please..sick and peeling

[tineyyyyy]

So my oscar is laying down.. sometimes..if i go in the room h will get up for a minute.... he is peeling his scales and and color not good... he is a 55 gallon. i have had him 3 years but was already 10 inches when i got him...all my lvels are good except...akaline is 7.6 ish... there is a placatamus 12 inches... he has been seen sucking on him once in awhile...he has twiching...when the placastamus comes near him he does swim away fast. Hes in our bathroom... which is 12 x 12. I had an air wick air freshener in there which i found out was poisoning. his temperature i cant get to come above 76...I did 2 water changes in last 2 days? Please respons soon as i am soo worried.. hes ny buddy. every day he comes to the glass where i sit and visits. now he just looks at me with pitiful help me eyes!

[OinKY]

...all my lvels are good

Actual numbers would be better,and more helpful,and if from test strips (not a drop-style kit) then they are suspect right off. Anything other than absolute 0 on ammonia and nitrite is not good and nitrates should always be kept 10 or less.
On nitrates...while 20 has always been stated as an acceptable value,it is not and longterm it leads to problems.Higher,bigger problems.

... he is a 55 gallon

While considered the minimum for an O,that's it...just an O.A Pleco for a tankmate,especially a Common Pleco,is out.Too messy,too hard on filtration,too hard on tankmates in close quarters (which you are finding out).They are also notorious for feeding on slime coats. Value the O...lose the Pleco.

There's really no info given for filtration (how much,what type),water change routine (past routine,not the emergency ones you just implemented,and how they are done),or diet.Those are very helpful things to know to help you.
From what you are describing,it sounds like ammonia poisoning...bad color,lethargic,scales peeling,and heavier slime coat (why the interest from the Plec).So the filter info,water change info,and more water reading info is important to get the best results to get your O back to health and ease your worries.

Far as temperature,76F is not that bad... nor is 7.6 alkalinity (lower would be better)...but have to ask what type of heater is in use.

[tineyyyyy]

i change water every coupol weeks..... yes we hav decided oscar is more important! ur right its test strips and it doesnt have ammonia checker... if it is what do you do for that?.... if it is thee pleco that has eaten his cost? how do i fix that? how do i repair him? I am trying to post some good pics i have on my puter but they wont pull up can u assist me?
or do have somewhere i can text it to?

[tineyyyyy]

pleco is ouuttty.... just got him out!! now how do i fix my baby

[kyle313]

keep doing massive water changes like 80 to 90% it will lower your amoinia (if that is the problem) pristene water will help greatly. water changes should be done weekly as a regular rutine. high amonia can be from under filtration to lack of water changes to overstocked to overfeeding and from your tank not being cycled. throw the strips away and get a liquid test kit. api has a nice one and lots of people here use them. dont let the price fool you eather it seems kinda coastly but there it like 200 tests in a kit. filter info and water readings will help us assist you better. my guess is your under filtered too which isnt helping the situation if you are under filtered. i see you mentioned you tank is in the bathroom. if thats so think of all the hair products and all other chemicals that could be getting in the tank (if you use them). that would be the last place i would put a tank ppersonaly, the kitchen too. and dont feel attacked or overwelmed eather with all the questions and demands we ask and give info based on the info you can give us. we want whats best for your fish and for you as a hobiest. hang in there .

[Gerry]

Water changes are needed at least once a week.

Have a read of THIS

[OinKY]

First...as long as an Oscar is breathing and swimming there's always a chance at a good recovery.
Second...you are willing to make the necessary changes to see that happen.Good on you for that.

Starting with the excellent primer article that Gerry linked you to will greatly help,then getting a good test kit like the API Master Freshwater mentioned by Kyle will help you get back to where you want your O to be...healthy and happy.The Plec being out will start to show some results.

While the placement of the tank in the bathroom is unique,and I'd worry about sprays and cleaners,I'm sure you have your reasons.I'd find a better location if possible,but if not I'd use that to your advantage for doing larger,more frequent,water changes to get the O back up and running.
Be interested in knowing how you do your water changes and definitely what type filters you have.

[TimP]

These guys have already given you great advise that will help recover your sick little buddy. I agree, it unfortunately does sound like ammonia poisoning. My BIGGEST concern is all on the nasty cleaners used in a bathroom, especially the ones contain bleach! If this gets into the tank or filters, it could ruin any good bacteria that you need to maintain good bio-filtration. What you should do to help recovery, is try to feed a good mixed diet. One with lots of fruits and vegetables and I would try soaking some of his pellets in garlic extract/juice. This will really help boost his immune system, garlic along with vitamin C are very good for this. Of course, along with doing huge daily water changes (do not forget to use dechlorinator) in the mean time will help him recover, possibly with little to no scarring. Best of luck and we'd be happy to help in any way we can!

