Mom forgot to feed oscar today....
- Thread starter Mjnorcal922
- Start date
Oscars are too big for a 15 gallon tank. They need a minimum of 55 gallons. Plecos are also much too large for a 15 gallon tank. They grow to be two feet long and need about 100 gallons of water or more. Your tank is very overstocked and your fish are suffering from it. I strongly advise you to re-home the pleco as your new 55 gallon will still be too small. What are your parameters for ammonia, nitrate and nitrite? Why didn't you feed your Oscar yourself? I hope you receive the 55 gallon soon. Do you know about cycling?
i am getting a 55 gallon tank soon....my oscar and pleco are still each about 1.5 inches they are very small. i have only had my tank up for like 10 days and yes its cycled i just need to have the water tested. i tryed to feed him but he wouldnt swim up to the top and eat the pellets i put in so i took them out
Just to chip in incase the above advise seems irrelevent, I strongly doubt that the reason your oscar is ill is because you didn't feed it for one day. Fish can go for up to 2 weeks without food. This sounds to me like something that has been coming for a while and the above posters are absolutely right in what they say about cycling. Without knowing your water parameters there's not much real and worthy advise that can be given, other than tetra safe start really does very very little to help the cycle.
Oscars, and any fish, are absolutely fine without food for a few weeks. I feed my fish every other day, in small amounts, and they're all healthy. I doubt it is food. Are you sure you tank is cycled? Did you take it to a petshop and actually get them to write your parameters down? Or did you just dump some of the bottled-bacteria in? That rarely works.
A healthy oscar almost always acts like it hasn't eaten in months. His not being hungry is likely a sign of ammonia/nitrite poisoning.
Until you can get your water properly tested to see what ammonia, nitrite and nitrate are at, do water a change, then another one, then repeat.
Even if the TSS worked to establish a bacteria colony, with your tank being massively overstocked, it is unlikely that is ENOUGH of the good bacteria in the tank yet. Oscars and common plecos are known HUGE waste producers.
Until you can get your water properly tested to see what ammonia, nitrite and nitrate are at, do water a change, then another one, then repeat.
Even if the TSS worked to establish a bacteria colony, with your tank being massively overstocked, it is unlikely that is ENOUGH of the good bacteria in the tank yet. Oscars and common plecos are known HUGE waste producers.
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I took the water test kit into the lfs and the guy said the water was fine he used the water test kit. hes been pooping like crazy yesterday now today he has like a white thing hanging out of his but i dont know what it is ill try to get a picture to post but like when i turn on the light he trys to hide under anything to stay away from it....I feel so bad for the little fish and my tank is not over stocked atm like i keep saying both of the fish are under an inch
well i just talked to the guy at pets mart and found out what went wrong...i was overfeeding my oscar and now he is constipated the guy at my lfs said i should only bee feeding the oscar up to 5 pellets a day and i was feeding him like 12...
he said to put like 2 -3 tbs of rock salt he said it isnt needed but i can add it and then to feed him less and start feeding him again on sunday he also said that im most likely not going to loose my oscar he said i just gotta watch and the oscar will get more active over the next few days
he said to put like 2 -3 tbs of rock salt he said it isnt needed but i can add it and then to feed him less and start feeding him again on sunday he also said that im most likely not going to loose my oscar he said i just gotta watch and the oscar will get more active over the next few days
You need to know the water parameters, someone telling you it is fine is NOT doing you any good, what are the EXACT numbers? I have been to many petsmarts (in various states) and everyone I have been to uses test strips that do not register ammonia, The petsmart guy may be right but how do you know?? The very real possibility is that your tank is in the middle of a cycle, if this is the case without diligent water changes your oscar will probably die. You need to buy your own test kit and if your measuring ANY ammonia or nitrites you will have to do daily water changes. I will agree that with the current size of your fish you are fine on tank size, you have said many times you plan on upgrading, I kept 2 young oscars in a 30G for a few months with no issues until I was able to set up my 90G, but diligence with water changes is essential even when they are small.
i had the water test @ Randys Fish Palace its here were i live and the guy did the liquid test. he told me that my fish has been eating too much and told me that the 15 gallon tank will be fine for about 6 months depending on how much i feed the oscar...he told me not to do a water change for atleast a few weeks because my levels are perfect.
ok your post was "I talked to the guy at petsmart", and no intelligent fish keeper is going to tell you not to do a water change for a FEW weeks based on ONE water test, even with an established tank you should test weekly especially when you are new to the hobby.. EVERYONE here has told you this repeatedly so please for the sake of the fish take the advice your asking for. We are here to help you.