Very sick ocsar =(

[Tan-tay]

Hi , I have a male tiger oscar who isn't doin so well.. He has cloudy eyes n his side fins r ripped n he looks a lil pale he stays close to the bottom n when he swims looks like he's goin side to side he just lays on the bottom n breaths.. I'm really worried any advice wud b great please ! And soon !

 

[wvanderborg]

What's ur water quality looking like? Amonia nitrates? Poor water quality can cause a lot of stress which makes fish shed their slime coat. Cloudynes on the eyes is a sign of a fungus usualy. My suggestion would be to do a 20-30% water change and use something with aloe vera extract. Like stress coat by api. Also use a antifungal medication after the water change. Malachite green works amazing for fungus but u can also try methelyne blue (more for bacterial infections)

 

[jlk]

What are your water parameters (ammonia/nitrite/nitrate)? What size tank? How many fish? Water quality problems are usually the first thing to consider with cloudy eyes & possible fin rot. Start by doing a 50% pwc right now with a good water conditioner & match the temp of the new water to that of your tank water. Stressed fish become immune-suppressed & become suspectible to bacterial & fungal infections. Sometimes healthy water is enough to cure them with the addition of some theraputic aquarium salt. If its severe, antibiotics will be necessary to cure the infections.

 

[Tan-tay]

My nitrates r perfect n I have done water changes for the last two days we had him in a 45g tank but put him in a 5g so it's easier to treat . We added salt n raised the water temp n ther r 2 guppies in with him tht r doin just fine ? Hes just layn on the bottom breathing n his two side fins r almost gone but the rest r fine ! Any ideas ?

 

[KonvictKeeper]

What about nitrItes and ammonia? Those are more important. Also, 45g won't be enough when he's an adult. At least a 75g IMO.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

My nitrates r perfect n I have done water changes for the last two days we had him in a 45g tank but put him in a 5g so it's easier to treat . We added salt n raised the water temp n ther r 2 guppies in with him tht r doin just fine ? Hes just layn on the bottom breathing n his two side fins r almost gone but the rest r fine ! Any ideas ?

The 5g may also be stressing him. If it were me I would leave him in his tank. He is familiar with that environment and a 5g will get dirty fast making his condition worse.

 

[Tan-tay]

We have other fish in the 45g that we don't want to get sick so we isolated the Oscar

 

[Tan-tay]

Could it be possible that he was sick befor we brought him home? And not show any symptoms? And he ate a guppy and it took him all day to get it down is that normal?

 

[Mumma.of.two]

How long has he been in the tank? What other fish have you got and when where they added? Is the tank cycled? It isn't normal that it took him all day to swallow a guppy. From your description it sounds like fin rot. Fin rot is usually brought on by bad water quality (in your tank or from the tank he came from).

 

[Tan-tay]

He has been in ther for 4 days but he's a baby Oscar maby 3 inches long. He's in rough shape and we only had him two weeks.

 

[Tan-tay]

Yes my tank is cycled and we do frequent water changes. He's had strange behavior since we brought him home

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Ok he was probably sick when you got him. IMO you have two options.
1. Return him to you LFS.
2. Minimize stress, treat with clean water (daily water changes) and salt (1flat tablespoon per 5gallons) and see how he goes. If he doesn't improve in a week you may need to buy meds.
If you keep him and he recovers you are going to have to get him a larger tank. One Oscar needs 75gallons plus. They can grow an inch a month and can reach a foot long. They are dirty fish (lots of waste) and need plenty of filtration. They will eat ANY fish or snail that will fit in their mouth.

 

[Tan-tay]

Ok thank you for the advice hopefully we don't have any more problems

 

[Tan-tay]

He didn't make it

 

[Mumma.of.two]

He didn't make it

I'm sorry to hear that. you did your best.

 

[Tan-tay]

Thinking of starting a 5g shrimp farm and i want to kno about wut kind of filter i should use and wut kind of shrimp to get that are easy to take care of. And possible fish to put in with the shrimp that wont eat the babies.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

If you start another thread in the appropriate section you will get more responses.