oscars

[tmkx3]

I have a 55g tank with 2 oscars. One of the oscars has ragged fins and loohs like some of his scales are missing. He is eating fine. I am going to treat the tank with salt. Is the salt that you use for saltwater aquariums the same as the salt you buy to treat freshwater fish. (Doc's Aquarium salt) Also, What about epson salt?

 

[rich311k]

You want to use salt that is sold for FW aquariums. Why is the Oscar beat up? Pristine water conditions and the solving of the problem would go much further than some salt. How big are these fish? One oscar would barely fit in a 55 gallon tank. What are the water parameters?

 

[Zagz]

I agree with Rich, also epsom salt will not help the oscars at all. The best medicine is pristine water parameters. If the oscars are large then it is most likely aggression due to lack of space that is causing the one oscar to get beaten up.

 

[tmkx3]

The oscars are about the size of my hand. I was told you could have 2 oscars in a 55g. This is my first oscar tank. I have a saltwater 125g and a 30g gold fish tank. I have always treated my goldies with a Doc's aquarium salt that is used for healing. I have also used melafix but I like the salt better. My water conditions are all good O ammonia O nitrites and 10 nitrates. Only one of the fish has missing scales. My son thinks he might have gotten stuck in some pvc pipe he has in the tank for hiding. (He has removed the Pipe) He says the fish sleep in it.

 

[evercl92]

I like melafix, seems to work pretty good. The salt with help some, but keep in mind that oscars' natural habitat has soft acidic water (read: very little salt).

Whoever told you that 2 adult oscars is fine for a 55 gal is crazy. A 55gal tank doesn't have the width needed for a fish that can get that large. I tell customers at work to think about it like this: It would be like yourself living in a closet that's long, yet too narrow to turn around comfortably in. A 75gal is the least that I recommend for a single oscar, let alone two. If it were a breeding pair, it's possible that a 75 would be ok. My oscar went nuts on a daily basis when she was 12in long and in a 55gal. Bought a 75gal and she's calmed down quite a bit. She's up to 14in now.

 

[sarah5775]

My dad had oscars and a 55 gallon tank is WAY too small for two- they will become very aggressive to eachother as they grow and that's probably how your one oscar got hurt. Even one in a 55 gallon is pushing it when they are fully grown- though we did have ours in a 55 (w. no other fish) he was kind of cramped and I wish my dad could have given him a bigger home.