[tineyyyyy]

OK so hunny went to fish store and they tested water in detail.. he didnt get me the numbers as i was at work.. the said ammonia is ok too.
He is in the bathroom and has been there for 3 years... its a 12 x 12 room. e dont use much products as my daughters get ready in the living room mirror. cleaning products... sometimes i use a lil ajax not much but nowhere near tank... Like i said hes beeen here 3 years...He has tos stay in the abthroom as we burn wood in a pot belly stove and the living room gets too hot... like at the opposite of the livingroom the thermostat reads 94 and blinking and thats cooled off from earlier!
Look Oscar has not eaten in few days.. he lays at the bottom of the tank and once in AWHILE gets up sims a lil and lays again. once in while his tail twitches.. and his sad eyes he looks at me with killls me. he cant keep going not eating.. I feed him omega one small pellets...
I do have a regular 60 gallon double filter ...if its not filtering right wouldnt the fish store get bad numbers? anyways he showed them pics and they are blaming on the pleco tsucking slime coat... i think he told him that and theya re trying to grab onto somethign... does he have bacterial infection.. can i sho pics? i cant get to upload i can text someone.. its getting too intense with him not eating and im so scared to loose him... hes my buddy... I mean w hav a couple dogs..his buddies but my oscar is my for reall buddy...
they had him put prime in there? and said not to change water

[donsfish]

You really want to get your own liquid test kit. The pet stores typically just use the strips which are notoriously inaccurate. Actual numbers for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate are what we're after. Those numbers are likely to show the real story about your filter situation, it really is under rated for an oscar and the waste they produce.
Here's a good tutorial for uploading pics that may help viewtopic.php?f=52&t=15440

[TimP]

they had him put prime in there? and said not to change water

Sorry to say, but that is not the best advice. First, Prime is a dechlorinator that you only need to add, when adding new water (i.e. during water changes). And second, there is never a reason to not do a water change. As far as treating any ailment, the usual first course of action is to start with a water change, since it helps dilute any toxins that could be in the water. This is also why it is so important to have a liquid test kit that tests specifically for Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate, so you can determine which toxin might be at the root of the problem. Pretty much, the "newer" you can keep the water, the better chance any fish has as being completely healthy.

[Bill]

I'll also add that the pet store might fake results to get you to buy more. So definitely try to get your own (liquid) test kit.

[Gerry]

Most fish health problems are water related so advice not to change water sounds dodgy to me.

[OinKY]

...went to fish store and they tested water in detail.. he didnt get me the numbers as i was at work.. they said ammonia is ok too.

In detail usually means they drop-style test it precisely and write the numbers down...the word ok is not precise or detailed on their part.

they had him put prime in there? and said not to change water

Add Prime,don't change water
Prime is a dechlorinator/water treatment that happens to also supplement bacteria. Using Prime...as intended...involves changing water. If you change water,you have fresh water...If you use Prime,you've added Prime...so there is no point to leaving fish waste products in the water since the fish didn't stop producing them anyway if the point is the bacterial supplementation.Somebody read the bottle and saw "removes ammonia"...water change removes more.

I do have a regular 60 gallon double filter ...if its not filtering right wouldnt the fish store get bad numbers?

Would they get bad numbers? Yes...they should.
Take into account you've had the tank up and where it is for 3 years. How big is the O? By average standards,it should be around 12" if the filtration and water quality were OK.Even in cramped quarters.
A "60g double filter",if the usual,only flows 300gph at its max. So you are really short on filtration,and that is the start of the problem...the O hasn't stopped maturing (putting out more waste) over that 3 years.Also,as an O matures,its food intake declines (doesn't need to be fed as often or as much) but it doesn't produce less waste.
May be part of the eating problem,but a bigger problem is a mature O will go "off it's food" faster in bad water quality than a juvenile will.
My recommendation is to add another filter with at least 300gph flow.You are short enough that water changes are giving some relief but water quality is going south quicker than existing filter can keep up.

[tineyyyyy]

ok so please do not get upset... so i took off for lunch and found another fidh dtore and had them test my water again. they said everything was perfect.... they looked at my pics and said he had infection.. when i got home he is up swimming and this time with a lil energy! i sprinkled a lil food.. he swam to top several times and looked at it but didnt eat but hes thinking about it... they gave me macaryn antibiotics...5 pouches a day for 5 days,,,,grrrrr my sister said just get another oscar!! i was so mad.. NO WAY this is my buddy!... anyways,, after putting the pouches into the filter itself it reads not if the carbon is new it can weaken meds... so my filter pac is lil carbons in it right? so i cant get it back on cause its new right?... his sides where he weas [eeling is not black anymore as it has completely pereled in that area! showing flesh like but hes feeling better it seems?.. i forgot to ask for the results of the water....i was in hurry do i didnt get in trouble at work... it took him a few minutes to do the test though...