Help!!!! Oscar fish problems!!!

[I<3Platys]

Hi! my new baby oscar (ive had him for two weeks) is starting to act strange. Hes eating but spitting out food, if he comes near the food at all. hes swimming a little but mainly stays at the back of the tank. The bottom of the tank is full of old food and waste but i dont want to clean the tank because its newly established. The water is VERY SLIGTLY cloudy but not much at all. I know that oscars are fine in a wide range of water peremeters so that shoulnt be the problem... Thanks!!!

 

[KcMopar]

What is the ammonia and nitrite readings? Oscars need perfect water parameters!!!! Slightly cloudy means a problem in most cases. I HIGHLY recommend a 30% minimum water change at once and then a 10-20 daily until the cloudiness is zero. Oscars can live in many different water types but not water with high or any parameters of ammonia and nitrite. They can however stand a huge amount of nitrate. Also get the old food off the bottom as Oscars are not scavenger and will likely not eat this old food. If an Oscar does not have an appetite that usually means there is something bad in the water parameters. They are very hardy so if you get the water changes going he will likely make it. Anytime there is left over food on the bottom of the tank it needs to be removed very soon other wise it creates bad water parameters. I hope your Oscar makes it!!! I have three myself and love them to very much, they are wonderful pet and live a long time. Post some pics when you can I would love to see a baby Oscar pic!!

 

[OrangeCones]

Hes eating but spitting out food, if he comes near the food at all. hes swimming a little but mainly stays at the back of the tank.

An oscar not eating is a sign of something wrong. They are pigs normally about food.

The bottom of the tank is full of old food and waste but i dont want to clean the tank because its newly established.

I'm not sure where you got the idea that a newly established tank does not need to be cleaned, but quite the opposite is true. If you were doing a FISHLESS cycle, you can leave it, but with fish in the tank, you must be extra careful about doing maintainence until it is fully cycled.

I know that oscars are fine in a wide range of water peremeters so that shoulnt be the problem...

I'm not sure what 'a wide range of water peremeters' is supposed to mean, but it does NOT mean they can handle ammonia and nitrite in any amounts, which is what the decaying food is creating.

I'm with KcMopar, water quality is very important for all fish, but especially messy eaters like oscars. If the food makes it to the bottom, they will more than likely ignore it, so it must be removed or it will foul the water quickly.

 

[I<3Platys]

What is the ammonia and nitrite readings?

The amonia is very high! I did a 15% water change last night and maybe a 25% this morning. Before the water change this morning the readigs were at 2.0 and after the change i am at 1.0. Its getting better but im very worried about my baby. Im thinking about getting some of the stuff that lowers your ammonia levels that you put in your tank like water conditioner. Do you have any reccomondations? By the way, the tank is no longer cloudy and there is no leftover food. He still isnt eating or swimming all over, but the pleco seems fine... Thanks for all your help!!!

 

[KcMopar]

Ammonia and nitrite is a deadly poison to fish at any level. These readings should be ZERO otherwise you will have dead fish soon. The Pleco will last the longest in bad quality water. Be sure to get the water changes going and get the ammonia down to zero and keep doing them daily until you start to show nitrate which is not deadly to fish until the levels get very high but nitrates are easily maintained by weekly water changes. Also note that you have chosen two of the most messy eating fish there is. The Pleco and Oscar are messy and require huge weekly water changes. I change 60 gallons of the water every week from my 125 gallon Oscar tank due to how they pollute the water so fast. But, I love them so I put up with it happily because they make me happy. Oscars are very rewarding fish to own, they will do tricks and beg for food. They know when its feeding time and just attention time, they are very smart and have huge personalities that you will fall in love with. Many Plecos will let you pet them too.
I hope your fish make it, please keep us posted and I would love to see pics!!!

 

[KcMopar]

The amonia is very high! I did a 15% water change last night and maybe a 25% this morning. Before the water change this morning the readigs were at 2.0 and after the change i am at 1.0. Its getting better but im very worried about my baby. Im thinking about getting some of the stuff that lowers your ammonia levels that you put in your tank like water conditioner. Do you have any reccomondations? By the way, the tank is no longer cloudy and there is no leftover food. He still isnt eating or swimming all over, but the pleco seems fine... Thanks for all your help!!!

