Oscar sick or sulking?

Hi,

Recently my red tiger oscar has started just sitting around like he is
sulking. I can usually con him to come out with food when he is
sulking, but lately he just ignores everything. His poo's are
floating, so I was wondering if it's possible that we've been
overfeeding him lately? He started sulking right after I did a huge
water changed (80% of the water) because the tank had some bad algae
going on (that floating strandy type algae), and really to take out
half the water wouldn't have made a difference. I also put in some
anti-algae stuff and I'm pretty sure I didn't overdose the tank.

Other than sitting around not eating, he is his usual charcoal colour,
and hasn't gone grey around the gills or anything else. When I pay
attention to him he sort moves a little in his spot, and moves his
mouth a bit, but that's it!! The only other thing I can think of is
that he had a small red christmas bauble as a toy tied to his rock,
which I threw away, could he just be sulking because I took his toy
away? He never seemed to play with it often anyway...

What's wrong with my oscar?!

Shannon wrote:
Hi,

Recently my red tiger oscar has started just sitting around like he is
sulking. I can usually con him to come out with food when he is
sulking, but lately he just ignores everything. His poo's are
floating, so I was wondering if it's possible that we've been
overfeeding him lately? He started sulking right after I did a huge
water changed (80% of the water) because the tank had some bad algae
going on (that floating strandy type algae), and really to take out
half the water wouldn't have made a difference. I also put in some
anti-algae stuff and I'm pretty sure I didn't overdose the tank.

Other than sitting around not eating, he is his usual charcoal colour,
and hasn't gone grey around the gills or anything else. When I pay
attention to him he sort moves a little in his spot, and moves his
mouth a bit, but that's it!! The only other thing I can think of is
that he had a small red christmas bauble as a toy tied to his rock,
which I threw away, could he just be sulking because I took his toy
away? He never seemed to play with it often anyway...

What's wrong with my oscar?!

Have you tested your water for ammonia and nitrite? Tap water is
usually alkaline, and an 80% water change can really shift the pH of a
tank. Small amounts of free ammonia (like what may be feeding the
algae) suddenly become much more toxic.

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

Originally Posted by Elaine T

Shannon wrote:
Hi,

Recently my red tiger oscar has started just sitting around like he is
sulking. I can usually con him to come out with food when he is
sulking, but lately he just ignores everything. His poo's are
floating, so I was wondering if it's possible that we've been
overfeeding him lately? He started sulking right after I did a huge
water changed (80% of the water) because the tank had some bad algae
going on (that floating strandy type algae), and really to take out
half the water wouldn't have made a difference. I also put in some
anti-algae stuff and I'm pretty sure I didn't overdose the tank.

Other than sitting around not eating, he is his usual charcoal colour,
and hasn't gone grey around the gills or anything else. When I pay
attention to him he sort moves a little in his spot, and moves his
mouth a bit, but that's it!! The only other thing I can think of is
that he had a small red christmas bauble as a toy tied to his rock,
which I threw away, could he just be sulking because I took his toy
away? He never seemed to play with it often anyway...

What's wrong with my oscar?!

Have you tested your water for ammonia and nitrite? Tap water is
usually alkaline, and an 80% water change can really shift the pH of a
tank. Small amounts of free ammonia (like what may be feeding the
algae) suddenly become much more toxic.

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

Test your water...it could tell you why you have an algae problem and what's bothering your oscar.Try to avoid chemicals,they can do more harm than good.Oscars produce alot of waste,making ammonia,nitrite and nitrate an issue...is the filtation up to it? How much light does it get?... is there a timer on the light?...what's the temperature?...oxygenation?...ph?
It could be that he's bored,oscars like to be with other fish,although finding suitable tankmates can be difficult.The ph should be around 7 and temperature about 25-27c.Keep the water changes to around 50%max[when you have a problem]and 20% for maintenance.The most important thing is to get him eating,try as many foods as it takes and fish out what he doesn't
eat.

he's probably just sulking from that 80% water change. really think it
was unnessecary(sp) to get rid of algae. you could have put a blanket
over the tank for about 2-3days and the algae would die off, but you
probably didnt know that. so he's probably just sulking from all the
fresh water you gave him. but i'd check the parameters just to make sure
everything is good. what size tank you got and what kind of filters?



