Good afternoon All,

I have a tiger Oscar (Leroy) that is not eating and this has been going on for 4 days now. He used to eat on his scheduled feeding times which was at 7.30am and 5.30pm. His diet was consisting of the following, Hikari Gold Pellets, Blood worms, Ocean Plankton, Shrimp and krill which would be alternated through the week. On the odd occasion I use to feed him small pieces of fresh raw shrimp or hake pieces. He will approach the glass whenever I enter the room but not eat. He would nip at my finger but not take the food.
He is about 3 inches long and in a 50 Litre tank for now and which will be upgraded to a 75 Gallon tank within this month. He stays on his own and has a heater which keeps the temp at 80 degrees F and a power filter and a 13 inch air stone. Rocks and coarse gravel with silk fake plants are also in the tank. The medication and water treatment products are of the same brand APi. I have also used one fizzy tablet from Jungle Fish Care (Parasite Clear) hoping to cover all my bases.
The water is only bottled water that I use and I do a 50% water change once per week. The gravel is also cleaned as needed. The only signs that I have noticed is his fins are kept close to his body. He is swimming around normal and flashes his colours on the odd occasion. The other thing I have noticed is a small circle which seems to be a little hole below his one eye which has not gotten bigger or shown any sign of infection or fuzziness. I have treated the tank with Melafix for the last 3 days and no improvement has been noticed. I have also used the API Stress Coat plus when I saw the mentioned scar/hole the first time. He was also purchased with a scar on his one side which is not really healing as fast as it should.
The only issue I have with the tank is the growth of algae on the glass and some white algae streaks on certain areas. The tank receives natural sun light in the early morning and again in the late afternoon. I keep the light off except for when feeding him or wanting to watch him.
TANK INFO:
Nitrate – 10ppm
Nitrite – Zero
Hardness – 75ppm
Alkalinity – 80ppm
PH – 7.2
Ammonia - .25ppm
Please help as he is really a great little character and means a lot to me!!!

Thanks and kind regards,
Ulrich

Hi and welcome.. Thank you for all needed info up front. The only thing I can see that would be a problem would be your ammonia is too high.. It should be 0 at all times.. You should do a water change now to bring it down.

Oscars often can go weeks without eating so I wouldn't worry too much about that right now... But please bring the ammonia down as it can cause big problems!

Thanks for the prompt reply, the Ammonia is .25 and as per the test kit i have used it is safe (Quick Dip) Please advise.

Test strips are crap... They often give false readings... You need a liquid water test kit.. You can get one at a local fish store or off ebay... But where Oscars are concerned, ammonia in any amount is toxic... and prolonged exposure can cause a lot of health problems. Such as Hole In The Head Disease. I would do a 50% water change now... Then get a liquid test kit ASAP...

As nickisue pointed out any ammonia in your tank is a sign of a problem. you need to do a water change as said and retest next day. follow this until no ammonia present. after using melafix I have had fish not eat and just mouth the food and spit it out, can I ask why you have used the treatments, you list a few. fish are very sensitive so it could be the treatments thats upsetting your oscar. also there is normally a 10 day between using another treatment, did you follow this?

x2............

there are times treatment for something which you do not know what,
make things more complicated. it make things worse. normally, the first
defense in all kind of fish illnesses is varied food and pristine
water. medication is always secondary.....

Used melafix due to a damaged fin and a couple of scales, which i assume he lost before i purchsed him. I was told it would heal after about a week but nothing. I bought a book on Oscars and did some reading and they suggested Melafix which i have bene using for 3 days now.

That was my first concern, he stopped eating his fav. food which would be the raw shrimp. He then just started chewing the other food and not keeping it in. He will nip at my finger and pull the food away but not eat it. Other than that i am not sure as at times his fins stay close to his body as if he is seeking attention and then at times when i glance at him his fins are all normal and looking good. Hopefully he is having a blue day but it will be day number 5 soon that he has not eaten and it looks like he has started loosing some body mass.

most of the time, melafix will cause your fish not eating for
a while. that is why there is a prescribe period and should be
removed immediately after medication.....

i suggest do large water change and put carbon pads in your media
to expedite melafix removal....

What is the period as the bottle and pet shop said 7 days and then do a full water change. Any help.

As per bottle and shop owner i have to remove the carbon filter which i did. I will replace it once i have done a full water change and clean the tank completly. One more i have noticed white like algae strips forming on my glass any idea what that might be from?