Beyond sad.

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nfored

nfored

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Apr 4, 2008
2,597
14
68
Missouri
I am so beyond sad about my Oscar, First he would only eat hikari so when I was broke and had to get cheap food he wouldn't eat. So I sacraficed and got him some Hikari, the first day he still refused to eat, the second day he ate and spit it out, and the third and fourth day he just refuses to eat.

Water params norma A:0, Rite:0, Rate:40, PH > 7.6, only change is the drop form 40 nitrate to 20. I feel so helpless and sad as he is our favorite fish.
 
try some live food that is cheap such as worms just to get him eating. They often are very stubborn though, never seen a Oscar that would starve himself to death.
 
How long has he eaten less than normal? Maybe he's pouting and just wants some quiet time.
Could also be environmental.
Lights are dim? Nothing scaring him near the tank? Tank really big with lots of room to pace and decor to duck around for fun? Sometimes it's something simple like that.
 
kevinfleming21;4579643; said:
never seen a Oscar that would starve himself to death.
Click to expand...

Don't be too sad, this may very well pass in another day or so. Keep experimenting. Like said above, try live if you must, but I believe persistence will be key.
Good luck,

Matt
 
I am just really worried.

This is what I believe is the root cause.

First a couple months ago I stopped feeding anything except NLS to test out NLS, that is the first time he stopped eating, so I spot feed him hikari once during the 10 day trial.

Then after that was over I started feeding both nls and hikari and he started to eat again. I gave him and the other cichilds a total of 10 guppies over a 4 day time frame, which caused a small cycle so he stopped eating again because of the cycle.

Then a few weeks after that, My main pump died so I had to in a hurry setup emergency in tank filtration which took up a lot of space so I have taken out all the rocks, so the fish still have swimming room. it was a week or so after this that I ran out of Hikari and begain feeding cheap food.

So this guy along with the rest of his tank mates have gone through a lot in the past 2 too 3 months. however it seems to only effect him, everyone else is swiming around and acting like normal, with the exceptions of a few more disputes due to lack of hiding spaces. However these disputes are quick and have not cause any harm or color changes in any of the fish. The Oscar is never bothered by any of the fish as he is the biggest fish 8".

The Tank is 7'x2'x26"
 
I just feel like I am letting them down, I do the best I can to take care of them the best possible. I know I was wrong about the guppies, I just wanted them to have a one time treate; but the pump failure was out of my control. I thought about getting rid of the fish in my time of struggle but I knew that likely I would still take better care of them in my current state then some pet store, or some noob who would stick the O in a 55G with 2 other O's. or put my balas in a 20 gallon.
 
SO he ate the crab meat I gave him but refuses to eat food. How long can he go with out dying? its already been several weeks, and he some times looks dead just laying on his side barely breathing.

I can't afford to feed him live food or fresh fish all the time. I also don't want him to die of starvation. How long can I try the starvation? should I maybe try other foods? I am at a loss.
 
oscars can sulk for ages, BUT I GUARANTEE unless he has internal parasites he will beg for food within no time,
if times a rough try trading un used equipment for good or buy in bulk
 
Thanks for the advice, I knew it would be rough with the new baby and only one income but I didn't expect this much. I am just greatful God provides my needs, I had been confusing needs with wants for some time now.
 
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