I got home from work tonight and did a water change, my oscars are always more dosile after the water changes so I was sitting in my room watching them and I noticed my tiger has 5-6 black spots on its gills on each side of its body. They were never there before and it is freaking me out. I did a water test twice pH- 7.1 Amonia - 0 Nitrite - 0 Nitrate 10-14 I will post a photo tomorrow if I can get a good one but if it is something I want to treat it now and make sure my other oscars don't get it. I guess I should also mention its a 160 gallon tank and none of my oscars are acting strange they are all swimming eating and nothing seems wrong. I hope I gave you enough info to help me. I live in the US so if it is some sort of infection/parisite I will buy medication 1st thing tomorrow just please help it 12:00 pm got work in 6 hours and this is the first problem I've had I can't sleep. Thanks - Jon

Ok I think it is also important to mention the spots do not look like a growth rather like a coloration, and they do not look fuzzy/fury. I guess you could compare it to a birthmark rather then a mold if that makes any sense. Ill try to get that photo thanks.

Ok here is that photo its not great but should help. The spots are circled in red also his feces his white and it never looked like this before that is also circled. I hope its no big deal but I would rather medicate today then be sorry tomorrow.

Would love to help but I honestly can't recognize anything on that pic except the gill looks somewhat strange to me - do they have the normal shape or being eaten away a bit?
As for the spots, how big are they? Was thinking at first how mine has that too as normal colouration but i guess they would not appear overnight. Including a pic anyway for comparison.
Else can only ask some questions that might help whoever has an idea:
- Just to make sure: No signs of laboured breathing, swollen gills, gills being eaten away? (to possibly exclude gill flukes)
- Did you introduce any other fish or feeders to the tank recently? (for the probability of any other parasites)
- How long have the feces been like that? And like that all the time?
White feces can have plenty reasons from just stress over a "cold" to internal parasites, so it's really hard to tell.
I'd normally recommend to raise the temp a bit (what's the temp anyway?) and add some aquarium salt, but hesitating because of that spots thing - we don't want any possible parasite to multiply even faster with a higher temp.

Sorry, was still thinking about it and I suddenly realized you said *gills* and not *gill plates*.
If the spots are on the gills really, that would be nothing normal most likely. My first bet would be gill flukes then (Dactylogyus or similar). It is strange though that the Oscar shows no signs of distress by breathing heavily, rubbing, swimming erratically or anything .. those are said to be symptomes. No experience with those parasites though.
Maybe try to find a pic on google, or hopefully someone here will know better than me.
If it's gill flukes, adding salt can't be wrong but it needs more treatment, I assume you get meds for flukes where you are. The temp should not be raised.

Sorry I meant on the gill plates they are ot internal but he is showing no distress whatsoever but if they just appeared that could be coming.

Is there any "over-all" medication that I can use to treat a multitude of parasites and infection that will not harm him or my other oscars I don't want to move him because he still looks healthy but I have work so i guess in about 9 hours I will see if i need to move him.

Well, that is good. Of course might still change. What about the feces, any changes? (when you're back from work)
Maybe someone else has any better idea ... I also remember having read about strange things such like small worms on Oscars suddenly, from ppl from the U.S., so there might be as well things we don't get here or I just haven't heard of.

Sure there are "broadband meds" although I can't tell you any brands now. Would not recommend that though. It's like you taking antibiotics, sleeping pills and malaria vaccinations to deal with hemorrhoids (not saying you got any ) - maybe it helps even but the side effects may be worse than what you actually got, plus it might kill the bacteria in your filter. I'd put in some dissolved aquarium salt or pure salt without other ingredients as long as the situation isn't worsening, many parasites and bacteria don't like it.
Sorry I couldn't be of any more help, good luck and please keep us posted.

He is still active and eating so i will update in a few hours if anything changes. I looked for an old photo to show that difference but cant find one but I know my oscars and that wasn't there.

White stringy feaces can be a sign of a problem. Are they long and stringy. Internal parasites can be one cause. Be careful if you treat for internal parasites as some of the treatments can knock your filter bacteria out and then you have an uncycled tank and the problems that involves (the intructions will tell you if this is the case). My oscars feaces will change colour depending on what i have fed him. Example its red when i have fed them red hikari pellets. What have they been fed on recently? Try some coloured food and see what happens to the colour of your fishes waste

If you had shown me that picture and not said anything i would of said he looks fine. Your oscar is a young one and they do change colour as they get older, are you sure its not that

The good thing is he is acting normally and eating.

I really hope its just that he is changing colors, as for his feces It is long and stringy but I don't want to treat for something he doesn't have and then on the other hand I don't want to do nothing and it be too late.

And you're so right about that. Doesn't get us anywhere though
This really bothers me, sure wish we could say the fish has this and that and there's the treat for it, or even better that is has nothing at all.

As for the spots, let's hope it's just a normal colouration change. Else I been reading up on that trying to get any idea, and the only thing I found that goes with black spots is a condition called *black spot*, who would have thought. Has another name as well which I can't even speak. It is caused by the larvae of parasitic digenetic flukes, cercaria or metacercaria, the black spots being up to 2mm in diameter and basically just being a melamine change at the point where the parasites borrowed into the skin. The parasite has a life cycle involving birds and snails though, so unless you introduced other fish or snails to the tank, I wouldn't know how your Oscar could get that. Also, some info says the parasites can be removed easily with a salt bath or med while others say there is no cure at all. Fish can live with it quite well though unless there are huge amounts on weakened or young fish. This just for the records.

If that with the white stringy feces doesn't go away soon, there has to be something done about it though. I read there is a medicated food available against internal parasites and bacteria if you want to treat for that. (Jungle Anti Parasite Medicated Fish Food ... if not available in your local shop then Big Al's sells it.) Thinking that might work better than pouring something in the tank while it might not mess that much with your tank bacteria.