Suicidal Oscar

[[email protected]]

I hava a young (5 inches) oscar alone in a 75 gallon tank. I have in
there a UGF and a power filter, and the oscar somehow managed to jump
through the power filter hole a few minutes before I got home from
classes. I generally feed him three times a day, so I checked, didn't
see him and looked around on the floor and found him still alive and
returned him to the tank.

The concern-

I patched up the hole with a bit of screen and dropprd the water level
several inches, so all is well in that regard. what I am wondering is
whether I should go ahead and move him to a smaller tank in case he
comes down with something from the ordeal. I have a 10 gallon
quarentine tank available which, luckily enough I was fishless cycling
to get a betta for, and over the past few days have noted the ammonia
and nitrites at zero, therefore the water is relatively stable and if
he does not need medicine, this won't hurt the cycle in this tank at
all.

I am new to aqarium keeping, although I have read a lot on the topic,
but nothing I have read addressed care for recently untanked fish.

[Elaine T]

wrote:
> I hava a young (5 inches) oscar alone in a 75 gallon tank. I have in
> there a UGF and a power filter, and the oscar somehow managed to jump
> through the power filter hole a few minutes before I got home from
> classes. I generally feed him three times a day, so I checked, didn't
> see him and looked around on the floor and found him still alive and
> returned him to the tank.
>
> The concern-
>
> I patched up the hole with a bit of screen and dropprd the water level
> several inches, so all is well in that regard. what I am wondering is
> whether I should go ahead and move him to a smaller tank in case he
> comes down with something from the ordeal. I have a 10 gallon
> quarentine tank available which, luckily enough I was fishless cycling
> to get a betta for, and over the past few days have noted the ammonia
> and nitrites at zero, therefore the water is relatively stable and if
> he does not need medicine, this won't hurt the cycle in this tank at
> all.
>
> I am new to aqarium keeping, although I have read a lot on the topic,
> but nothing I have read addressed care for recently untanked fish.
>
He'll be fine if he wasn't out of the water for too long. There are
generally no aquatic parasites living dry on our carpets. ;-) I have
lost jumpers to gill damage on occasion, but there's nothing to do for
that. Leave him in the 75 he's used to so he doesn't get stressed any
further.

Have you tested the water to see if there's anything that could have
made him jump, like high pH or ammonia? Oscars aren't known to be
jumpers in general. Also, it would be good to put fresh carbon in your
filter in case there was something in your tapwater from the last water
change that he didn't like.

--
__ Elaine T __
><__'> http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><

[[email protected]]

hmm...ph=7.2 ammonia is undetectable...this one has always jumped a
lot...just never out of the tank. I thought it was doing it to get my
attention for food as it usually does it when begging. I have carbon in
there, 2 physical/chemical filters for my aqua-tech 30/60. I change 1
of them every saturday with my water changes, so they shouldn't be
anywhere close to saturation. If there is a water quality problem, I do
an eight gallon water change today as soon as my oscar wakes up, if
something else is the problem with the water, I guess this will fix it.
I will take some water to my fish store to have them run more extensive
testing tomorrow and ask their opinions, although he seems to be doing
relatively well now, I want to make sure he will continue to remain
healthy. Thank you for the advice.

[bassett]

Elaine wrote,, Oscars aren't known to be jumpers in general.
There are generally no aquatic parasites living dry on our carpets

Lady , your bloody paranoid about Parasites and chemicals.

And you have got to be joking, hold a nice fat worm 3 inches above the
water, "Say UP" and watch the buggers jump for the Worm. But it only works
if you say "UP"
But your Oscar will be OK, just give him a good feed of some nice feeder
fish. He's bored, give him something to play with. I had a Ping-pong ball
Selastic'ed to a bit of string attached to a rock, when I had Oscars, and
they would spend hours bashing the **** out of it.
bassett

"Elaine T" > wrote in message
...
> wrote:
>> I hava a young (5 inches) oscar alone in a 75 gallon tank. I have in
>> there a UGF and a power filter, and the oscar somehow managed to jump
>> through the power filter hole a few minutes before I got home from
>> classes. I generally feed him three times a day, so I checked, didn't
>> see him and looked around on the floor and found him still alive and
>> returned him to the tank.
>>
>> The concern-
>>
>> I patched up the hole with a bit of screen and dropprd the water level
>> several inches, so all is well in that regard. what I am wondering is
>> whether I should go ahead and move him to a smaller tank in case he
>> comes down with something from the ordeal. I have a 10 gallon
>> quarentine tank available which, luckily enough I was fishless cycling
>> to get a betta for, and over the past few days have noted the ammonia
>> and nitrites at zero, therefore the water is relatively stable and if
>> he does not need medicine, this won't hurt the cycle in this tank at
>> all.
>>
>> I am new to aqarium keeping, although I have read a lot on the topic,
>> but nothing I have read addressed care for recently untanked fish.
>>
> He'll be fine if he wasn't out of the water for too long. There are
> generally no aquatic parasites living dry on our carpets. ;-) I have
> lost jumpers to gill damage on occasion, but there's nothing to do for
> that. Leave him in the 75 he's used to so he doesn't get stressed any
> further.
>
> Have you tested the water to see if there's anything that could have made
> him jump, like high pH or ammonia? Oscars aren't known to be jumpers in
> general. Also, it would be good to put fresh carbon in your filter in
> case there was something in your tapwater from the last water change that
> he didn't like.
>
> --
> __ Elaine T __
> ><__'> http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><

