Hello,

I am Lisa and i recently adopted an Oscar, she is beautiful not sure how old but i guess about 7-8 iches, called Olive but i have never even kept fish, let alone an Oscar!!!!

I have to say there have been a few panicky times already and this site as been very useful but ....

I came home tonight and i have notice that she has shed a few of her orangey scales ... what does this mean? what should i do?

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Thanks guys


Love



Lisa Bx

I don't know what that is either but, my bigger Oscar Tantrum has done that too at times but,it has gone away in a day so I don't know for sure.But welcome to this site and all of us are here to help out any Oscar owners about anything and everything OFL aka Penn is the boss and he'll help out much as he can and among others I am still learning the Oscar owning but I am doing good but,with your problem I do not know how to help you but,check your levels and quality of the water I did with mine and then those scale shedding went away so I don't know other than that what I did...


Welcome again

welcome to the site


when you say shed do you mean you found some scales on the bottom of the tank or she has some missing scales on her? also are there any tankmates in the aquarium with her? and what kind of decor do you have(driftwood, rocks ect..)

sometimes oscars can be fairly rough on themselves and scrape off scales trying to get into places that they really cant fit into. other times it can be fighting with other fish so until you let us know its kinda hard assess your perticular dilema. and remember that oscar heal fairly quickly with good water conditions. so if you keep your water pristine the damage might heal in a day or two.

Guys, thanks for your welcomes!!!

Yeah just found scales floating round the tank ... not lots, but just dont want her to come to any harm / get sick!

My tank set up is just a few rocks / slate .. so you may be right she may have scraped herself?

Will check the water levels tomorrow too

Lisa Bx

welcome to the site!
as necromancer4 said, we need to know your tank set up:
tank size
filtration system
tank mates - if any or none
how long have you been keeping the tank (if cycle or not)
water parameters

sorry for those questions but this is the only way to help you
better. proper diagnostic approach is better than to be sorry
later.

Since you have already said you are new to this, I'm guessing that your tank is fairly small? One Oscar needs a minimum of 55 gallons, although I would recommend 75 gallons. If indeed your tank is quite small, a big fish could injure itself in the small environment. It seems to me as if your Oscar swam into a rock and dislodged some sales

Have you got some test kits? please test for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates and pH.

Hi Guys,

Yeah i do definately need a bigger tank and i am saving hard for it, using a fluval filer systems at the moment!

Olive lives alone so no tank mates and i have minimum stuff in there just a couple of rocks with a slate over for her to hide but yeah she may easily have scraped herself i guess!

Water levels seem ok but am just about to give the tank a good clean and partial water change to ensure she will be ok!


Thank you all so much ... i am sure i will be asking lots more questions tehe!


Lisa Bx

i would strongly suggest purchasing a test kit for your tank. american pharmaceutical makes a reliable master test kit which will test your tank water for ammonia nitrates nitrites and ph.this is extremly beneficial to fish keeping as it give a definite answer to if your water is in good condition or not. they sell here for about $30 (not sure what the conversion to pounds is)

Hi Guys,

So I just wanted to say that Olive is fit and well and dancing round her tank, I thank you all for your advice ... water is tested and fine, and i am frantically hunting for a bigger tank!

Love



Lisa Bx