hi guys..
I had 4 oscas in my tank..
2 tiger - 5"
2 albino - 6"

one of the tigers has sort of scraped his one side... it looks like the others are hurting him.. i dont know the real case though.. but my local fish guy tells me to keep the water warm and add rock salt to it.. is this good?? else whats the solution??

-warlock
ps. also this tiger oscar doesnt eat food now...

welcome to the site!
first, what is the size of your tank?
(i have to check from your previous post)
2nd, can you post the water parameters of your tank?
3rd, you have to check if the scrape is caused by bullying,
that would need another approach.

i'm happy to hear that your lfs give sensible advise.
yes, raising temp to 80 deg and add some pure salt help
to comfort your fish. but without knowing the water condition,
it might be useless.

paullllllllllllll i not new to the forum ..ok i am really old either

I dont think its the water
ph - 8
ammonia - 0 ppm
nitrite - 0 ppm
nitrate - 35 ppm

I think its the bullying

yeah, i know, thats why i put at the second line
i have to check your tank size
i am suspecting that.... never the less, i just want to
make sure to cover everything.....

if that would be the case, salt and temp increase
will not matter at all. what you need to do are::
1) re-arrange tank decor to distort territorial issue; or
2) install temporary separator; or
3) re-home the injured one (or pair).

good luck

sounds good i had the same in mind.. just need a pro advice to back me up

What other items are in the tank? like rocks, driftwood??.It could have just bumped these while chasing/playing. If its bulling 3 Oscars will bunch together and the odd one should end up left out probably in a corner hiding. if this ends up being the case and doesn't improve after a short time you may need to separate them. its always worth trying to persist as long as the fish don't suffer continued damage over a long period. 4 Oscar in one tank will always depend on tank size/ fish personality.

as for the damage the fish has suffered, if your waters fine (has it is from your test), it should heal fairly fast. Keep watch over it for infection and melafix if it starts looking worst or not healing.

when you say fast.. can you give me a ballpark figure?? like a week?
water is good...
there is no items in the tank.. only blue pebbles covering the bottom..
yes i know its a little less space.. 2 feet x 1.5 feet x 1.5 feet (LxBxH) i dont know how many gallons it is.. but i guesses it should be about 50 gallons for 2 x 6" albino and 1 x 5" tiger and 1 x 4" tiger

your tanks 30 imp gallons. that's far to small for 1 Oscar and you will need a 50g tank for 1 Oscar to be fair to the fish. its a common mistake a lot of people make and a tank that don't look full is really very over crowded. YOU NEED A NEW TANK FAST. sorry but things will only get worst for you. they are not cheap and take time to setup so its not what you want to hear but its the truth.

Oscars need the space as they grow very large, i wont wast time here as i think you will know this. they will fight until they get the room needed. you need around 150g min. As the fish grow( and that's fast at 1" per month) your waters going to become unmanageable. you really don't have time as setting up a large tank will take a few weeks to a month.( not sure if you have another tank?or plan to get one)

The answer to your question how much time to give them really isn't going to apply to be honest but I will answer anyway. If you had a large tank I would say it depends on how bad things get for the fish and would be down to you. if it was still getting bad damage a day to 2 later remove it. if minor damage what and see.

warlock wrote:

i concur with marcus. if you will notice, that was my first question.
having known your tank size now, medication is not an option anymore.
upgrade or re-home is the most ideal move to do. bullying is due to
space limitation.

i am in the process of getting my new tank.. but its gonna be a month i guess..

my local fish store guy tells me a sump filter is not right for a fresh water tank with oscars.. all you need is a canister or hang on bio filter.. pls help paul... what do you think??
the new size is
5 feet x 1.5 feet x 1.5 feet (LxBxH) i still am not sure how many gallons is this one but fro the looks it feels like a good home for my oscars

warlock wrote:


the guy at your lfs is feeding you a line. a sump is by far the best way to provide biological fitratinn there is on the market. depending on the size of your tank sump really come into their ownon larger aquariums(over 150 imperial gallons).





this tank works out to be about 70 imperial gallons not quite big enough for 2 oscars and definetly too small for 4. for four oscars you should be looking for a tank that is at least 200 imperial gallons.