[Elaine T]

bassett wrote:
> Elaine wrote,, Oscars aren't known to be jumpers in general.
> There are generally no aquatic parasites living dry on our carpets
>
> Lady , your bloody paranoid about Parasites and chemicals.
>
There is no need to curse at me. And I'm not the one who is so paranoid
about chemicals he thinks they can never be removed from a fishtank.

> And you have got to be joking, hold a nice fat worm 3 inches above the
> water, "Say UP" and watch the buggers jump for the Worm. But it only works
> if you say "UP"
> But your Oscar will be OK, just give him a good feed of some nice feeder
> fish. He's bored, give him something to play with. I had a Ping-pong ball
> Selastic'ed to a bit of string attached to a rock, when I had Oscars, and
> they would spend hours bashing the **** out of it.
> bassett

Now, arowanas, hatchetfish, archers, shrimp, some killies, danios,
swordtails - THOSE are jumpers and climbers. Just try keeping an adult
arowana in a tank without a BIG rock weighting down the cover. Or not
getting the cover tight on a hatchetfish or swordtail tank. Oscars...we
had tanks and tanks of them and I never once found one on the fishroom
floor.

--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com

[Derek Benson]

On 5 May 2005 21:32:59 -0700, "
> wrote:

>hmm...ph=7.2 ammonia is undetectable...this one has always jumped a
>lot...just never out of the tank. I thought it was doing it to get my
>attention for food as it usually does it when begging. I have carbon in
>there, 2 physical/chemical filters for my aqua-tech 30/60. I change 1
>of them every saturday with my water changes, so they shouldn't be
>anywhere close to saturation. If there is a water quality problem, I do
>an eight gallon water change today as soon as my oscar wakes up, if
>something else is the problem with the water, I guess this will fix it.
>I will take some water to my fish store to have them run more extensive
>testing tomorrow and ask their opinions, although he seems to be doing
>relatively well now, I want to make sure he will continue to remain
>healthy. Thank you for the advice.

Your Oscar is jumping AT something, like a fly landed right there on
the filter/heater stuff and he came clear out of the tank simply by
accident. He wasn't/isn't jumping to attempt to get OUT of the tank on
purpose because he doesn't like the water, if that is what is being
speculated upon in this discussion of your water quality. All oscars
I've ever had have jumped at stuff IIRC, they sit there eyeballing the
surface sometimes, see something that might be food and jump for it.
Do keep the Oscar in the large tank as suggested, no need to move it
and medicate.

-Derek

[Elaine T]

Derek Benson wrote:
> On 5 May 2005 21:32:59 -0700, "
> > wrote:
>
>
>>hmm...ph=7.2 ammonia is undetectable...this one has always jumped a
>>lot...just never out of the tank. I thought it was doing it to get my
>>attention for food as it usually does it when begging. I have carbon in
>>there, 2 physical/chemical filters for my aqua-tech 30/60. I change 1
>>of them every saturday with my water changes, so they shouldn't be
>>anywhere close to saturation. If there is a water quality problem, I do
>>an eight gallon water change today as soon as my oscar wakes up, if
>>something else is the problem with the water, I guess this will fix it.
>>I will take some water to my fish store to have them run more extensive
>>testing tomorrow and ask their opinions, although he seems to be doing
>>relatively well now, I want to make sure he will continue to remain
>>healthy. Thank you for the advice.
>
>
> Your Oscar is jumping AT something, like a fly landed right there on
> the filter/heater stuff and he came clear out of the tank simply by
> accident. He wasn't/isn't jumping to attempt to get OUT of the tank on
> purpose because he doesn't like the water, if that is what is being
> speculated upon in this discussion of your water quality. All oscars
> I've ever had have jumped at stuff IIRC, they sit there eyeballing the
> surface sometimes, see something that might be food and jump for it.
> Do keep the Oscar in the large tank as suggested, no need to move it
> and medicate.
>
> -Derek

I've had plenty of fish jump during acclimation to a new pH or hardness.
I also had koi and goldfish jumping from my pond despite 0/0/5
ammonia/nitrite/nitrate and pH 7.2. I lost 3 fish in a week and
replaced a lucky koi 3 times. Conditions seemed perfectly fine. A 50%
water change and chemi-pure in the filter completely stopped the jumping
behavior within 24 hours and I've not had a jumper since.

