Oscar's dying. Please Help.

[mixx2001]

did u add any salt?

No. Should I? Like I said all the other fish in the tank are fine, and have been for quite some time. I've never messed with any home remedies, as this is the first time I've ever had a problem with fish repeatedly dying.

 

[mixx2001]

can u take some of pictures of ur tank and other mates.

I can, just not tonight. First thing tomorrow though. Hell, I'll post a video.

 

[quintas14]

What is your tanks temp? and do you use an air stone in it?

Increased temp will lower the oxygen saturation and that will cause gulping for air. Both fish will not necessarily gulp at the same time as one may be more used to lower oxygen levels than the other.

If the levels dropped more over a short period of time that may be why the albino fell ill also..

 

[Aquanero]

Ok, first I want to say a 6.5 to 7.5 differance in Ph is drastic and will kill any fish. So 7 being what it is at Petsmart, I'm assuming your Ph is also 7. Is that a correct assumption? If not what is the differance between the two?

However if the albino lasted a month I doubt it's Ph shock. You said you removed the gravel, How long was the gravel in the tank? How deep was it? How did you remove it. Some time noctious gasses can build up in the substrate over time and once released will kill the fish "mysteriously". If this is the case I would do a masive water change which would not hurt anyway.

The other thing you said was all the other fish were fine, the Os were the newcommers. So I would say whatever is going on the other fish are either not affected yet or if is water related the others have acclamated to the current condition over a period of time where as the Os didn't have that opertunity or were unable to.

The other thing I would suspect if all else is fine the Os were sick to begin with and I would find Another source.

 

[Aquanero]

Another question, do you de-chlorinate the water? Do you have city water a well water?

 

[Sarah88]

Another question, do you de-chlorinate the water? Do you have city water a well water?

yeah i was going to ask this as well, what de-chlorinator do you use? also you gave nitrite levels as .3? nitrites should not be detectable in a fully cycled tank and what are your nitrate levels?

the gulping for air and staying near the bottom sounds like ammonia poisoning, pH shock or chlorine burns. it definitely doesnt sounds like regular sick fish to me, if they started out acting healthy and then became like this suddenly i would bet money its something in the water but youve definitely come to the right place and we will help you figure it out, just least all the details about your tank routine that you can recall.

oh and WELCOME TO MFK, its always great seeing more members from NC joining

 

[mixx2001]

What is your tanks temp? and do you use an air stone in it?

Increased temp will lower the oxygen saturation and that will cause gulping for air. Both fish will not necessarily gulp at the same time as one may be more used to lower oxygen levels than the other.

If the levels dropped more over a short period of time that may be why the albino fell ill also..

That makes sense. I did have an air stone (about 12" long), that I also removed right before the Albino started going the same way as the two before it. The temps on the other hand have been around 82 for some time, and haven't changed since I've been trying to introduce the Oscars. I might try lowering it a bit too though.

Ok, first I want to say a 6.5 to 7.5 differance in Ph is drastic and will kill any fish. So 7 being what it is at Petsmart, I'm assuming your Ph is also 7. Is that a correct assumption? If not what is the differance between the two?

It sounded like he was in a hurry when I called, more than likely not remembering who I was and giving me an estimate for the range of all his freshwater tanks. The values I listed were for my water, I haven't tested theirs yet, but will before I add another, just in case.

However if the albino lasted a month I doubt it's Ph shock.

I was thinking the same thing.

You said you removed the gravel, How long was the gravel in the tank? How deep was it? How did you remove it. Some time noctious gasses can build up in the substrate over time and once released will kill the fish "mysteriously".

This sounds like something. I removed it mainly for the Bichirs, apparently they don't do well with it as adults. My gravel was much deeper than I meant for it to be (around 2"), so I could see how it could be the cause, especially considering how the Raphael spends all his time inside the driftwood, and the Bichirs are mostly air breathers.

Another question, do you de-chlorinate the water? Do you have city water a well water?

I do. I use Top Fin Dechlorinator.

oh and WELCOME TO MFK, its always great seeing more members from NC joining

Thanks! I've been reading the forums for well over a year, I just finally had something unique enough to my situation to warrant a post.

 

[knicks791]

Go get a master test kit and test the water.

nitrates and nitrites etc.

 

[mixx2001]

Go get a master test kit and test the water.

nitrates and nitrites etc.

Already have a Master Kit (dosen't test trates), and already tested trites (read above). I'm picking up a test to read trates tomorrow. I do 40% changes once a week religiously, and have virtually no algae problems, so I seriously doubt nitrates are an issue.

 

[Sarah88]

no i dont think its nitrates either, as their behavior isnt really how a fish would act with high nitrates but its always good to know what your water parameters are. and you said that your ammonia was 0? does your de-chlorinator also take care of chloramines? im not sure if greensboro uses chloramines or not but its always good to use a product that takes care of both chlorine and chloramines like prime. if its not ammonia or chlorine/chloramines then it was probably gaseous build-up from your gravel, when was the last time you had thoroughly vacuumed it before this? gravel beds you should always stir up and vacuum thoroughly to prevent gaseous pockets from forming (same with sand about keeping it stirred up)