--
Posted via CichlidFish.com
http://www.cichlidfish.com/portal/forums

Thanks for all your advice guys! I am pretty new to fish (meaning
I've had quite a few that didn't make it, but this is only my 2nd
oscar), you guys are all so hard core! I actually don't own a water
test kit, but I'm buying one today, so I'll get back to you on the
parameters. Please don't reply with abusive posts about what a bad
fish keeper I am because I don't have a water test kit (I feel so
amateur). Ernie (the fish) was honestly was doing fine until now, and
I really do appreciate your advice on what to do.

How does one fix an ammonia problem?


Also, no, I didn't know you could just put a blanket over the top and
the algae would die. Does the blanket need to be there all the time,
or only when the sun shines on the tank?

I think it was algae in the tank anyway. It was strands of green
stuff coming off the walls, and then any waste the fish produced had
this halo of white stuff growing around it, sometimes with little
fibres (hyphae?, perhaps it is fungus?) sticking out it.

Shannon wrote:
Thanks for all your advice guys! I am pretty new to fish (meaning
I've had quite a few that didn't make it, but this is only my 2nd
oscar), you guys are all so hard core! I actually don't own a water
test kit, but I'm buying one today, so I'll get back to you on the
parameters. Please don't reply with abusive posts about what a bad
fish keeper I am because I don't have a water test kit (I feel so
amateur). Ernie (the fish) was honestly was doing fine until now, and
I really do appreciate your advice on what to do.

How does one fix an ammonia problem?

The quickest way is to add something like AmQuel+ to the water. It
detoxifies any ammonia and nitrites.

Also, no, I didn't know you could just put a blanket over the top and
the algae would die. Does the blanket need to be there all the time,
or only when the sun shines on the tank?

If you have sun on the tank and no live plants, (I assume Ernie shreds
them, oscar style) you are going to have a lot of algae. Have you
considered one of those scenic backdrops to block the sun?

I think it was algae in the tank anyway. It was strands of green
stuff coming off the walls, and then any waste the fish produced had
this halo of white stuff growing around it, sometimes with little
fibres (hyphae?, perhaps it is fungus?) sticking out it.

Hmm...Is Ernie still growing? And how large is his tank? Algae is
pretty normal, especially in sunlight, but it sounds like there are some
water quality issues with the rapid fungus growth on Ernie's waste. You
might think about increasing how often you change water. Stick to 25%
changes for the time being so you don't stress Ernie too much again.

Once you've done enough 25% water changes that the tank water is the
same pH and hardness as your tap water, you can match the tap water
temperature to the tank temperature and change as much as 50% if you
need to keep the tank clean.

BTW, is Ernie doing any better?

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

Originally Posted by Shannon

Thanks for all your advice guys! I am pretty new to fish (meaning
I've had quite a few that didn't make it, but this is only my 2nd
oscar), you guys are all so hard core! I actually don't own a water
test kit, but I'm buying one today, so I'll get back to you on the
parameters. Please don't reply with abusive posts about what a bad
fish keeper I am because I don't have a water test kit (I feel so
amateur). Ernie (the fish) was honestly was doing fine until now, and
I really do appreciate your advice on what to do.

How does one fix an ammonia problem?
Also, no, I didn't know you could just put a blanket over the top and
the algae would die. Does the blanket need to be there all the time,
or only when the sun shines on the tank?

Don't worry,all of us were inexperienced at some point and alot of experienced fishkeepers don't own a test kit but it is important with Oscars because of the amount of waste your dealing with.Ammonia can be controlled with good filtration,oxygenation and correct tank size/stocking level.Carbon filters are excellent and can reduce ammonia and other pollutants dramatically but only work for 4-6 weeks and they shouln't be used when treatments are being used.

