oscar ailment =/

jessey

jessey

Large Fish
#1
Dec 25, 2006
548
0
0
37
Tampa, FL
#1
as i mentioned in my thread about my 29 gallon tank (which i'm in the process of pulling apart to revamp *twirlysmi ), i have been slacking as a fish mom and lax on my water changes.

because of this, bobo the oscar has something going on... i don't think it's HITH, mostly because it spans his whole body... and it doesn't really look like "holes." i'm thinking maybe it's a fungus? i got some pretty decent pictures so i'm hoping you guys can help me figure out a) what it is and b) what to do about it.











as you can see in the last picture, his fin isn't in good condition, either. he is still in the 55 gallon tank, with shark bate the red tail black shark. i hope you guys can help my friend! :)
 

Big Vine

Big Vine

Elite Fish
#2
Feb 7, 2006
3,895
9
0
47
Florida
#2
Any way you could get some clearer/closer pics of the affected areas?
From the pics you posted, it seems as though these areas are slightly indented into his body (in other words, more like holes than fungus). Or am I misinterpreting the photos---are they actually raised (i.e. like fungus would be)?

Hope my questions make sense.
Do the spots on the gill-plate match the following at all?
http://www.myfishtank.net/forum/disease-forum/49003-oscar-struggles-w-infection.html

Most obvious thing you need to do is stay on top of water changes.
NitrAtes must be kept below 20 PPM (preferrably below 10 PPM when caring for an ailing/sick fish) at all times. This will require at least three 50% water changes per week. A quality staple pellet food such as Hikari Bio Gold+ should help, as would supplementing with a liquid vitamin (such as Boyd's VitaChem).

I'd really love to see some clearer/closer pics.
BV
 

jessey

jessey

Large Fish
#4
Dec 25, 2006
548
0
0
37
Tampa, FL
#4
BV, looking at the pictures from your thread... it could be the same, i really can't tell. i'll try to get some better pictures, i'm not a wonderful photographer!

to answer your question, yes, the spots are indented (like "holes), not raised. as you can probably tell in the pictures (the first and third especially), they cover a pretty large span of his body.

and supra, i haven't added any fish recently. there is a RTB shark that's lived with him the whole time the tank's been set up, and there was a school of tiger barbs a while ago (which he polished off nicely). i don't think there's any way the tiger barbs could've been the culprit... timing wise, that is.

thanks for your help guys. and for info, he's eating and basically acting like his same ol' self, he's just not looking so hot.
 

jessey

jessey

Large Fish
#5
Dec 25, 2006
548
0
0
37
Tampa, FL
#5
just an update, when i checked my nitrates, they were right around 20 ppm. that was monday evening, it's now wednesday night, and i just got to do another 50% water change. i hope to do one more this week.

bobo's side is looking worse still, though he is still acting fine. i promise i'll get pictures tomorrow!
 

jessey

jessey

Large Fish
#6
Dec 25, 2006
548
0
0
37
Tampa, FL
#6
here are some more pictures... don't know how much better they are, but they're new as of today (3/18).













i just did a water change, and the nitrates read just over 5.0 ppm about 20 minutes afterwards.

any thoughts?
 

Orion

Orion

Ultimate Fish
Moderator
#8
Feb 10, 2003
5,803
3
38
Kentucky
www.thefishcave.net
#8
A 29 gallon isn't to small for an oscar just because of the size of the oscar, but these guys are poop machines. It's no wonder the nitrites are shooting up so quick, and when you were lax on the WC's, that's when it went wacky.

I'm normally not much on 'natural treatments', but when I had my oscar, melafix was wonderfull for scratches, fungus and other strange things along with increased water changes. This might be worth a try before you get into the normal medications. Either way, increased water changes isn't gong to anything but help in this situation.
 

jessey

jessey

Large Fish
#9
Dec 25, 2006
548
0
0
37
Tampa, FL
#9
bobo isn't in a 29 gallon tank! i don't know if i mistakenly said that, or if someone else got 2 of my threads confused. ;) bobo's in a 55 gallon tank... i do realize he'd be more comfortable in something even larger, but alas, 55 it is for now.

so i should try melafix? that sounds good. is the best place to get that at my lfs?

thanks for the help guys! :D
 

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