poorly oscar

[chriss]

Hi, looking for some help,

One of my male oscars, the biggest of the two, about 8", suddenly developed a funny swimming style last night. He is nose down and tends to float up to the surface tail first if he stops swimming. He also seems to have a very slight kink to his spine but this doesn't always seem evident. I though he may be blocked up so have tried epsom salts to clear him but am seeing very little change. How long do these take to have an effect? He is about 6 yrs old and the other 3 and the rest of the tank inhabitants seem fine.

Any ideas or suggestions greatly appreciated

[donsfish]

Hi Chriss, and welcome to the Oscar Spot.

Please answer as many as these questions as you can to help get better answers for you.
Also, how long have you noticed the kink, does there seem to be bloating/lumps, and have you noticed aggression between them?

• Tank Size:
  
• How long has it been setup:
  
• How many fish:
  
• Type of fish:
  
• Size of fish:
  
• Filtration:
  
• Ammonia Reading:
  
• Nitrite Reading:
  
• Nitrate Reading:
  
• PH Reading:
  
• Temperature:
  
• Any recent changes in tank decor or tank mates:
  
• Any medication:
  
• Food what kind how often:
  
• When was last water change and how much:

Please answer as many of these questions as you can. The answers will help us help you.
Any other info you can provide would be most helpful

*moved to 911

[kyle313]

first thing to do is test your water. ph, amonia, no2, and no3. what size is your tank and how may fish? your o should be larger than that at 6 years .
posted same time as donsfish

[chriss]

Hi Chriss, and welcome to the Oscar Spot.

Please answer as many as these questions as you can to help get better answers for you.
Also, how long have you noticed the kink,
does there seem to be bloating/lumps, and have you noticed aggression between them?

Noticed kink last night but not always there
No aggression
There is bloating evident

[b]

• Tank Size: 6'x2'x2'
  
• How long has it been setup:4 years
  
• How many fish: 4 o's, 3 parrots, 4 cats, large plec
  
• Type of fish:
  
• Size of fish:various but all above 4"
  
• Filtration: sump trickle with sand filters
  
• Ammonia Reading: nil showing on test strip
  
• Nitrite Reading:low showing on test strip
  
• Nitrate Reading:low showing on test strip
  
• PH Reading:7.2
  
• Temperature:24.5deg
  
• Any recent changes in tank decor or tank mates: no changes
  
• Any medication: melafix - found it helps calm them in past if any ills
  
• Food what kind how often: flake & pellet 3 times / day
  
• When was last water change and how much:

[/b]week ago, 10%
Please answer as many of these questions as you can. The answers will help us help you.
Any other info you can provide would be most helpful

*moved to 911

Hi thanks for the response, have answered next to the Q's. All has been fin till now

Have actually just measured the O's ( they are friendly lol) and are actually 9-10" - poor judge of size

[donsfish]

I would suggest a large water change ASAP at least 50%, personally I'd do at least 75%, even though test strips used to show a nitrites reading. An established tank should have zero ammonia and nitrites.
Also would suggest liquid tests like API, strips are notorious for being inaccurate.
Seems to be about a 180 gallon tank.....
What size sump/gph flow?

Also wanted to add that I would check out viewtopic.php?f=3&t=13487 to try to vary the diet. Pellets are alright as a staple but not something that should be fed as the only food for best health. And consider cutting down on feedings, adult oscars really only need to be fed once a day.

[chriss]

Sump is 3'x18"x12" not sure of flow rate.

[kyle313]

agreed with above. test stips arent acurate at all.

[chriss]

just carried out a hagen water test. (chemical drops)

Nitrate - 20-30
Nitrite - 0
Ammonia - 0.6-1.2


Completely puzzled what has gone wrong!! - Never had a water prob before

[Alan]

did you test after you had just fed them ?
ammonia is high , have you worked on the filter/ sump recently ?
nitrates are a bit high as well best to have them at 10 or less
i would do a big water change asap to get that ammonia reading down
you do use a dechlorinator for your water changes ?
im a bit worried about that ammonia reading tho and wondering if somethings killed off some bacteria in the filter media or whether you have enough media in the filter

[chriss]

The water changes are done through a plumbed in chlorine filter. The trickle filter has a 2 cubic ft capacity of bio balls and also 2 sand filters. All the other fish are looking really healthy, the problem one is looking quite bloated now though!

[OinKY]

Any way to post some pics?
Epsom salt can be used as long as necessary without worry of harm to tank mates (nothing in your stocking is hardness sensitive) to try to move a blockage.
Sounds like something other than a blockage so pics would help.

[chriss]

have tried uploading a pic of him, very difficult to show

[chriss]

Tried again with the pic, hopefully this time!!

[callen]

This sounds like his swim bladder has been injured. Keep up with the water changes and Epsom salts. If not a blockage the Epsom salts will help with any internal swelling. This may take some time for it to work. How much are you adding?

Any aggression in the tank?
Thanks for the picture it does help.

[chriss]

i'm adding a tblespoon per 5g of water, but not sure of correct amounts and when I should add. Theres no aggression in the tank at the moment