- Have you tested your water?
- Yes
- If yes, what is your ammonia?
- 0 ppm
- If yes, what is your nitrite?
- 0 ppm
- If yes, what is your nitrate?
- 20 ppm
- If I did not test my water...
- ...I recognize that I will likely be asked to do a test, and that water tests are critical for solving freshwater health problems.
- Do you do water changes?
- Yes
- What percentage of water do you change?
- 21-30%
- How frequently do you change your water?
- Every week
- If I do not change my water...
- ...I recognize that I will likely be recommended to do a water change, and water changes are critical for preventing future freshwater health problems.
I have a 55 gallon tank with two ~8 month old Oscars in it. The albino is about 3 inches long and the black one about 5 inches. About a week ago the black Oscar stopped eating entirely, which is unusual due to his typical voracious appetite. Yesterday I noticed him floating at the top of the tank a lot, tilted up with his mouth towards the surface. I'm thinking it's SBD, possibly due to overeating or bacteria. I have done the following so far:
Tested pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate levels. All low or normal. I frequently do water changes, the last one being ~30% approximately 5 days ago.
Started a treatment of Melafix yesterday, increased today to 2x and will continue the seven day course.
Increased the water temperature from 76 to 80 F. Thermometer readings indicate that the tank is running a bit colder than the heater setting, somewhere between 0.8 and 1.0 F. I will adjust this tomorrow if it is still too low.
Auto feeder is now off. It had been feeding a mix of Aqueon pellets and the orange shrimp sticks (ground up) which could possibly have been being gorged on unbeknownst to me and causing expansion in the digestive tract.
I am monitoring the situation as closely as I can, but the tank is at my place of work so I am not there in the evening.
Does anyone know if my diagnosis sounds reasonable? Is there anything I could be doing to help that I may have missed? Any input is most appreciated. This dude is my homie and I want to make sure I do everything I can to help him pull through.
Tested pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate levels. All low or normal. I frequently do water changes, the last one being ~30% approximately 5 days ago.
Started a treatment of Melafix yesterday, increased today to 2x and will continue the seven day course.
Increased the water temperature from 76 to 80 F. Thermometer readings indicate that the tank is running a bit colder than the heater setting, somewhere between 0.8 and 1.0 F. I will adjust this tomorrow if it is still too low.
Auto feeder is now off. It had been feeding a mix of Aqueon pellets and the orange shrimp sticks (ground up) which could possibly have been being gorged on unbeknownst to me and causing expansion in the digestive tract.
I am monitoring the situation as closely as I can, but the tank is at my place of work so I am not there in the evening.
Does anyone know if my diagnosis sounds reasonable? Is there anything I could be doing to help that I may have missed? Any input is most appreciated. This dude is my homie and I want to make sure I do everything I can to help him pull through.