So, yes fish jump for no reason. They jump for food, and they jump for
fun. But IME they jump most frequently when they don't like the water.

--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com

[Derek Benson]

On Fri, 06 May 2005 20:58:52 GMT, Elaine T >
wrote:

>So, yes fish jump for no reason. They jump for food, and they jump for
>fun. But IME they jump most frequently when they don't like the water.

Yeah, it's probably all that salt in there ;-)

-Derek

[bassett]

Well it proves one thing, I,m not in your Killfile.

And I,ve got no idea what an " arowanas " is. Once again you fail to see,
that we don,t have the range of fish , that you enjoy, simply because our
quarantine laws are a lot better then the non existent laws you have.

In your part of the world, you can keep what you like, providing your not
caught smuggling it into the country. Once it's "IN" your legal. Doesn't
work like that here. If your caught with something , that is not an excepted
import. and everything has to go into a quarantine station for a fixed
period of time. It's taken, confiscated, and unless you have import papers
or quarantine certificates, you not only loose whatever it was, but you get
fined or jailed .
And we do the same thing with illegal imigrants, that attempt to land on the
Northern parts of the coast. They get locked up and then deported.
bassett


"Elaine T" > wrote in message
m...
> bassett wrote:
>> Elaine wrote,, Oscars aren't known to be jumpers in general.
>> There are generally no aquatic parasites living dry on our carpets
>>
>> Lady , your bloody paranoid about Parasites and chemicals.
>>
> There is no need to curse at me. And I'm not the one who is so paranoid
> about chemicals he thinks they can never be removed from a fishtank.
>
>> And you have got to be joking, hold a nice fat worm 3 inches above the
>> water, "Say UP" and watch the buggers jump for the Worm. But it only
>> works if you say "UP"
>> But your Oscar will be OK, just give him a good feed of some nice
>> feeder fish. He's bored, give him something to play with. I had a
>> Ping-pong ball Selastic'ed to a bit of string attached to a rock, when I
>> had Oscars, and they would spend hours bashing the **** out of it.
>>
>> bassett
>
> Now, arowanas, hatchetfish, archers, shrimp, some killies, danios,
> swordtails - THOSE are jumpers and climbers. Just try keeping an adult
> arowana in a tank without a BIG rock weighting down the cover. Or not
> getting the cover tight on a hatchetfish or swordtail tank. Oscars...we
> had tanks and tanks of them and I never once found one on the fishroom
> floor.
>
> --
> Elaine T __
> http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><
> rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com

[Elaine T]

Derek Benson wrote:
> On Fri, 06 May 2005 20:58:52 GMT, Elaine T >
> wrote:
>
>
>>So, yes fish jump for no reason. They jump for food, and they jump for
>>fun. But IME they jump most frequently when they don't like the water.
>
>
> Yeah, it's probably all that salt in there ;-)
>
> -Derek

What??? They're not marine fish? ;-)

--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com

[Elaine T]

bassett wrote:
> Well it proves one thing, I,m not in your Killfile.
>
> And I,ve got no idea what an " arowanas " is. Once again you fail to see,
> that we don,t have the range of fish , that you enjoy, simply because our
> quarantine laws are a lot better then the non existent laws you have.
>
> In your part of the world, you can keep what you like, providing your not
> caught smuggling it into the country. Once it's "IN" your legal. Doesn't
> work like that here. If your caught with something , that is not an excepted
> import. and everything has to go into a quarantine station for a fixed
> period of time. It's taken, confiscated, and unless you have import papers
> or quarantine certificates, you not only loose whatever it was, but you get
> fined or jailed .
> And we do the same thing with illegal imigrants, that attempt to land on the
> Northern parts of the coast. They get locked up and then deported.
> bassett
>
>
Toldja I decided not to killfile you. You and I may disagree, but I can
live with it. You have some interesting viewpoints and I'm learning a
bit about Australia. I'd like to go there...legally...one day. ;-)

Arowanas are beautiful, 2-3 foot fish, best appreciated in public
aquaria. They're surface predators, jumping out of the water to capture
flying insects like dragonflies. The jumping behavior is VERY ingrained
and big fish will sometimes jump the second you take the lid off of the
tank. There are two Australian species, Scleropages jardini (saratoga)
and Scleropages leichardtii (spotted barramundi) so you might find one
in a public aquarium. Chinese consider them lucky, so some folks devote
8 foot tanks or even ponds to them.
http://www.keiththibodeaux.com/Aquarium/arowana/intro.html is a pretty
interesting article about them.

Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com