swim bladder disease in oscar

troutman54

Plecostomus
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Oct 24, 2018
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this morning I noticed one of my oscars acting a little strange he is sitting at the bottom a lot, ocassionally he will swim up to the top espically when I approach the tank but soon falls to the bottom and sits there. I tested water and everything in normal but the nitrates were a little high im going to do a water change after work today and do one a day until I see signs of recovery. I did make the stupid mistake of leaving my night lights on last night which is a dim blue light not sure if that could be messing him up. any help would be great thanks20181205_093150.jpg
 

troutman54

Plecostomus
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Oct 24, 2018
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Go_redfish Go_redfish could you help me out, you have given me help before and you are extremely knowledgeable in fish health issues
 

kno4te

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Water change and reduce stress. Don’t look like swim bladder disease. Wishful waiting.
 

FreshyFresh

Peacock Bass
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How many fish do you have in this tank and what size is the tank?

How often do you do water changes and how much water do you change?

Fellow oscar keeper here. I keep an oscar and a green severum in a 75g tank and can maintain <20ppm nitrates with one weekly 80% water change. Feeding lightly with quality foods is the main thing.
 
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Go_redfish

Redtail Catfish
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What I know for sure about Oscars is they have a tendency to sulk and throw a little tantrum when things stress them... or is just a mild annoyance. I also know they can be nitrate sensitive. Water change with a good gravel vaccuing. Test your water and drop those nitrates. Give it a little time to see if he's acts right again.

I wouldn't suspect a SBD issue in a natrual bodied fish right off the bat. By "natural bodied" I mean a fish whose body structure hasnt been altered or shortened by selective breeding. If your fish can right himself and is not struggling to reach the top or bottom of the tank then its not likely to be a swim bladder issue.
 

troutman54

Plecostomus
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Oct 24, 2018
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Good news he is back up and swimming fine. I always over think every little thing about my fish. thanks Go_redfish Go_redfish I think he may have been tired or stressed from me leaving the night lights on all night. but to answer rhe other questions I have 2 oscars and a longnose gar in a 120 gallon tank and do water changes once a week and I take a third of the water out so 33% WC. I feed them a wide variety of food but it mainly consists of Hikari cichlid gold, bug bites and peas. I also feed live crickets, worms, and other veggies amd a couple fruits every now and then
 
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troutman54

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Oct 24, 2018
143
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Michigan
Good news he is back up and swimming fine. I always over think every little thing about my fish. thanks Go_redfish Go_redfish I think he may have been tired or stressed from me leaving the night lights on all night. but to answer rhe other questions I have 2 oscars and a longnose gar in a 120 gallon tank and do water changes once a week and I take a third of the water out so 33% WC. I feed them a wide variety of food but it mainly consists of Hikari cichlid gold, bug bites and peas. I also feed live crickets, worms, and other veggies amd a couple fruits every now and then
also I feed them krill and raw shrimp
 

Go_redfish

Redtail Catfish
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Jul 21, 2018
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Good news he is back up and swimming fine. I always over think every little thing about my fish. thanks Go_redfish Go_redfish I think he may have been tired or stressed from me leaving the night lights on all night. but to answer rhe other questions I have 2 oscars and a longnose gar in a 120 gallon tank and do water changes once a week and I take a third of the water out so 33% WC. I feed them a wide variety of food but it mainly consists of Hikari cichlid gold, bug bites and peas. I also feed live crickets, worms, and other veggies amd a couple fruits every now and then
Over thinking it just means you love them. You got good advice long before I came along. kno4te kno4te knows his stuff. (Better than me probably lol)

I'm glad he's getting back to normal
 
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