please help

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hende

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Feb 22, 2006
10
0
1
42
usa
i had bought two baby oscars they are about 2 inches long one died today and the other looks as if he is gasping for air the one that dieds moth was fully open when i found him they have no wounds on them they are in a 55 gallon tank with a heater power head bubble wond and a 40/60 hand on back filter tank is well cycled it had two other fish in it for 7 monthe that never had any problems at all my water test showed as fallows pH 7.0 to 7.2 my ammonia is at 0ppm my nitrite is at 0ppm and my nitrate is at about 10ppm to 20ppm any help would be grate i have had them since saturday
 
Welcome to MFK!!!

Sounds like heat stress or oxygen deprivation. What's the temp of the tank and what are the other fish in the tank?

BTW, we don't charge extra for using punctuation marks or first-letter capitalization. ;)
 
Sorry I know my typing sucks. The temp is 78. There are no other fish in the tank
 
Could some chemical have been introduced into the tank? Cleaners, air sprays, windex, etc? Was new water put in the tank and no dechlor added? Any non-aquarium decorations in the tank? There's something toxic in the tank. Your best bet may be to tear everything down, rinse it all well, and restart from scratch.

Other things to consider:
I've had people tell me their fish died after they washed their gravel. After some questionning, I found out they cleaned their epoxy coated gravel by boiling it. That melted the epoxy coating and released toxic chemicals.
If you get a shock, or feel a tingle when you touch the water, there may be a shorted appliance. Alot of cichlids are sensitive to electric fields.
If you use carbon in your filter, carbon dust can block O2 transfer in fish gills if the carbon wasn't thoroughly rinsed first.
 
I have changed nothing in my tank other than i took 3 fish out that where in there for about 3 months. They are still nice and healthy. No cleaners or any thang has been sprayed in r around the tank
 
2 questions for ya ---

- Was/is your oscar gasping at the surface, or is he/she mouthing underwater,( by this I mean does he/she look like they are gasping while underwater) ?

--Do you have any (or can you take some) pictures of the one who is already dead (if you have not tossed him already), and of the one who is alive? If you can, try and make them clear, and get a good shot of the gills. Thanks.

--EMI
 
good luck oscar are very hardy fish
 
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