I have a 3" oscar that just got stuck on a piece of decor, it was a castle and it had like a piece that was sticking out, apparently he was hiding in there, and i noticed he wouldn't come out, and today i flipped it over and saw a huge gash on it's side, currently, he is laying in between the castle and the side of the tank, and I'm missing my cory cat fish....-__-, Do you think he will recover from this injury?

Why does it take so long for a reply? D:

is it possible for you to post a picture of your oscars injury. its kinda difficult to say what course of action you should take without actually how bad it is. also can you post your water parameters and tank size along with tankmates that live with your oscar?

I cannot post a picture, he is currently in a 60 US gallon tank along with another oscar both juveniles he looks better now, I've only had him for a week, he came a bit stressed from walmart where i purchased him, for some reason they seem scared of me, every time i come near the tank the freak out and go hide somewhere, One is a red tiger oscar and the other is an Albino.

They won't eat either, i have live crickets, pellet food, and freeze dried food for them.

hernanlol wrote:


Sorry for the late reply and welcome to the site!
Please bear in mind that people around this forum
is govern by time elements and other activity. the time
when you posted your concern might be wee hours in other
place so be patient... take your time.

back to business, self inflicted injury of fishes usually
heals in no time if your water parameters are perfect. pristine
water is the first and foremost defense in fish problem.
not eating can be attributed to shock and new environment
syndrome. eventually, they will take their foods, just make
sure your water is in good condition.

as necro said, we need some data to assess your concern in depth.
tank size:
stocking:
filtering type and capacity:
how long tank had been set up:
ammonia:
nitrate:
nitrite:
pH:

tank size: 70 US
stocking: 2 Tiger/Albino O's, One Cory Catfish.
filtering type and capacity: Penguin Bio-Wheel 70-80 gallons.
how long tank had been set up: 1 month or so
ammonia:0
nitrate:...
nitrite:...
pH: 7.5

oscar heal rather quickly if they are in a healthy enviroment. i gather from your water readings that you dont have a tester for nitrites or nitrates. these are rather important to have and i would suggest getting one as soon as you can. did you set up the tank for your oscars or was it prevously set up for other fish? if so what method did you use to cycle your tank?

while on the subject of your tank 70 us gallons is not quite big enough for 2 oscars. it may seem large now but in a few months you will begin to have some issues with water quality. also your filtration will need to be upgraded as well. from experience i found the marineland filter are great for small tropical fish but with large cichlids they just cant keep up with the bioloads that these fish produce.

now my suggestion, without actually seeing the damage, would be to do a 30% water change asap then test for nitrates to see if they fall into the accceptable limits. if it will be a few days before you can get a test kit continue with the 30% water changes every second day until you can get the kit. unfortunatly with the limited info on the extent of the injury it is rather difficult to say if medication is needed or not.

i did a 75% yesterday, and do a 15% weekly

tank size: 70 US
stocking: 2 Tiger/Albino O's, One Cory Catfish.
filtering type and capacity: Penguin Bio-Wheel 70-80 gallons.
how long tank had been set up: 1 month or so
ammonia:0
nitrate:...
nitrite:...
pH: 7.5

They won't eat either, i have live crickets, pellet food, and freeze dried food for them.

hernanlol wrote:


oscar can survived without taking foods for a day or week.
as i have said earlier, it may take sometime before
they start eating again due to stress and environmental
shock. just keep an eye on your water. before i forget,
never wash your filter media in tap water (common mistake).