 gallon tank...

Our new friend claims he has had the Oscar for six years which I find even harder to imagine.

There may be a record set here for fish living in old, stale water for months on end.

Why do I suddenly feel sorry for one large poor Oscar.

--garyroland.

I think you're going soft garyroland, I must be making some effect on you .

I've seen an arowana in a 2' tank, no not a baby arowana either, a quite well grown up arowana. Did it take him 5 minutes of trying to actually manage to turn around? Yes, unfortunatly. Luckily or maybe not, it was in a LFS tank, and wasn't raised in that tank, it would have been stunted long before.

*Awaits test results*

^_^

I do change my filters on a regular basis of once a month or even two times a month on my power filter. I do change my filters on a regular basis of once a month or even two times a month on my power filter.

What did you change?
The filter cartridge?

I dunno, but that sounds like a huge oscar, when average oscar size is 14"...

I meant change the filter cartridge

So why is it so hard to believe a 6 year old Oscar, especially since they can live upwards of 12 years????

And where do you keep getting this idea of stale water? Water that is cycled 1/3 every 4 months isn't stale and on top of that there is probably about 1/2 to 1 gallon that is replaced monthly due to evaporation.

While I won't use the term "stale" exactly as we normally think of it. Most of us do water changes twice weekly, weekly or twice monthly. With a tank as overstocked as yours is (oscars produce alot of waste, you're just barely covering your bases as far as filtration for that size tank. We're waiting for the NitrIte and NitrAte tests so that we have a little more information on your tank. Remember that no where in the world (to my limited knowledge anyway) is there that much life in such a static environment as you have set up.

For an oscar to live 6 years isn't surprisign @all, I think what was being pointed @is the conditons in which he is living. His lethargy just goes to show that something isn't quite right. Hopefully that new tank will arrive soon, till then I'd suggest increasing water changes combined with gravel vacs @least twice monthly.

^_^

If Oscars could talk they'd wish for some fresh water to drink:...

"Man, I hate this stale stuff. When is this guy gonna provide some new water?? After I sink to the bottom??"

""And another thing...get me outa this shoebox!!"

--garyroland.

If the filter cartridge is changed monthly, it is probably causing mini cycles that are poisoning your fishes
Is your tank ever cloudy?
I would not reccomend changing the filter cartridge...maybe a rinse in tank water

d'oh
forgot

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