Many of those ammonia reducing things are sank oil IMO. Its worth a try but they will not eliminate the need for water changes until your tank cycles and is able to convert ammonia and nitrite to basically harmless nitrates if kept under 40-80PPM (For Oscars and Plecos that is, some other fish stress if its over 40PPM)

 

[I<3Platys]

I got these disolving tablets and the ammonia is almost zero and my fish is back and begging for food again!! Thanks!

 

[Allen David]

Hi guys,
Recently i bought a 7 inch tiger oscar from my friend.
It seems that he has fed it with feeder fishes.
Now it doesnt eat anything except for fishes....
Plz help...

 

[Newman]

how long since the last fish was fed to it? starve for 2-3 days then feed some sort of fish (not live feeder fish). maybe silverside or something you can buy at the grocery store. that's just so that it starts eating non-live fish. or try starving for 2-3fays and try pellets that are marinated in said fish. lol something has to work. oscars shouldn't be too picky when hungry.
The problem here is that he is habitually attracted to feeder fish.

It would be ideal, however, if an oscar owner chimed in because i have never kept one.

 

[Rotaripsnoc]

@Allen David

Oscar's are like dogs, give them something that fits in their mouth, and it'll get there eventually. Oscar's should not be fed live fish, due to fats, and potential disease from "feeder" fish, you seem to already know that. Oscars are somewhat sensitive to water conditions, with that said, what are your water conditions, and was the tank pre-cycled, if so fish or fish less. Oscar's have a large bio load, and if you cycled fish less, it'll take a week for the bacteria to catch up, maybe more.

You should see him eyeing the top of the tank most of the time, they feed off the surface. If the Oscar does, try some large crickets from your lfs or lps. they'll kick around for several minutes before drowning, usually the slightest ripple gets my Oscar's attention.

If he won't doesn't pay attention to the surface of the water. There are a couple of things you can do. Try frozen blood worms, thaw them in a cup, and introduce about half a block at a time.

If that fails to elicit a response, and sinking food pellets have no effect. You can do a few things.

First, if you have a quarantine tank, isolate him, and slowly increase the salinity using freshwater salt, or sea salt that is free of yellow prussiate of soda. Increasing the salinity will act as a natural laxative. With the stress of moving, and being in a new habitat, he could have a blockage from holding stuff in, and or consuming a rock or in-edible object.

If you see a bm perform a few water changes over a day or two, to return the salinity to 0, and offer him crickets, and cichlid pellets while doing so. Remove uneaten food after 5 minutes. If after a few days he still has not eaten, offer him some canned tuna \ trout, drain the liquid, and offer only an amount the size of his eye. If he takes that, then soak some pellets in the juice of the fish and offer one or two.

If that goes well slowly wean the Oscar off the soaked pellets. If he doesn't take the canned meat, or the soaked pellets, you might have to use fresh fish from a deli, try a little to begin with.

If all else fails, after 3-4 days of starvation, gut load both feeder fish, and ghost shrimp. This is done by only feeding them the desired food until they no longer eat. and offer both to your Oscar.

Keep us up to date, maybe start a new thread

 

[FreshyFresh]

Allen, like R said, first and foremost, you need to get a read on your water parameters. As messy as oscars are, they need a tank that can maintain good water params. Bad water params and he's likely stressed and doesn't feel like eating.

They do primarily feed off the surface and often ignore anything that's drifting on it's way down to the bottom (mine does.. TOTALLY annoying!!) Water temps anywhere from ~75-80F are fine for them. I always keep my fish in the lower end of their temperature ranges.

You also need to address the tank size issue. You can keep them in a 20-40g when they are babies, but a single oscar (by themselves) needs a 55-75g tank once grown.

I've currently got a tiger oscar and a green severum in a 75g. This could potentially not be enough room once they grow.