Could please someone help me save my beloved fish..
My name is RHEA and i am from the Philippines. Just tonight i found one of my beloved oscar lying on one side ...i don't know exactly how long his on that position but i think i know what caused this. I have two oscars who are in the same tank/aquarium. But just recenly, one of my oscar suddemly changes its behavior and began bullying my other oscar. My tank is huge/large so i just put a temporary net divider on it so that i could separate them before they kill each other. But one morning im so shocked to see that one of my oscar is on the side of the tank which belongs to the other one. It probably found its way to the other side. It started beating up my other oscar. I am so devastated to see my almost life-less beaten oscar that time. He suffered many bruises after that fight. His fins are torn and its scale is damaged and tear apart. And after a week, i just found him lying on its side. What could be the problem? By the way, his diet has not change after that fight. He still eats and swim (but not that graceful as he was). And just 3 or 4 days after the fight we did a water change. Please help me. What should i do? Pls reply soon, so that i could still save him, i don't want to lose my pet...help will be very much appreciated. thanks.

First thing is first, you need to test the water for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH. Even though you think it may be because of the fighting that he is laying on his side, you need to rule out poor water conditions first.

Okay, good thing about the divider, hopefully it will save any fighting for the time being. I don't always think that medicating is necessary if they have cuts and bruises, a lot of the time these heal by themselves if you keep the water in good condition. However, you could medicate the tank with some malafix, this is good for healing abrasions/cuts etc.

Now take a good look at the fish, is he breathing heavily, i.e. opening and closing his mouth constantly. Fish will often do this if they are stressed. However, they will also do this if they are ill. You also want to have a good look at the oscar and make sure there is no swelling in the abdomen. I am a little confused, is the oscar eating at all? If he is, that is a very good sign. It can be a real cause for concern when they go off their food for no reason.

Hopefully, he has just had a bit of a beating and is a bit stressed. Just keep an eye on him and see what happens. If he is still like it in a day or two, we may have to think about what to do

hey, thanks for the quick reply. Later this morning, my mom fed the fish and she said that my oscar is still swimming and eating as usual. But in his condition right now, I don't think he will be able to reach for his food and eat. What can i do to help him in this situation? He is one tough fish because he is really trying his best to swim but he really cant as if his body is so heavy. Inspection for abnormalities on abdomen results is negative. Only the bruised scales snd fins are noted. His breathing i think hasn't change, and he still can moves his tail and body but still on lying position. But i guess i really have to check for the water's condition and temperature. Because my mom does the cleaning of the tank and she said that she's not able to put any chlorine or medications in the water--just the tap water-- My Oscars has been with us for almost a year and i am not sure how long my mom is concious about the water quality.

You have got to use water conditioner as most tap water contains chlorine & chloramine which are both harmful to fish.

Okay, the fish is eating, that is a good sign. Could you possibly post a photograph? If you are not able to medicate the tank, then keeping the water in good condition is the best thing you can do to aid healing. However, if you can't use the water conditioner, the situation is a little bit difficult. Please try and get some kind of water conditioner and something to test the water. I would also advise you to get some kind of medication such as melafix if you can

thank you, thank you, thank you!! i'll just inform you regarding my fisk condition..
i just hope he will be ok and i still be able to play with him again..
THANKS A LOT....

If you haven't got a water conditioner to remove chlorine etc, then only carry out small water changes and not large ones.