Sick Oscar looking for info

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hotrod12ga

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Feb 18, 2010
16
0
1
N.Syracuse N.Y.
The hole has been there, the one between the eyes,, almost had it better i thought and then a complete turn around,
the two white spots IMG_0924.JPGshow up one at a time, when there was only one i had it under control, again i thought, then two white spots so im like this is not good, so ive been doing whaIMG_0927.JPGt every one says with water changes and stress coat and so on, but tonight when i came home he looks way worse then ever,, looks like a snake before shedding, IMG_0923.JPG

IMG_0923.JPG

IMG_0927.JPG

IMG_0924.JPG
 
Are you using a water conditioner? What are your parameters... and tank size. That looks awful and must feel terrible.
 
yes i am using conditioner, is it possible to use to much?...............75 gals.......and my kit is old and dont trust it gonna grab another tomorrow for water testing so have no answers right now, also ive been cleaning filter once a week with just cold water but it just clicked in my head that i dont use conditioner when i do that and i realize they hold water when i put them back in,, could that littler bit hurt, fiured the bio wheels would grab any bad, but again im new at this and still learning, yes looks bad in person but just fed them and hes still seems to act like top fish in tank and eating strong as ever, but hes alway held his own since he was quarter size, and hes about 2 years but ive seen a heard overnight stories,
 
When you clean out your filter DO NOT USE TAP WATER!!!!!

Only use the water that has been seasoned inside your tank, tap water contains chlorine designed to kill living stuff in the municipal water supply-it also kills off good bacterial that eats the ammonia and nitrites in your tank that you fish waste produces. If I were to venture a guess I'd say your oscar has amonia burns and the only think helping is the frequencies of the water changes. Get a kit that measures ammonia, nitrites and nitrates(bring a sample of your water to the store you get the kit from too and have them test it).

I have used and am totally impressed by a product called 'Special Blend' (http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=8161) it cleared a ammonia spike in a tank I had in a day. Great stuff but STINKY!

DO NOT FEED HEAVY while your treating your oscar-no matter how much it begs! This causes more waste build up and your fish's health is priority over it's unger right now.

Hope that's all it is.

BTW what is the tank size and filtration right now- it will help us help you figure this out.
 
THANKS FOR INFO ON TAP WATER WHEN CLEANING FILTERS, GOOD LORD IVE BEEN DOING THAT ONCE A WEEK WITH THE FILTERS THIS COULD OF BEEN WAY WORSE,
I HAVE A EMPEROR 400 AND I USE 4 BLUE CARTRIDGES, TANK IS A 75 GAL.


FISH;
1 - FULL GROWN CINVICT
1 - 2 YEAR OLD QSCAR
1 - YEAR OLD BALA
1 - UNKNOWN AGE BUT LESS THEN A YEAR SILVER ARO
1 - 8 IN. COM. PELCO

AND YES I KNOW THAT MY FISH (WILL) NEED A BIGGER TANK WICH I HAVE, ..JUST NEED TO MAKE THE ROOM FOR IT, AND GET THE PROPER TOYS TO RUN IT,
 
As rasersk said, chlorine is a chemical put into tap water to kill living things, however, most areas of the country do not use enough chlorine to do damage like that to a fish, especially a well established Oscar. I would rule out amonia burns. As someone who has raised Oscars for a number of years, I've seen a lot of the diseases they can get, and by far the most common is, as lipadj suggest as a possibility, hole in the head, which is what I believe to be your Oscar's problem.

The most common place for hole in the head to attack is on the forehead, right between the eyes. If you divert your eyes from the two enormous white spots, as you mentioned, there is a hole in this exact location. The reason that hole appears darker than the others is becuase that area on the head has less flesh than higher up, where the two white spots are. Hole in the Head becomes a white spot when it is present in the fleshier spots, such as where your two main white ones are.

Hole in the Head is caused by poor water quality. Frequent water changes, not over feeding, adaquate filtration (strong enought to cycle your tank at least twice in an hour) and clean substrate are all great ways to improve and maintain water quality. But possibly the most important thing you can do is allow the good bacteria to build in your filtration. In my opinion, rinsing your filter media weekly, especially with straight tap water, is too often. Though the chlorine in tap water isn't enough to kill your fish, it is more than enough to kill the bacteria in your filter media. If your media is getting too full and clogging, then a larger filter is required, BUT, if clogging is the issue, I would rinse half of your media one week, and the other half the next and alternate in that pattern. This will allow the bacteria that remains in the unrinsed half to transfer to the half you rinsed and keep a healthy bacteria buildup.

The two chemicals that lipadj mentioned are good for Hole in the Head, but often difficult to find. Hole in the Head is fatal in most cases just because it is so difficult to treat. One thing i have had success with in the past is simply adding some salt to your water. No freshwater disease can exist in salted water. Unfortunately, I think your fish's condition has progressed so far that curing him is a longshot, not impossible, but a longshot. Good luck to you, keep us posted on how this turns out. Oh, and Oscars are big enough eaters that they will often continue eating until the day a disease kills them. Not trying to be negative or anything, just pointing out the facts. Again, good luck and i hope you are able to beat this!
 
As i look at your pictures again, and the one you have set as your display picture, it looks like you don't have any substrate (rock, sand) in your tank. Adding some gravel or pond rock would help your water quality as this allows the good bacteria to build under the substrate.
 
As rasersk said, chlorine is a chemical put into tap water to kill living things, however, most areas of the country do not use enough chlorine to do damage like that to a fish, especially a well established Oscar. I would rule out amonia burns. As someone who has raised Oscars for a number of years, I've seen a lot of the diseases they can get, and by far the most common is, as lipadj suggest as a possibility, hole in the head, which is what I believe to be your Oscar's problem.

The most common place for hole in the head to attack is on the forehead, right between the eyes. If you divert your eyes from the two enormous white spots, as you mentioned, there is a hole in this exact location. The reason that hole appears darker than the others is becuase that area on the head has less flesh than higher up, where the two white spots are. Hole in the Head becomes a white spot when it is present in the fleshier spots, such as where your two main white ones are.

Hole in the Head is caused by poor water quality. Frequent water changes, not over feeding, adaquate filtration (strong enought to cycle your tank at least twice in an hour) and clean substrate are all great ways to improve and maintain water quality. But possibly the most important thing you can do is allow the good bacteria to build in your filtration. In my opinion, rinsing your filter media weekly, especially with straight tap water, is too often. Though the chlorine in tap water isn't enough to kill your fish, it is more than enough to kill the bacteria in your filter media. If your media is getting too full and clogging, then a larger filter is required, BUT, if clogging is the issue, I would rinse half of your media one week, and the other half the next and alternate in that pattern. This will allow the bacteria that remains in the unrinsed half to transfer to the half you rinsed and keep a healthy bacteria buildup.

The two chemicals that lipadj mentioned are good for Hole in the Head, but often difficult to find. Hole in the Head is fatal in most cases just because it is so difficult to treat. One thing i have had success with in the past is simply adding some salt to your water. No freshwater disease can exist in salted water. Unfortunately, I think your fish's condition has progressed so far that curing him is a longshot, not impossible, but a longshot. Good luck to you, keep us posted on how this turns out. Oh, and Oscars are big enough eaters that they will often continue eating until the day a disease kills them. Not trying to be negative or anything, just pointing out the facts. Again, good luck and i hope you are able to beat this!

2 times an hour?? most people say upwords of 15 lol
 
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