Oscar not eating

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NewYorkOscar

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Mar 29, 2006
18
0
0
41
Queens, New York
Hey Everyone,
My Oscar has been acting up the past couple of days. He's breathing realy heavy, he won' eat, and he's afraid of everything....Everytime i move in my room, he swims to the back of his tank. He swam so fast this morning that he hit himself on the rocks and bruised himself on the rocks by peeling of a bit of skin.
I recently added a pleco to his tank...is this the reason he's acting up so much? Or is there something else which i am doing wrong? What can i do to help?
i've been doing water changes, and i added medicine to help his cut.
Thanks!
 
Your fish is seriously stressed! Did this only start when you added the new fish, or has it been going on for a little while longer? How long have you had the Oscar? have you checked his body for any signs of bacteria, fungi, or wounds that could be contributing towards this behavior, and his irritation? Let me know.
 
I doubt he would be stressed over a pleco. I just added one to a tank with fish that are bigger than it is, including a big pleco with no problem. Check your temp and test water.
 
if nothing else works, try some dither fish like bala sharks, tinfoil barbs, danios and such
 
how long have you had the oscar and what size tank is it? I can see a pleco stressing out the oscar if the oscr has been in the tank for a long time on its own. the oscar would have gotten used to resting on the bottom of the tank at night (as most oscars do) with nothing disturbing them. now with a pleco, I can see the oscar resting on the bottom of the tank in the middle of the night and getting startled by a pleco swimming by bumping against the oscar while looking for food. if the oscar was used to resting undisturbed at night but is now getting frequently disturbed by the nocturnal pleco, then it could cause the oscar stress because it no longer feels comfortable. it will probably calm down after the plec has been in there for a few weeks and they get used to each other. :)

I would still examine the oscar for any signs of disease because his immune system will not be acting normally since he's stressed right now. :)
 
Post like these should include the following info in addition to the actual question so we can help you immediately instead of dragging the info out post by post.

Water parameters...Temp, Ph, amonia, nitrite, and nitrate.

Tank size.

List of fish in tank.

Specific details on the problem including anything that happened at about the same time the problem started.

Last water change.

With these details and the wealth of knowledge at MFK you would probably have an answer within an hour or 2. Good luck with your Oscar.
 
:iagree: that information is almost always necessary to help identify the problem. however

Last water change.
Click to expand...

instead of just the last water change, I'd like to know the general water change schedule. how many water changes per week/month and how much water is changed at a time. :)
 
The pleco could have stung him... I've had fish experience this when they went to get aggressive with mine.. My Oscar laid at the bottom of the tank for a couple hours once do to a sting which infact deterierated one side of his body... And then eh tripped like he was on lsd for a week... Then he started to heal... Possibile.
 
Thanks everyone, you were right, she was just being a little moody because of the new tank mate (as we females tend to be)....she's back to eating and watching TV like she used to...
 
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