Have had tank since about march 2010, Originally had 2 baby oscars which seemed to be doing excellent for about 2 months, then suddenly one became extremely ill and died in about 4 days , the fish became extremly week and stayed at the top of the water, was breathing heavily and became very thing looking and would not eat, once i noticed this he lasted about 4 days. After he died i cleaned entire tank changed water, filter etc and even added bloodworms and shrimp to the diet, the other oscar has been doing ok but suddenly now has become very "shy" staying at the bottom of tank, not moving around alot like he normally does. Im worried that he is getting whatever killed the other one.
As far as tank maint. i do a 10-15% water change about every 4 days, test the water regurlary and it always tests perfect across the board, so im not sure what can possibly be causig these issues. The only thing ive noticed is the amount of algae that grows but i clean it everytime i do my water changes. Everything is perfect, tempurature, ammonia, nitrate and nitrite levels and including Ph. I have noticed a few white spots on the fish but they are usually gone within a day or so , I originally suspected ICH but im not sure and dont want to treat for something that its not . Any tips would be appreciated

Can you list your test results for:
nitrate
nitrite
ammonia
ph

also your temp,
how big is your tank gallons?

Sounds like this could have been parasites, but then It could be anything.
let us know the above and Im sure we can help.


Zoo

Tank is 40 gallons, Temp is at 79 F

Ammonia - 0ppm
Nitrite- 0ppm
Nitrate 0ppm
Ph- 7.8

These are pretty much what they read everytime i test them, ive evn tried various testing sets to make sure its not a false reading, and they all test the same.

its simple your little o is lonely get him a buddy
but not another oscar your tannk isnt big enough
you can cheat and one o will do good in fourty gallons
but not two
as for tank mates if your little o is small enough
put a red blood parrot in there my o did well with that fish and
they are just so cute good luck

Couple more questions.

Is he eating anything at all? and how does his poo look?

seems that you should see at least some kind of reading on the Nitrate?
was the tank cycled before you added the O's

Zoo

Skeetz656 wrote:


You test results are impossible, you cant keep fish and have ammonia, nitrite and nitrate of zero. What are you testing with, strips or the bottle types. The bottle types are the best as strips can be inaccurate. When using the bottle types you need to follow the instructions exactly. Can you retest please.

Your tank isnt big enough for one oscar, you will need a bigger tank soon, 55g minimum

Until you test your water acccurately do 25% water changes every 2 or 3 days.

Couple more questions.

Is he eating anything at all? and how does his poo look?

seems that you should see at least some kind of reading on the Nitrate?
was the tank cycled before you added the O's

Zoo


Yes hes eating fine, I rotate bloodworms with Brine shrimp and pellets, I feed him mostly pellets then about every three days I give him worms or shrimp, I feed him those on the days i clean the tank cause they are a mess. As far as his poo, its mostly pink and stringy, when i feed him worms it looks more brown but still stringy. As far as the Nitrate readings, it always reads zero, Like i said i folow the instructions exactly and it reads zero along with the other test results. The tank was up for about 2 weeks before i got the first fish, Hes the one that died. He did very very well and grew rapidly from about 2 inches to 4 in like 2 months . The current one has only grown about an inch since he has been in the tank.
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You test results are impossible, you cant keep fish and have ammonia, nitrite and nitrate of zero. What are you testing with, strips or the bottle types. The bottle types are the best as strips can be inaccurate. When using the bottle types you need to follow the instructions exactly. Can you retest please.

Your tank isnt big enough for one oscar, you will need a bigger tank soon, 55g minimum

Until you test your water acccurately do 25% water changes every 2 or 3 days.

I know its not possible but unless i have a bunk test kit those are the reading everytime i test , Ive tested a few days after water changes and the results are the same, Ive tested right after a water change and the results are the same, the only time i ever saw a change in the results is when i skipped a water change and there was 2 fish in the tank . Im using a bottle type test kit from API that has high range PH , Amonnia , Nitate and Nitrite. Ive tried the strip they read the same. As far as the tank size I know it needs to be bigger and im currently working on that butI feel 40 gallons should be fine till the fish is a little bigger.

Well im going to the pet store to purchase another test kit and try testing it again.

Leave your water in the tank alone for a little while and check it regular for ammonia and Nitrites. If they are all at zero then your nitrates will rise, telling you that ur tank IS...... cycled and do a partial water change when the nitrates reach 40ppm.
When checking ur Amms and Nits, if there is a spike u will then know ur tank is'nt cycled.
Thats when u will have to do regular water changes until it is.......

you could be feeding him to much. leftover food will produce fungus in the tank. Seems as though your biological media in filter isnt doing proper job.. Change the water less in my opinion....Only 1 fish in tank?

Well after testing with new kit, Nitrite is still 0, Ammonia is at o.25ppm and nitrate is at 5.0ppm

Your tank is'nt cycled then skeet. Check your tap water for nitrates aswell, as mine has a reading sometimes of 5ppm.
I found that with Amms in the tank Nits will spike soon and will be dealt with when the Bacteria in ur filter kicks in. Until then you will have to do partial water changes.
Some members say 30% EVERY DAY.... until you are cycled.......
depending on the size of your tank and how many fish you have.