baby oscar stopped eating. plz input

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Last night baby O swam around for a long time staring longingly at floating pellets. finally he grabbed one that was partially softened, and he had it way in his mouth chewing it real good. looked like he was enjoying that and just when I was sure he would swallow it, he spit some out. it was softened, the texture thin and frayed flat. it floated out in front of him, and then he even went & grabbed it again, repeated chewing & spit it all out. then gave up & swam away.
It's starting to upset me, he is so hungry. there's something inside him & he can't even eat.
It was SAD!
I added epsom salts w/water change after that.
NO POOP today either. he swam all night in epsom salts & it produced nothing. There's nothing in there to come out. he's not bloated.
I thought the laxative makes intestines move, even if they're empty?
Something horrible is wrong inside. and I think it's gonna kill him.
Every bit of his outside has been glowingly healthy. the little tail patterns look lacey & his orange was showing up.

He tried so hard to eat last night. and he was enjoying the taste, rolling it around in his mouth relishing the food.
This baby isn't sulking. he tried hard.
I can't put him in with the other fish w/divider, it's impossible to track his food & poop there.

what's even sadder is: he is following me even more now, and watching expectantly toward his "food source". he's hoping to feel better. I almost cried last night......
 
petspoiler said:
Last night baby O swam around for a long time staring longingly at floating pellets. finally he grabbed one that was partially softened, and he had it way in his mouth chewing it real good. looked like he was enjoying that and just when I was sure he would swallow it, he spit some out. it was softened, the texture thin and frayed flat. it floated out in front of him, and then he even went & grabbed it again, repeated chewing & spit it all out. then gave up & swam away.
It's starting to upset me, he is so hungry. there's something inside him & he can't even eat.
It was SAD!
I added epsom salts w/water change after that.
NO POOP today either. he swam all night in epsom salts & it produced nothing. There's nothing in there to come out. he's not bloated.
I thought the laxative makes intestines move, even if they're empty?
Something horrible is wrong inside. and I think it's gonna kill him.
Every bit of his outside has been glowingly healthy. the little tail patterns look lacey & his orange was showing up.

He tried so hard to eat last night. and he was enjoying the taste, rolling it around in his mouth relishing the food.
This baby isn't sulking. he tried hard.
I can't put him in with the other fish w/divider, it's impossible to track his food & poop there.

what's even sadder is: he is following me even more now, and watching expectantly toward his "food source". he's hoping to feel better. I almost cried last night......
Click to expand...



I am very sorry to hear about your O. Seems you have grown very fond of your fish which doesn't help your situation much. Although many would have given up on it already, you are trying everything within your power to help your fish. I applaud you for that.

85 degrees is fine if you have enough surface agitation... think you mentioned air bubbler, so you are good. the epson salt is a LIGHT laxative-- most of the time it will not help assuming it has something stuck in the throat/intestines -- but always good to try when blockage is suspected. You can try a 5 minute high concentration of epson salt dip/bath. As a last resort, you can force feed the fish -- not to feed, but to introduce ingredients that may help pass whatever it has stuck (assuming blockage is what is wrong with it) -- mushy peas without the skin, some flake food, & some fish oil. I will send you info via PM, I don't want this thread to get derailed. BEWARE, doing this is taxing emotionally, I've had to do it a couple of times & it's hard to do. I cried once doing this. I get very emotionally attached to some of my fish.

I hope others can chime in with ideas as I am no expert. I am rooting for the O.
 
can anyone think of a food that's softer & more disintegrative than mushy pellets?

I think something is lodged in his throat- not deep in the digestive tract.
If it doesn't resolve & he starts starving to death, could he be sedated absolutely still enough to look inside his mouth/throat for an object?
I have pretty strong jeweler magnifying glasses & some tweezers.
Anyone know about sedating fish?
 
framcosco said:
You can try a 5 minute high concentration of epson salt dip/bath. As a last resort, you can force feed the fish -- not to feed, but to introduce ingredients that may help pass whatever it has stuck (assuming blockage is what is wrong with it) ..................................I am rooting for the O.
Click to expand...
Thanks.
What Epsoms amount per gallon should i have in tank?
& what dose & time length for short bath?

With horses, psyllium mash is fed to move sand out of their guts. it bulldozes it out pretty good, for emergencies oil is added via oral tube pump.

PLZ, if there is any thing my husband can buy from the IE travel route, headed towards hwy 395 N, he is driving home today or tomorrow. he's willing to detour a bit, but we have an important family event Thursday evening..
 
petspoiler said:
can anyone think of a food that's softer & more disintegrative than mushy pellets?

