I have a 2 yr old tiger and a 1 1/2 yr old red oscar. I don't know the all the levels of the water in my tank, but my red oscar is healthy as can be in every way. About 2 months ago my tiger oscar stopped eating pellets. I noticed that he wasn't pooing so I fed him frozen blood worms with peas in it because I thought he was constipated. He was eating the blood worms, but stopped eating anything for the past month. He sits at the bottom of the tank or slowly and often sideways moves around. I read about internal parasites and I'm planning on treating him for it today. I don't have another tank to put him in so my red oscar will be in there too. Is that ok for my red oscar? If my tiger oscar has had an internal parasite problem for months, what are his chances of surviving? Can I try feeding him goldfish when treating for parasites? What do I need to know and do?

THANK YOU
Rachel

hey there and welcome to OFL.
Wish it were in better circumstances.
it's hard to give solid advice if we don't have your waterparameters for Ammonia, nitrites and nitrates.
I'd suggest to get a testkit and those testresults, before rushing into treatment with meds.
Did the colour and substance of your O's poo change lately?
Did you try any other foods, like earthworms, mealworms or crickets?
My o refuses his food completely from time to time and I've had him change from pellets to worms and back again.
If you decide to treat the whole tank your other O may go off his food for some time as well.
That's one of the side effects of the meds.
Otherwise it wil
What's the size of the tank and what's your maintenance schedule?
A full grown O can go without food for a long time, so if we can diagnose the problem his chances are still good.
But we need those test results and other answers to rule out any other problems.

I have both of my oscars in a 40 gallon breeder, I went to a fish store and will be going back with water so he can check it. I've always assumed my water was ok because I have a penguin bio filter for up to 70 gallons, a marineland emperor for up to 80 gallons, 2 powerheads and 2 air pumps... and my water is always clear. I put new carbon in the filters regularly and add fresh water to the tank. As well as treat it for ammonia and nitrites or nitrates (whatever the bad one is) and put good bacteria back in. I'll let you all know how the water quality ended up to be after I have it tested.

I have both of my oscars in a 40 gallon breeder, I went to a fish store and will be going back with water so he can check it. I've always assumed my water was ok because I have a penguin bio filter for up to 70 gallons, a marineland emperor for up to 80 gallons, 2 powerheads and 2 air pumps... and my water is always clear. I put new carbon in the filters regularly and add fresh water to the tank. As well as treat it for ammonia and nitrites or nitrates (whatever the bad one is) and put good bacteria back in. I'll let you all know how the water quality ended up to be after I have it tested.

Ok, your setup is not adequate for 2 Oscars and to be honest not even for one O.
No matter if watercondition will turn out fine, you will still get the advice to upgrade to a bigger tank.
At least 55Gl is recommended for one oscar so you will need a 100+ gallon tank.
A tank like yours will not provide a proper home for big fish like oscars.
I'm sorry to bring this to you, but tanksize will probably have to do with your problems and if not, will be the cause of sick and unhappy fish.

Im guessing your O's are 9"+ each in a 40G tank theres no way your water is healthy. I would do 30% water changes every day till you can get at least a 100 Gal tank. You really need to read about how to cycle of your tank. Chemicals is not the way to maintain a tank. Im Guessing the reason you havnt had any problems till now is that your O's are reaching maturity and up till now the tank wasnt too small. Bottom line you need a 100 G+ tank hopefully 110 G+. Good Luck.

JamesS wrote:

yeah, 100+ means 180Gl prefered over 110GL!

I am very aware of the fact that I need a larger tank. I needed a larger tank a year ago. Lesson: Don't do drugs! The tank will come soon along with my new life, until then I would like to keep my sick fish alive. I bought Prazipro for fluke and internal parasites and aquarium salt. When I first put it in he seemed worse, but I was just looking at him and although he's not swimming around, he is moving his eyes around and looking at me. He seems a more alert. My tank's PH level was a low 6.o, the "fish man" told me frequent water changes would fix that because tap water's PH level is close to 8.0. My Nitrates were a little high too. No ammonia or nitrites. I did the water change as soon as I got home because he also said that low PH could make my fish go blind I'm soo worried, if anyone knows anyone with a big tank for really cheap or has any advice let me know.

Thanks guys!!

rmd4021 wrote:


Try looking on Craiglist... I know that's how many members here have gotten their tanks!

Heck yeah! I got my 135gl for $200 on Craigslist, and found a 100gl for $75 just the other day on Kijiji. Dunno where you live, but you might have a Freecycle group in your area too! Just start surfing and shopping. You can find an adequate sized tank no problem with a little diligence. Good luck man, hope your O recovers soon.