Hello again Oscar lovers,
Ok .... have a question and i think i know the answer, but want conformation.
One of the oscars I bought the other day has what looks like a cataract over its left eye .... i can tell by the way its swims that it is blind or at least can not see out of this eye. also his pigment and colors all seem to have faded and resemble something that has been bleached .... my guess is that the PH level or water acidity may have been too high at some stage.
would this be a fair assumption?
all responses welcome hehe
thx
Robert

Cloudy eye either signifies

A) injury
or
bad water conditions.

i would suggest you test your water for ammonia, nitrIte, nitrAte, and pH. Change your water accordingly.

Start with a large water change, you already know that your tank is too small. So your water peramiters will not be good. That means all kinds of illness. BIG BIG filters + BIG BIG tank = Happy healthy Oscars...

I agree...with a small tank like that I would go as far as a 25% water change every day until you decide what one is staying and which two are going

thx everyone for your responses ....
i should clear this point up with you ...
the fish was like this when i got it, 3 days ago
i was just curious what would cause it in the first place.
as for the water changes, I have been regularly changing the water on a weekly basis. I'm not sure if I am doing the right thing ,,, but i have been doing a 100% water change each week as this also allows me to clean the glass on the inside and replant the plants Oscar pulls up .... he really is quite destructive as well as aggressive ( you gotta love him)

The fish stores often don't have good water peramitors either. So just keep up with your water changes and it should improve. Also, if it is an injury it may never be right, but the best treatment is super clean water.

it would probably be better for your oscars if you broke the water changes down to smaller amount more often. if you change 100% of the water every week maybe try changing only 50% of the water twice a week. this will reduce the stress on your fish and aid in the healing process.

also make sure the water your putting into the tank has been treated with a quality declorinator and is the same temperature as the water in the tank.

Thx Nickisue,
I love my little guy and I want the best for him, so I will continue to carry out the weekly maintenance for him and concentrate on getting a better filtration system happening. And as my tank is not big enough for the 3 of them, i will have to give the other two back to the fish store if they will take them.
It is a shame, I really like these guys, they are beautiful fish ... all of them

thx necromacer
thats a good idea,
I normally take a large bucket of water out of the tank when it is down to about a third of the tank and put the fish in there with an aerator while i drain the rest of the tank. then as i refill it, i add the water treatment and plant food then about half hour after it is full again, i replace the fish and the bucket of water i took out.


on that note .... sorry i must go to bed now as it is midnight and i must work in the morning ..... good nite all

Good night Red_101

red_101 wrote:


i have a half blind Lutino (bought him like this) when he was a month or so old.

now 2 years on he is happy and healthy and living a fulfilling little Oscar life with his female friend (has even managed to fertilize eggs)

i was worried when i bought him he might not survive, although he has trouble catching live foods he has done well...

yes, my little fella was like it when i got him too,
I had no drama about his blindness, he seemed quite content and happy.
unfortunately for him and the other new comer, i had to return them as my tank was not big enough to house them all, not because he was blind and discolored hehe