Oscar, HELP!

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sox20

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Apr 4, 2010
7
0
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Massachusetts
After letting my tank cycle properly I added my first fish to my tank today which is a 2" tiger oscar. After floating the bag in the tank for 30 minutes I let him free, he is now currently sitting on the bottom of the tank on his side breathing relatively heavy. What is happening? Is he ok?!

Before purchasing him he seemed to be in perfect health swimming around with good coloration with no visible defects.

Any advice would be awesome, please help!
 
Did you cycle your tank properly before putting the fish in?
This may take 5-6 weeks.
Can you post results for ammonia-nitrites-nitrates and pH?
How big is the tank and what filtration do you have?

btw way oscars may sulk for some time after being placed in a new home.
But waterparameters should be pristine, and the heavy breathing is strange.
What temp is your tank, anddo you have a airstone
 
It's a 75 gallon fish tank that I let cycle for 4.5-5 weeks. I checked the nitrate, nitrite, ammonia and pH levels all yesterday and today again before adding him to the tank. They were all perfect, and I had a pH between a 7.0 and a 7.2 and the water temperature is between 78-80 degrees Fahrenheit. I don't have an air stone in the tank but in addition to the filter I have an undergravel filter with a powerhead.
 
Maybe you PH shocked it.
Did you add some of the tank water to the bag a little at a time while floating it?

How long was the fish in the bag?

With the UGF you need plenty of aeration as the BB will steal all the oxygen from the water. You should have an airline hooked to the power head.
 
sox20;4042290; said:
It's a 75 gallon fish tank that I let cycle for 4.5-5 weeks. I checked the nitrate, nitrite, ammonia and pH levels all yesterday and today again before adding him to the tank. They were all perfect, and I had a pH between a 7.0 and a 7.2 and the water temperature is between 78-80 degrees Fahrenheit. I don't have an air stone in the tank but in addition to the filter I have an undergravel filter with a powerhead.
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what were your ammonia, nitrite, nitrate levels?
what is perfect to you because of what you may have been told and what is actually good can be very different. not trying to insult you, its just sometimes advice isnt great from the fish store.

you shouldnt need an airstone as long as you have surface agitation, even with a UGF.

if, one you post test results, everything else is fine it could just be him settling in. oscars are renowned for throwing a hissy fit and lying on their sides sulking.
 
cichlid2006;4042309; said:
what were your ammonia, nitrite, nitrate levels?
what is perfect to you because of what you may have been told and what is actually good can be very different. not trying to insult you, its just sometimes advice isnt great from the fish store.

you shouldnt need an airstone as long as you have surface agitation, even with a UGF.

if, one you post test results, everything else is fine it could just be him settling in. oscars are renowned for throwing a hissy fit and lying on their sides sulking.
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I used an API test kit and the results were:
Ammonia: 0 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: 0 ppm

I've kept fish before and know about the adding of water from the tank to the bag in varying percentages before adding the fish to the tank and I did that. I've just never seen anything like this.
 
sox20;4042331; said:
I used an API test kit and the results were:
Ammonia: 0 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: 0 ppm

I've kept fish before and know about the adding of water from the tank to the bag in varying percentages before adding the fish to the tank and I did that. I've just never seen anything like this.
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you need to do the nitrate test again, it should have some reading if your tank is cycled. if on the 2nd test you still get no result then i suggest adding something like seachem prime in as a precaustion to detoxify any ammonia, nitrite that may have built up.

how old is your test kit?

your test results tell me your tank isnt cycled.

silly question but you did remember to dechlorinate your water with something like prime to break the chloramine bonds and dissipate the chlorine?
 
cichlid2006;4042350; said:
you need to do the nitrate test again, it should have some reading if your tank is cycled. if on the 2nd test you still get no result then i suggest adding something like seachem prime in as a precaustion to detoxify any ammonia, nitrite that may have built up.

how old is your test kit?

your test results tell me your tank isnt cycled.

silly question but you did remember to dechlorinate your water with something like prime to break the chloramine bonds and dissipate the chlorine?
Click to expand...

The test kit I have I got in September/October of 2009. The store associate back when I originally setup the tank sold me Aquasafe which they said would neutralize the chlorine and make the tap water safe for fish. I also used Start Right and Nutrafin's Cycle. I will do another nitrate test though to see what reading I get.

It was a 45-60 minute drive home from the store however, and in the ride home is when I noticed the laying on the side behavior. I figured it was just stress from being in the bag for so long and would stop once he was in the tank. Clearly I was wrong.
 
sox20;4042395; said:
The test kit I have I got in September/October of 2009. The store associate back when I originally setup the tank sold me Aquasafe which they said would neutralize the chlorine and make the tap water safe for fish. I also used Start Right and Nutrafin's Cycle. I will do another nitrate test though to see what reading I get.

It was a 45-60 minute drive home from the store however, and in the ride home is when I noticed the laying on the side behavior. I figured it was just stress from being in the bag for so long and would stop once he was in the tank. Clearly I was wrong.
Click to expand...

it probably is just sulking but the test results are worrying because after 4-5 weeks you would expect some sort of reading. although as the test was 0ppm across the board it would say to me that either the test kit is dodgy or you didnt do the test correctly in the first place, especially after 4-5 weeks.

be sure to follow every step to the letter in the test kit.
 
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