I think I know why you have an algae problem...
Direct sunlight will almost certainly give you algae problems,especially if the water quality is a bit poor.
...Sherlock

He is doing a little better. I went to the store I bought him from (a
proper aquarium shop, only sells water animals) with some of his tank
water, and they said the pH was 7.8 which is way to high. SO i now
have some stuff to fix the pH. I also bought him some clean feeder
fish. I figured I needed to spoil him a bit since his water was so
bad. He enjoyed chasing them for a while and he finally just caught
one!!!

So I assume he's doing better, he still hates me though, he only swims
when he thinks I'm not there watching him... although he did chase and
eat the first feeder in front of me!

I'll have to test out the sunblock backdrop, although now that it's
autumn the sun is rising at a different angle and not getting to his
tank anymore. I'll still test it out though.

Thanks for everyone's help!

(Shannon) wrote in message . com...
Hi,

Recently my red tiger oscar has started just sitting around like he is
sulking. I can usually con him to come out with food when he is
sulking, but lately he just ignores everything. His poo's are
floating, so I was wondering if it's possible that we've been
overfeeding him lately? He started sulking right after I did a huge
water changed (80% of the water) because the tank had some bad algae
going on (that floating strandy type algae), and really to take out
half the water wouldn't have made a difference. I also put in some
anti-algae stuff and I'm pretty sure I didn't overdose the tank.

Other than sitting around not eating, he is his usual charcoal colour,
and hasn't gone grey around the gills or anything else. When I pay
attention to him he sort moves a little in his spot, and moves his
mouth a bit, but that's it!! The only other thing I can think of is
that he had a small red christmas bauble as a toy tied to his rock,
which I threw away, could he just be sulking because I took his toy
away? He never seemed to play with it often anyway...

What's wrong with my oscar?!

to get rid of ammonia do 25% water changes, and dont feed your oscar so
much while your doing this. this is going to get rid of some of the
ammonia and by not feeding so much which will stop your oscar from going
poo so much. this will build your biological bacterial.

its okay that you dont have a test kit, but its best to get one as soon
as possible. one that test for ammonia, nitrIte, and nitrAte, and ph.
your amm and nit should always be at 0 and your nitrates shouldnt idealy
get larger than 20-30.

the blanket trick does work. becuase it strips the algae of the light it
needs. so you will prolly need to do this whenever the algae starts to
build up. and the main reason there's algae is from exces light or
phosphates.

sorry if ima just going and going, but just get the test kits and post
the results. and i forget if you told us what size tank and what kind of
filters you have on the tank. hope this helps



--
Posted via CichlidFish.com
http://www.cichlidfish.com/portal/forums

pH was 7.8 (I've fixed it now)
Ammonia almost 0
Nitrates and nitrites within normal limits

My tank is 60L. I know I will need a bigger tank soon but Ernie is 4
inches long so I figure he doesn't need a huge tank just yet. He has
lots of space to himself in there.

I have one of those foam sponge filters which the gunk gets sucked
into - one of those ones that you squeeze out the excess junk in the
fishes waste water, but don't wash with tap water because the good
bacteria will die.

I'm supposed to be inheriting a bigger tank from a friend pretty soon.
Hopefully not too much longer, although Ernie will not like the
transfer, I can tell already!

I think right now his water is fine and he just doesn't like me. I
can see him swimming around right now, but whenever I go out there he
acts all spooked!


rna -DONTEMAIL wrote in message ...
to get rid of ammonia do 25% water changes, and dont feed your oscar so
much while your doing this. this is going to get rid of some of the
ammonia and by not feeding so much which will stop your oscar from going
poo so much. this will build your biological bacterial.

its okay that you dont have a test kit, but its best to get one as soon
as possible. one that test for ammonia, nitrIte, and nitrAte, and ph.
your amm and nit should always be at 0 and your nitrates shouldnt idealy
get larger than 20-30.

the blanket trick does work. becuase it strips the algae of the light it
needs. so you will prolly need to do this whenever the algae starts to
build up. and the main reason there's algae is from exces light or
phosphates.

sorry if ima just going and going, but just get the test kits and post
the results. and i forget if you told us what size tank and what kind of
filters you have on the tank. hope this helps