My adopted tiger oscar not eating :(

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
You will need to do 2 water changes a day (minimum) to keep ammonia and nitrites below 0.25ppm. I would drain the water down until it is barely above the top of the oscar. I would remove the gravel to increase the amount of water in the tank. You need Seachem Prime or Kordon Amquel Plus. Prime is cheaper in the long run.

See if Craigslist has any cheap tanks.
 
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rocksor, i read threw your post about adding salt, thought you said slowly, i just added 6 tea spoons to 13 gallons all at once... thought i screwed up, but then realized you said table spoons, so i think im alright
 
Yeah you should be alright. Add another tablespoon (3 teaspoons) now, and see if he does better, if not, dissolve another 3 tablespoons and add it to the tank about 1 hour from now if you can. You should dissolve and add about 14 tablespoons total today, as long as he doesn't look like he is getting worse. I would leave the salt concentration in for at least 3 weeks before removing it slowly.

I'm assuming you are just dissolving the salt with water from the tank and mixing in a separate container before adding directly to the tank.

See if your local Petco is having their $1 per gallon sale. Although a 75g is needed long term, a 40g will work much better than the 13g tank as a hospital tank.
 
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1 gallon deal doesnt go up to 75 does it? fiancee though she only saw 55s, will the salt make him eat? or is that to build the bacteria back up? just trying to understand?
 
George+Sherbert said:
1 gallon deal doesnt go up to 75 does it? fiancee though she only saw 55s, will the salt make him eat? or is that to build the bacteria back up? just trying to understand?
Click to expand...

Sorry, the $1 gallon deal only goes up to 55g. The 75g was recommended because oscars can reach 14" in total length, and a 75g has a width of 18", making it easier for the fish to turn around and not touch the sides of the tank like a 55g, which only has a width of ~12". The length on both tanks are 48".

The salt is to bring the total dissolved solid level close to what it was in the old tank, and help prevent osmotic shock and reduce the stress. With less stress, the fish will eat. It will also prevent nitrite poisoning.

Salt does not build the bacteria back up. The salt does not prevent the ammonia or nitrite from rising, and different fish have different toleration levels of ammonia and nitrites. A liquid test kit will tell you if the ammonia and nitrites get above 0.25ppm. Both of these can be brought down with a water change until the bacteria populates the filter media. Do not change any of the filter media during the cyle process.

Link to osmotic shock

http://mtfb.com/MTFBJUNE/MTFB2 pages/jacobsarticle2.htm

Explanation of the nitrogen cycle (really important to have a liquid freshwater test kit for a fish in cycle)

http://animal-world.com/encyclo/fresh/information/CycleAquarium.php
 
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My brother has a tiger oscar, and can give me his filter, should i take it? Only thing that worries me about that, is 1-2 filters ago ( he changed them after ick was gone) his oscars had ick...
 
test kit and 55 gallon tank acquired, ammonia lvls are 4.0 ppms and nitrite is 0 - 0.25 ppms, going to do a water change i guess?? That will drop ammonia levels i hope?
 
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