So a few days ago I came home to my oscar beat up pretty back laying on his side hiding in one of my tank ornaments. Recently him and my other oscar who I believe to be a pair have been battling it out locking lips ect. for a week or so i had noticed they both had done some damage to each other but nothing to serious and I figured this was natural because it is their mating rituals. Well anyway I found him beat up pretty bad and I don't know if it was his mate or one of the other fish. I have another oscar but hes smaller and doesn't normally mess withe the other two. Anyway what it comes down to for a few days i have had him separated in a 10 gallon treating his wounds with melafix. Today I decided that he really shouldnt be in that small of a tank even if im just treating him for a few days and he isnt swimming much so i put him in a 55 with a seperater so that he does not eat my expensive tiger fish if he gets better all of a sudden and decides he needs a snack. Anyway he has been spending most of his time just laying on his side. He has a split fin and that same side of the split fin seems to be pretty beat up as well. Oscars are usually pretty resilient with this kind of stuff from my experience but i would like some advice and reassurance to whether its going to be ok or if i need to take more precautionary action. The woulds look like they are starting to heal but hes doing that thing where he just sits on his side that scares me and im pretty sure hes not in the mood for eating right now.
My Oscar is pretty beat up need advice
- Thread starter Aquascaperr
- Start date
ya this same oscar was really sick one time and did a similar thing for a while so you think its just the stress? I'm hoping he will be alright... =/
Great water quality is the best medicine for these injuries... but like Oscarum said, higher temp might accelerate the healing process and salt might prevent them from getting infected. Good luck.
or you can take ur fish out and rub some salt onto his body but this is a risk that he might bite you haha 
and change 80% of the water this first time and increase the ph lvl to 32-34 so he can just relax and enjoy his time healing.
and change 80% of the water this first time and increase the ph lvl to 32-34 so he can just relax and enjoy his time healing.ilovearowana;5124178; said:or you can take ur fish out and rub some salt onto his body but this is a risk that he might bite you haha
That doesn't sound like a good idea at all... it sounds like a recipe for Oscar soup, lol. First of all the fish is already injured and stressed, there's no need to stress it further by netting it and taking it out of his tank. Second, salt irritates fish tissue and that's why it's recommended that you thoroughly dissolve it in tank water prior to adding it to the aquarium, I can't imagine what rubbing it directly to their bodies would do, other than scrubbing away their slime coat, of course.
pH ranges from 1 to 14, with 1 being extremely acidic, 14 being extremely alkaline and 7 being neutral and ideal for most south american cichlids. What is 32-34?
mine has had the same thing happen, just give him some time in a q tank and he should heal fairly fast. my o "pouts" over the smallest stuff and lays on his side so i wouldnt worry too much, just give him some tlc
jwalkerafc7;5124218; said:
Thanks for all the advice and support guys! I'll keep you all posted on his condition.