I have my oscars for the past 3 and a half years...but lately this year i have been facing problems...every time i do a water change my fish dont eat..i understand the stress of ammonia.....but i had never had such problems before.now after a month of water change my oscars are not eating food.i feed them with tetrabits complete.....but lately they dont eat it and sit at the bottom of tank and are too lazy for any activities...the shrimp supply in my region has lately been disrupted due to bad weather conditons so i i have no shrimp supply now. I have four oscras ,two parrots,two cat fish,1 sukercat fish,2 silver dolllars in a 118 gallon tank......please tell me what should i do so that oscars become healthy as before....All other fish are eating perfectly as before........

having it for 3 1/2 years is already anaccomplishment. but for the sake of
checking, any idea what is the present level of your ammonia, nitrite, nitrate,
and pH?... how big is your oscar now????

there are times my oscars do not takle food for a few days but once become
hungry will double the intake.....

btw, welcome on board.

suryakant wrote:


I have four oscras ,two parrots,two cat fish,1 sukercat fish,2 silver dolllars in a 118 gallon tank.....
[/quote]


Like Paul mentioned have you done any water testing? For it's size that tank seems pretty overstocked for 4 oscars plus a catfish plus some SD's...

Sometimes Oscars go 'off' their food for various reasons...but if he's acting lethargic and differently like you mentioned I think checking that water is your top priority right now.

Well thanks for the reply........i dont have water test kits as they are not available here......but the water levels are completely fine i think so as other fish are doing well.......and no smell of ammonia......

i think my tank is large enough ...it is 5 feet by 2 feet by 1 feet

i dun noe the level..but i think they r fine as other fish which are less srtonger than oscars are good.....they are 12 cms in size

I dunno about parrots, but in general suckermouth catfish and silver dollars can stand far worse quality water then oscars.
your tank may be large enough for now, but with growing oscars, you will be running in troubles soon!
you are gonna need a very big tank soon!

ohk...so what should i do for now..???????

For healthy Oscars I have found that 75 gallons for the first Oscar and an additional 50 gallons per added Oscar to be the best solution. In my estimation, your tank is far too small for four. Water is an issue that can be corrected by superior filtration but you will still be lacking in territorial boundaries.

Failure to be able to possess a territory will be stressful on any Oscar or fish that uses a nest for reproduction. Live-bearers and egg scatterers are the exception. Oscars do not see just the tank as their territory and often include a significant area on the outside of the tank (such as the room they are located in). This stress can manifest itself in lack of appetite, lethargy, and similar symptoms generally displayed by a sick fish.

I agree that the tank is seriously overstocked.

suryakant wrote:


Not to keep bringing it up but it's really not though...in my opinion it's way, way overstocked. the tank is way too small for 4 oscars plus others. You mentioned you have had them for 3 1/2 years so they must be large by this point...Check out the tank dimensions and fish types on this Freshwater Aquarium Stocking Calculator . Just add your species to the list and add your aquarium dimensions/size and it will give you a ballpark figure of stocking level and water change amount weekly. If you add all your fish and your tank size I guarantee it will inform you have an overstocked tank.

No one wants to hear that some of their fish need to be re-homed or that they need to obtain a much larger tank...and, let's be honest, it's not really always possible anyways. So, that being said, if getting a larger tank or re-homing some fish is not an option let's see what we can do to help you out in the short term to keep them as healthy as possible.

If there are no local water test kits avaliable you could order one online, the API Pharmaceuticals one is good and is what I use. Or if there is a pet store at all somewhere nearby you could bring in a water sample and they will test it for you.

I would really try to make that happen.

If you are measuring water quality by the 'lack of an ammonia smell' you're gonna have problems, and I would assume if a tank got to that point where you could actually smell ammonia your fish are in big, big trouble, and regardless it's not a reliable measure of ammonia/nitrates/etc. etc. You could have pristine looking water and no smell at all and still have major water quality issues, so the only real way to be sure is to test it chemically.

The fact that more than ONE oscar is exhibiting 'lack of appetite' and lethargy leads me to believe there is something wrong in the tank, and as you seem to vary their diet I would bet this is the result of overstocking issues..most likely water quality.

Anyways, if you absolutely have no option for testing the water, to see what we can to immediately I would ask first off:

1. What size and type of filtration do you have?

2. What is your water change schedule? How much and how often? How to you treat the new water before adding it?

3. what is the water temperature? (This most likely isn't as important but as much info as possible as to general conditions is helpful)

Thanxx for the reply...
I honestly want to tell you that i have dis fish for past many years but dint hav any problems....
1.i use a custom made filter of glass in ehich there is sponge to trap the impurities
2.i change water in 30 days.....i generally add salt and itch medicine after adding water...no treatment before putting in..
3.it is summers in my region so i have removed the heaters.....dun noe the tempreature

actually my region is very remote....when i order things online they become too costly with the duty and taxes n all