Albino Tiger Oscars question

[Jon Pike]

I've got two new albino oscars and for the first couple of weeks everything
was peachy. I put a power head in for a bit and found that one of them
didn't like it so I removed it and it seemed to go back to being okay. The
last couple of days one of them has been acting slow and listing to the
side a little. I've checked nitrites and ammonia and both are virtually
zero. temp is 80-82. They're alone in a 25'ish tank, they've got a rock
cave, some plants, and I feed them feeder guppies and dried shrimp pellets
(sinking).
Any ideas?

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[Toni]

"Jon Pike" > wrote in message
59...
> I've got two new albino oscars and for the first couple of weeks
everything
> was peachy. I put a power head in for a bit and found that one of them
> didn't like it so I removed it and it seemed to go back to being okay. The
> last couple of days one of them has been acting slow and listing to the
> side a little. I've checked nitrites and ammonia and both are virtually
> zero. temp is 80-82. They're alone in a 25'ish tank, they've got a rock
> cave, some plants, and I feed them feeder guppies and dried shrimp pellets
> (sinking).



"Virtually zero" ammonia and nitrites doesn't really say much- is this tank
really cycled? What are the numbers?
How about nitrates and your water change schedule?
Those protein foods make for some very messy tank conditions.
Are you perhaps overfeeding them as well?
What is a 25'ish tank- gallons, inches, feet?

I would probably advise a good sized water change unless I heard something
to make me think differently.


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Toni
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[Jon Pike]

"Toni" > wrote in
:

>
> "Jon Pike" > wrote in message
> 59...
>> I've got two new albino oscars and for the first couple of weeks
> everything
>> was peachy. I put a power head in for a bit and found that one of
>> them didn't like it so I removed it and it seemed to go back to being
>> okay. The last couple of days one of them has been acting slow and
>> listing to the side a little. I've checked nitrites and ammonia and
>> both are virtually zero. temp is 80-82. They're alone in a 25'ish
>> tank, they've got a rock cave, some plants, and I feed them feeder
>> guppies and dried shrimp pellets (sinking).
>
>
>
> "Virtually zero" ammonia and nitrites doesn't really say much- is
> this tank really cycled? What are the numbers?

I'm a little colourblind so it's tough to say -exactly- what the numbers
are. If it's a little darker than the 0 colour I might not be able to tell
so I say it's "virtually" 0.

> How about nitrates and your water change schedule?

i've not heard of nitrates causing any kind of stress to your animals.

> Those protein foods make for some very messy tank conditions.
> Are you perhaps overfeeding them as well?
> What is a 25'ish tank- gallons, inches, feet?

gallons of course.

> I would probably advise a good sized water change unless I heard
> something to make me think differently.

if the water tests as fine, why is the advice still a water change?

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[Toni]

"Jon Pike" > wrote in message >
> if the water tests as fine, why is the advice still a water change?
>


If you do not know what your nitrates are you cannot say your water tests
"fine".
Nitrates are indeed a problem especially in predator tanks with the big
eaters and tons of protein waste.


--
Toni
http://www.cearbhaill.com/discus.htm

[lnm130]

a 25 (do they even sell 25's? is this tank custom made? you may have a
29 or 30. what are the dimensions) is way too small for 2 full grown
oscars. be prepared to move them out soon. they grow VERY quickly.

i give this advice as i prepare to move my 2 4"oscars out of my 30
into my 125. One oscar alone needs around 55. you may be okay with
two in a 70.

i believe the temperature needs to be 76, so this may be a factor.

although its fun to watch the oscars hunt and play with their food,
feeder fish are known to carry diseases and cause a disease in oscars
known as "Hole in the head" real descriptive, but thats what it is.
also, ive been told that feeding the o's feeders will promote
aggressiveness.

if you HAVE to feed your oscars feeders, keep the food in a tank of
its own for a week or two, and medicate. just be careful.

hope all this helps!
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[Jon Pike]

(lnm130) wrote in
:

> a 25 (do they even sell 25's? is this tank custom made? you may have a
> 29 or 30. what are the dimensions) is way too small for 2 full grown
> oscars. be prepared to move them out soon. they grow VERY quickly.

it's 25'ish. they're babybaby's. 2" long each. lots of room yet. I have
other tanks to put them into when they do grow. a 66 and a 160 cubish
thing (if I ever get a lid to hold the top together).

> i give this advice as i prepare to move my 2 4"oscars out of my 30
> into my 125. One oscar alone needs around 55. you may be okay with
> two in a 70.
>
> i believe the temperature needs to be 76, so this may be a factor.

I lowered the temperature to 78'ish.

> although its fun to watch the oscars hunt and play with their food,
> feeder fish are known to carry diseases and cause a disease in oscars
> known as "Hole in the head" real descriptive, but thats what it is.
> also, ive been told that feeding the o's feeders will promote
> aggressiveness.

I've been basically trying to vary their diet as much as possible.
Everything I've read tells me this is good. I've also read that feeders
are the best source of nutrients, which is why I've been making an effort
to get them.

Is there one kind of feeder that's less potentially harmful than another?

> if you HAVE to feed your oscars feeders, keep the food in a tank of
> its own for a week or two, and medicate. just be careful.

Hm. I'll take that into consideration.
I recently also did about a 20% water change (though I'm not sure really
if there's any point, it's perfect quality as far as my tests can tell).

The only other thing worth mentioning is that he (the unhappy one) seems
to be gulping -lots- of water. I'm not sure how the water can be low on
O2, since i've got a very active bubble filter going.

