i have an oscar that is about 4-5 years old that has been breathing hard for a few days and doesnt eat. Tested water 4 days ago ph is was high but now it is about right and is still acting the same way.

Thanks
Mark

what are the rest of your params? i would add an aerator too...

they are ok there are four others in there that are fine i had an aerator does that make a big difference i just had a air pump so i put it on there no particular reason

thanks
Mark

breathing heavily is a sign of water problem.
thus, immediate water change is a must if you
do not have testing kit for ammonia, nitrate,
and nitrite. raising the temp depleted the oxygen
supply thus an air stone or aertion is need.

i did a water change and have an air stone in it again now there in no amonia to speak of and the ph is 7.0 no nitrates or nitrites the other oscars in the tank are younger but are acting pretty normal compared to the older one.


thanks
Mark

fair enough but not sure. what testing kit are you using?
for an establish tank, it is impossible to attain zero nitrate.
one gasping while the others are not is no difference with us
human. it depends on individual immune system.

is there any unusual activity he did lately? say digging the
substrate? biting everything? attacking others? just any sign
of different behavior?

they all were doing the mating ritual normal things tail shaking slapping and shaking scooping up rocks in thier mouths and so on nothing out of the norm