Pet store isnt helping me very much. A few years back I had several fresh water tanks, 15 gal to 45 gal. I kept only community tropicals and had very few problems. I recently started a small 10 gal for my daugther and its fine. I then decided to buy a second 30 gal tank. I setup the tank and let it settle for two weeks. The water was tested at the pet store, they said every thing was perfect. I bought a small neon and he did fine for a week in the big tank so I moved him over to the small one.

had the water tested again, again the pet store said everything was okay. I purchased a med sized oscar about 3 inchs, did a 30 minute transfer. He did fine for the first hour then went to the bottom and laid there. gills appeard to be breathing normally, but maybe a little slow. Water temp was about 74. This carried into next day so I brought him back thinking it was the Oscar.

petstore said ph was 7 and suggested i up the PH and sold me a bottle of 8.2ph up. I was at 7.5 about 4 days later and petstore again said my tank was ready.

they had a pair of baby oscars(less than 2inchs) so I got them. I know I will need a much bigger tank, I am already looking. Got them home did a 45 minute adjustment and transfer. they instantly went to hiding. one eventually came out an looked around but the other stays at the bottom hiding. He sits on his belly on the rocks. the second one seems to stay with the first to comfort him. neither seem to be eating. i watched my water temp drop to about 70 and observerd the fish breathing very slowly. i purchased a heater and the water is about 80, i have backed the temp down and am shooting for 77 or so.

i will have the water tested today and get exact readings. I know i need a larger tank, i am working on that. How do I get the tank right and get these guys off the bottom. I thought it might be stress of a new tank, then I thought it was cold temps, but they continue to sit after a week.

I have a 3inch air wand and a tetra 30-60 filter system. I have tried leaving the tank light off and the air wand, but nothing seems to really comfort them.

I have been feeding them bloodworms, flakes and frozen krill, None of which they eat.

what do you have for decor in your tank? and are you trying flake food for tropical fish. i see you have flakes down but what kind.?

my petstore guy told me to feed them for the first couple of days on flake food only to ease the transition. Oscars do seem to sulk and pout, after being put into a new tank. Are you vacuuming out the food that they are not eating. if not that could start to have an neg. affect on your water params.

Jessica

Okay, the very first thing I would do is ignore everything this shop has been telling you, they obviously have absolutely no idea what they're talking about, I am sitting here in amazement reading what you have been telling me. Firstly, why on earth they are suggesting that you raise your pH from 7.0 up to 8.0 is something I just can't fathom how. In an ideal world you don't really want your pH any higher than 7.0 if you are keeping Oscars. Also, getting you to raise your pH when you are cycling your tank is suicidal. Please do not take any notice of what they tell you. I would suggest that you get your own test kits and let us help you. Honestly, I'm staggered, I really am.

30 gallons is not even big enough for one Oscar, but you already know that, you will have to do something very quickly. If you cannot upgrade your tank in the next three or four months then you are going to be in trouble.

If you let a tank of water stand for two weeks and then tested the water [assuming you haven't got any fish in it] of course the water is going to be perfect. It will take around eight weeks to cycle a tank probably.

What filter are you using? The first thing we need to do is ascertain what your water conditions. Please don't use anymore chemicals to adjust to pH. Test the pH coming from your tap to see what that is.

Get back to us and we will try and help.

I have three or four plastic grassy plant things. Then i have one fake coral and a second arched rock thing. Yes, I have topical flake food and thats all i used for the first few days. then I added the bloodworms and frozen krill. Its only been a week, so i havent vaccumed yet, will do it this weekend.

since your tank has only been setup for a couple of weeks now i beleive that your problems are from a tank that is not cycled yet. it can take up to 6 weeks to properly cycle a tank. imho the first thing you need to do is get yourself a water test kit. preferably one that uses a liquid reagent and test your own water for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates and ph. after you have done this could you post your results on the forum and we will be better able to help you.
secondly it is far more important to have a stable ph than one that fluctuates. never mind trying to alter it and leave it be for now.
i would also recommend daily water changes of about 25% until you can post your water results for us.

good luck with your new oscar


btw welcome to the site

penn has you covered on this one. get back to us with your water resuts and we will be able to help you more.


btw i have deleted your other post in the emergency section since your responses have posted to this one.

feeding your fishes for several days without eating definitely compromise
your water, thus, we will be waiting for the test result.

btw, welcome to the site...

Im with OFL. the advice you have been given is appalling. Oscars can take a range of Ph from 6 to 8. The important thing is that it is steady. DONT adjust your Ph unless you really really know what you are doing.

Get yourself a test kit for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and Ph. Get the bottle types not the test strips

Oscars often sulk and hide away for a few days when you first put them in a new tank, sometimes over a week.

The most important thing you should do is not take any notice of the people in that fish store and if there is another one nearby TRY THEM!!!!

delboybully wrote:


I agree.

thanks for the input... I had the water tested...(same pet store)and even brought the fish. Asked the fish dude Bryan what he thought. he seemed better than the other clerks and said he had an oscar of his own. He looked over both oscars and said the red / orange color looks good, but the dark areas look a little lite. He said they frequently look more brown. he suspected stress and the cold water as the issue. He didnt see any signs of ick, gill or scale problems.

I noticed the oscars seemed happier and more alert in the plastic bag than in my tank.

he tested my water (strips)
ammonia 0
nitrate <20
nitrite 0
Ph 7.8

he suggested a water change of ten gallons, then add stress coat plus one cap for the ten gallons of transfered water.

Dont get upset, but I did what he said. I have removed 10 gallons while cleaning the rocks of the old food and added 10 gallons (city tap water) and added the stress coat. water temp is now at 77-78. fish gills seem to be moving more normal, i have noticed they are opening thier mouths pretty steady, dont know if that means anything.

i have left the heater, air wand and light off.

Fish are still sitting at the bottom of the tank.

planning a trip to walmart for a test kit.

Leave your heater on it will turn itself off when it reaches the right temp. Also using stress coat is great, however you only need 1ml per 2 US Gallons, therefore if your doing a 10 gallon changes, you only need to add 5ml you are adding 3x to much. It appears your tank is cycled. 77-78 is perfect for O's. Be sure to turn off your filter when you do a change. Add the stress coat fill back up wait like 5 min then turn the filter back on. You want the Stress coat to remove the chlorine from the water before its run through the filter and kills some of your good bacteria. I would test your tap water and see where it is. if its close to 7 I would be carefule about doing more then like 10-20 pct water changes as it could drastically change the Ph.

ok, i got a api liquid drop test kit. I tested the tank ph after the water change and I get 7.6 I also tested my tap water its 7.6

I have a bottle of ph decreaser from jungle labs. its a powder, read 1/2 teaspon per 10 gallons. i added 1/2 teaspoon, will check water in the morning.