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[lnm130]

people basically feed feeders at their own risk. i dont think there is
one that is better than the other really. id also watch where i buy
them. look into the tanks, at all the fish. how many dead, or
diseased? ive heard goldfish bring out the redness in them. but
again, it makes them more aggressive. there have to be other foods
out there.

guppies ive heard have no nutritional value...i found it on a very
helpful website last night, but sadly, i forget the URL...ill try to
look for it later.

what kind of filtration do you have? these are MESSY fish. especially
when feeding them feeders. blood, scales, and other things get passed
through or just end up not being eaten at all,, soiling your tank
water.

on my tank right now, the 30, i have a magnum 350 canister filter. you
want a filter that cycles your tank about 7 times an hour. clean water
is a must with these fish. so my tanks being filter about 10.5 times
per hour. on my 125 i have a custom made bioball wet/dry filter
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[Jon Pike]

(lnm130) wrote in news:10qugon4vlp2f52
@corp.supernews.com:

> what kind of filtration do you have?

Right now it's got an aquaclear 150 and a bubble activated filter too. +
lots of hornwort.

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[lnm130]

hmmm...and only the ones gasping for air? hmm a mystery...

well, i do know that they are very moody fish, and may take a while to
adapt to a new tank or tank mate.

has the one always been acting listless, while the other one is fine?
and you say the tank if fully cycled...

maybe try to find a different food, other than the feeders to give
them, and see if that peeks the one up. speaking of eating, hows his
appetite?
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[Jon Pike]

(lnm130) wrote in news:10qvfh9pc70o050
@corp.supernews.com:

> hmmm...and only the ones gasping for air? hmm a mystery...

Yeah, just the one. Which is why I'm a little confused.

> well, i do know that they are very moody fish, and may take a while to
> adapt to a new tank or tank mate.

I did figure that one out pretty quickly. They were both doing fine until I
decided to also put in a powerhead to add circulation. Then one of them
just went and sat under the rocks for 3 days until I took the powerhead
back out. Then he was out and happy again.

> has the one always been acting listless, while the other one is fine?
> and you say the tank if fully cycled...

not always. they both started out all perky and excited.

> maybe try to find a different food, other than the feeders to give
> them, and see if that peeks the one up. speaking of eating, hows his
> appetite?

Not nearly as much as it used to be. I've got some other pellets I can try,
but they're floating pellets, not sinking ones. I started them on flake
food but now they basically just blow it through their gills.

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[lnm130]

yea, i think that site i gave you says that guppies lack nutrition
really...kind of like us eating cheetos or something. id say try to
switch his diet a little. i feet mine floating pellets and they dont
seem to mind.

oscars are known to act sluggish and lay on their sides when theyre
uncomfortable or in a new situation.

maybe your other oscar has been picking on him a little? is he any
smaller than the active one? do you notice the active one being more
agressive towards the food?
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[Jon Pike]

(lnm130) wrote in news:10qvuf9qncc2ff3
@corp.supernews.com:

> yea, i think that site i gave you says that guppies lack nutrition
> really...kind of like us eating cheetos or something. id say try to
> switch his diet a little. i feet mine floating pellets and they dont
> seem to mind.
>
> oscars are known to act sluggish and lay on their sides when theyre
> uncomfortable or in a new situation.
>
> maybe your other oscar has been picking on him a little? is he any
> smaller than the active one? do you notice the active one being more
> agressive towards the food?

They look like twins. If it weren't for the behaviour differences, it'd be
impossible to tell them apart.
he seems to have cheered up a bit now that i've dropped the temp by 6
degrees f though.

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[lnm130]

well that is very good to hear! im glad i could help!
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[Mark Stone]

Lnm130 wrote:
> on my tank right now, the 30, i have a magnum 350 canister filter.

A Magnum 350 Canister on a 30?!? Wow

--Mark Stone



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[Gunnie]

My husband bought an albino tiger oscar when he was about 2 inches
long, and at first, he would attack any other fish in the same tank
with him. We ended up getting another albino tiger oscar, and for
awhile, eventhough he was bigger, the newer oscar would lay on the
bottom of the tank like he was dead. I probably tried to net him 3
times when I thought he had died, only to find out he was perfectly
fine. Now that both oscars are in their permanent home which is a
100 gal. tank along with 2 jack dempseys and a common pleco, I have
not seen that behavior except when the SOB tries to pick a fight and
gets his butt whipped! He sometimes pouts for a couple of days, and
then everything is normal.
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[lnm130]

> Mark Stonewrote:
Lnm130 wrote:
> on my tank right now, the 30, i have a magnum 350 canister filter.
>
A Magnum 350 Canister on a 30?!? Wow

--Mark Stone



--
Posted via CichlidFish.com
http://www.cichlidfish.com/portal/forums[/quote:64b043327d]

yea,,,these are SUPER messy fish. i did a water change on my 2 o's
yesterday, and was pouring in the new water, and it looked like i
needed to do another water change!

Jon, if youre oscar isnt even too active when eating, feed them beef
heart. you can buy it frozen from your lfs, or by it from youre
grocer and chop it into oscar sized chunks. its messy, but they LOVE
it
'
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[Jon Pike]

(lnm130) wrote in
:

> Jon, if youre oscar isnt even too active when eating, feed them beef
> heart. you can buy it frozen from your lfs, or by it from youre
> grocer and chop it into oscar sized chunks. its messy, but they LOVE
> it
>

I've been looking for it lately, but -none- of my lfs's have it. i'm not
pleased.

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[lnm130]

if you go to the meat department in your grocery store, they should
have it. and i was thinking, as an easy way of freezing, go to a
craft store and buy some candy molds...they come REALLY small...i bet
thatd be less hassle
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