I think something is lodged in his throat- not deep in the digestive tract.
If it doesn't resolve & he starts starving to death, could he be sedated absolutely still enough to look inside his mouth/throat for an object?
I have pretty strong jeweler magnifying glasses & some tweezers.
Anyone know about sedating fish?
Click to expand...

Yes there are safe sedatives for fish where you can take out of tank & work on. (you must work relatively fast). Finquel -- used by universities/laboratories. Clove oil will also work but must be careful with the concentration, if too much is used for too long, it can have adverse affects (ie death). Finquel can be easily obtained via online, & clove oil can be purchased at nutrition stores. Clove oil is used for aroma-therapy. This is the stuff used back in the day for tooth aches. If you use clove oil, PM I will tell you the amount you need to use based on amount of water/weight of fish. Make sure environment, hands etc are all sterile. So you think it may have something stuck down its throat? Interesting. It's worth a try IMO. Maybe afterwards we can call you Dr. petspoiler. :)
 
framcosco said:
Yes there are safe sedatives for fish where you can take out of tank & work on...... Finquel -- ...... Clove oil will also work but must be careful with the concentration, ....... Finquel can be easily obtained via online, ............ So you think it may have something stuck down its throat? Interesting. It's worth a try IMO. Maybe afterwards we can call you Dr. petspoiler. :)
Click to expand...
yeah, I typed the sedative questions as it went thru my mind. now I recall hearing of finquel before. and clove oil, I can get here, but I knew that is risky.
I assume finquel has dose directions on the container.

The reason I think something's within the throat (probably before stomach), is his behavior. when he first developed problem & wanted to eat, he was spazzing drastically. obvious immediate discomfort. there are probably some automatic throat contractions/swallows when preparing to eat.
Last night, less spazzing, but some, and after he chewed it as if really trying to break it up in mouth. normally he just gulps things down, like all oscars- any chewing is neither careful, nor slow.. either the object has shifted or he is learning to inhibit the muscular actions that cause pain. but still can't swallow anything.
I think if it was in his gut the reactions would not be like this. He might've still eaten initially, but maybe bloat up, or eventually just die from blockage or internal damage. (?) I doubt all the spazzing would occur at the mere sight of food with a deep gut object.

Anyway, you might call me Dr kevorkian later. I'm not confidant at all about looking in his throat. it'd be the last resort.
the object would have to be stuck right in view. Working "fast" is not my forte` especially having NO idea what I'm doing and being nervous about hurting something.
:-(
Oh well.....
 
PS, I just want to say that his poop was beautiful and well formed.
I almost took a picture of it, thinking it was neater than most O's.
;-)
 
We have progress.
I left a few pellets in tank for hours.
He ate 2, each at different times late today. They had swollen up completely & were very soft.
(Usually he hated them like that & only ate fresh ones.)
Prior to eating, he did nothing to them...no spazzy failed attempts.
Maybe emersion in the epsom salts is helping internally.
No crap yet.
I haven't done a super condensed epsom bath, but the tank water is up to 1 tsp per gallon. That is high, but I'm watching him close and see no adverse signs yet. Maybe if insulted tissues decrease swelling (normal response to imbedded foreign objects) there's a better chance of passing through him.
I'm shooting in the dark.
Still something wrong, but the spazzy yawn/jerking is less.
If he craps I'll search turds for rocky crumbs and fake plant. Lol
I'm keeping him in the small tank for now. it's the only way I can monitor what goes in and out of him. Taking it Half a day at a time.
I'm relieved that he could eat something. funny, since he hated soft pellets before!
now he can't eat worms or shrimp.
 
Late last night he passed a little something. not waste. Probably intestinal lining.. thin, almost translucent light brown/earthy yellow. it's not dense & isn't a mucosal blob.
Hasn't eaten.
I'm reducing epsom salt with partial water changes. Can't see problems from the salt, but might as well rest his organs and see if crap happens.

Bumper stickers say it does ;-)
 
Happily, baby O is steadily improving!
All spazzing is gone.
I waited to post until eating & pooping consistent.
No foreign object was 'passed'. I kept him in bare bottom tanks & checked everything.
He eats daily now, but far less than the amounts before. also only small bites, even of favorite wigglers.
So I suspect that something could be inside him, not blocking everything, but he doesn't feel 100% well eating - or digesting.

Thankfully, he can eat every day! His colors are changing with moods again, and that's so nice to see.
Perhaps when he gets big enough, if any thing's stuck inside it'll stop bothering him.

:-)
 
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