New Oscar, help needed! (Picture of the problem..)

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
BlackPiranhaz said:
Yeah I looked it up briefly and apparently Pollock is perfectly fine to feed very often, almost as a staple because it's white meat. Where the fish come from doesn't seem to matter it seems.. so I will continue with the Pollock because it seems to have much better stuff in it than the Tilapia I've seen at the stores.

Is NLS expensive? the Hikari Gold was 11.99 for a giant bag of the big pellets, if the NLS isn't too expensive I'd be willing to pick some of that up in a day or two and try that as well as all the other stuff I am going to attempt lol.

I tried to get shrimp but the only ones I can find have like 35 - 60% sodium!!!! WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The Pollock has like 8% and the Tilapia is around 11 - 15% I believe... not to mention the shrimp I find are all cooked *facepalm*

I have a Pleco in the tank too actually.. I forgot about that nasty little creature LOL (stabbed me with his fin when I first put him in the tank) he is growing like a weed and I haven't "target" fed him since I got him.. the only food he gets is scraps that hit the bottom and the tiny amount of algae that shows up sometimes.

I may try to feed him zucchini/squash as you said, but I'm not sure if I want to put tons of money into a 3 - 4 inch pleco that is probably going to get mauled one of these days lol (besides he is growing, "fat" and healthy so maybe no need anyways?)

Thanks a ton Gator! I really appreciate the help!
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No problem, depending on the kind of pleco it is. It could get really big and it won't matter much if you target feed it.
 
Gatorxxx420 said:
No problem, depending on the kind of pleco it is. It could get really big and it won't matter much if you target feed it.
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ahh okay, when I got him he was labeled as a common.. so probably big lol.

Just curious.. my Oscar has that whitish tint to the edges of his fins.. I am pretty sure when they are young this is normal (???).. but he is a pretty good size and still has some of that whitish outline to the fins. What size do Oscars lose that "ammonia burn looking" thing?

That's the only problem I have with Oscars lol

PS - That white tint to the edge of the fins is almost completely un-noticeable.. but there. I read they can develop this over time.. or that it is common in young Oscars and they lose it as they grow.. so hard to tell which is going on here because I haven't seen a straight answer about this lol.

I am confident it isn't fin rot because his fins only look like they have been nipped at, which is explained by the other fish he was with before... I'd just like to know if it is going to disappear or get more noticeble

Thanks!
 
One other question lol, when I treat the tank with Aquarium salt do I have to remove the carbon from my canister filter?
 
Since the Oscar is new to the tank, give it a couple of days and the Oscar may end up dominating the tank or they will become good friends where they both will tolerate each other.As for the removing your carbon filter before adding salt, I believe its not necessary at all.
 
burzumaske20 said:
Since the Oscar is new to the tank, give it a couple of days and the Oscar may end up dominating the tank or they will become good friends where they both will tolerate each other.As for the removing your carbon filter before adding salt, I believe its not necessary at all.
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Yeah, things could flip! That would be interesting lol. Good to hear that the carbon wont be an issue as well!

Thanks!
 
Still very curious though if the white outline to the O's fins are suppose to disappear or become more noticeable as he gets bigger?

His fins are pretty scraggly, however he was in a tank with other highly aggressive/vicious cichlids, catfish, and some other stuff. The Goby seems to have lost interest in him completely so hopefully his wounds and fins will heal fast.. it's just hard to tell what's going on with his fins because they are pretty roughed up!

When I am back at 12:00 I'll get a really good picture of him with my good camera so you guys can see his fins better

Thanks!
 
BlackPiranhaz said:
Still very curious though if the white outline to the O's fins are suppose to disappear or become more noticeable as he gets bigger?

His fins are pretty scraggly, however he was in a tank with other highly aggressive/vicious cichlids, catfish, and some other stuff. The Goby seems to have lost interest in him completely so hopefully his wounds and fins will heal fast.. it's just hard to tell what's going on with his fins because they are pretty roughed up!

When I am back at 12:00 I'll get a really good picture of him with my good camera so you guys can see his fins better

Thanks!
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As far as the carbon, you don't need to remove it with salt. As for the fins, they should heal with clean water and the salt.
 
The easiest way for those fins and any parts of the body that has small wounds to heal would be aquarium salt and do a water change, if you haven't already. At least a 25 % water change will do and it should heal up to where you will notice a difference in 5 days or more.
 
Thanks guys! here is a better picture of his fins:




I got the aquarium salt, but I only felt safe putting in 8 or so tablespoons (directed to use ROUNDED tablespoons) but I only have the oval ones so I didn't want to do the entire recommended dosage just in case.. because these tablespoons are bigger than the rounded ones.

Should I add more? or will 7 - 8 oval shaped tablespoons do the trick?

I am also going to do a water change, 25 - 30% as recommended tonight. Then tomorrow I will do another 25 - 30% water change if needed.

I will keep an eye on him and make sure the fins heal. I'm just worried about the white on his tail? it seems that he has a lot of that white tipping to the caudal fin and just a little on the other fins... could that be explained by constant attacks from previous tank mates? The other fish he was with were only big enough to go after his fins so it makes sense..

Thanks again everybody

PS - that picture really exaggerates the white tipping to the caudal fin due to the flash, but it is the best one I have

Edit: got one of just his caudal fin now, no flash. you can see how much the flash exaggerated the details...



that picture is a much, much better representation of the "white tipping"
 
A Measuring Tablespoon is a set measure. What they mean by "Rounded" has nothing to do with the shape of the spoon, It refers to how much product is over the edge of the spoon. Best way to figure it out is if you take your Spoon and hold it level, the shape of the product and the spoon should match. A Heaping Tablespoon would mean to get as much product into the spoon as possible without any falling off.

I noticed you said you have Oval shaped measuring spoons. So when you look at the spoon with the product in it you should have the shape of an egg, or football. So, to answer your question. Yes, I'd add more salt.
 
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