Hey everyone. I am Audrey, a new oscar owner/ rescuer. Long story short: A friend got left by her hubby aroung 5 mo. ago. He leaves the fish, she refuses to take care of it, gives it to me. The tank was filthy, smelled like raw sewage with a side of dead prostitutes. On top of that... no filter, and the water had not been changed in who knows how long. He is in a 30 gallon tank, about 11 inches long, and Im pretty sure he is the Lutino variety. Any advice is more than welcome. Thanks!

welcome to the site.
how good you are to rescue such a helpless oscar.
congratulations.

slowly but surely, a water change
is a must but not total to avoid new water shock. 80%
will do.

i hope filtering pump still there.... run it
to cycle the water.

give him/her food sparingly... meaning do not over feed.

30 gal size tank s too small for him/her. i hope you can
upgrade....

don't hesitate to ask question or help...

hello and welcome...nice to see you in this section ithink its much better to post here first,when you join the site ..just my opinion tho

welcome to the site

can you tell us how long you have had this fish and if you have gotten a filter for the tank yet or not. also when you are ready to go shopping for fish supplies if you can let us know we can give you a list of the "vitals" you will need for properly caring for your oscar.

welcome to the site

Supplies: So far I have the thermometer, salt, stress coat, quick dip strips, chichlid sticks for food, a "holiday five pack" of goldfish (remember the Heinenkin commercial???? LOL), some quick cure (for ick?), and several miles of ciphon hose. He is still alive, as I did not know how much water to replace- I probably put him in with 5 gallons of the old water. he ate one fish last night, thsts good, right?.

If hes eating thats a good sign. dont expect him to eat too much. one fish is a fair size meal and could last many days on this. If he eats more all the better.

At the request of the book, I added 2 tablespoons of salt.
Tank Stats:
Nitrate looks like 20
Nitrite 1.0? It does not really match any of the colors given...
Hardness: 75, at soft water
Alkalinity: 80
pH: 6.2

your readings look fine except for the nitrite reading however the water changes and beneficial bacteria growth will bring this into line. one test you did not mention is the ammonia test. this is a rather important one so if you can get a test for this one it would be helpfull. salt is something that some people use and other dont. personally i dont use salt but it cant hurt.

also if possible could you make a new thread in the oscar fish section to post your updates and inquiries so not to have them spread out. it can be a little difficult to follow when its spread over a few different theads.