Is my Oscar dying??

[Sassygrrl]

Hi there!

I need some help. I have an Oscar I am very fond of and he isn't acting/looking like himself. He is a Tiger Oscar.

- His color is usually dark, but he looks "pale" now.
- His mouth hangs open, with his lower lip jutted out (like he's on a fish hook)
- He appears to have labored breathing as his gills
- He hasn't eaten in 3 days, which is unusual for this pig. He used to be on a flake/brine only diet. Within the last 2 weeks we have been feeding him live feeders, which he happily chases and eats. Not sure if this is related, but his "waste" is now clear, where it used to be brown.

Tank readings are normal (ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, ph). Any ideas?

 

[Matty]

those signs cant be good..sounds like he's sick, check him out with a good lfs if you have one

 

[fufanu360]

where did u get the feeders? i hope not from a lfs......... could u post a picture of the little guy, and wut size tank is he in ?

 

[Vip]

Thats a bad case a stress, what are his tank mates, age, tank size?

Also stop with the feeders, they can cause parasites and make him really sick.

 

[cat.fish]

in her/his sig it says that he is in a 10 gallon. that is WAY to small for even a baby oscar. they need at least a 70 gallon to reach full size.


HTH
joe

 

[Vip]

Ahh, thanks for pointing that out cat.fish i didnt see it, and you are correct as well on saying a 10g is much to small, that would cause major stress on the poor little guy, if you have no room for at least a 55g tank i would say your best option is to take him back, i know its sad and its hard but it will most likly die. You would have to do 30% water changes daily for him and in about 2 months or so he might be abit to big to turn around in the tank.
Sorry to be the one to tell you te bad news.

Hope it works out well.

 

[Sassygrrl]

Sadly, my dear Oscar died sometime last night. I am very sad. He's was such a good buddy, always playful and loved to watch people. I won't get another Oscar. Originally, my husband bought him knowing the tank was too small, but was going to give him a bigger tank as he got older. He wasn't very big, perhaps 7 months old, 5 inches.

May he rest in peace.

 

[Sassygrrl]

To answer your questions though...

Yes, I bought the feeders from the LFS. In fact, I am guessing that this is the cause of death as my Volitan Lion from the 55 gallon died just 2 days ago (after starting him on feeder fish). Now that I think of it, he had some similar symptoms, like the lethargy and refusing to eat. I will stop feeding my Moray Eel the feeders!!!

Another cause... we also recently moved from house to house. The stress could have helped facilitate any problems.

Thanks for all your help.

 

[BlueIce]

it sounds like internal parasites to me...
meds could have cured him if caught in time...to prevent in the future...no goldfish ....it's unhealthy even when it doens't carry the parasite.

 

[Sassygrrl]

Do parasites cause that kind of damage that quickly? Wow. I just can't believe he went from looking like a happy little guy to deathly ill in a matter of a few days. I will NEVER feed my fish feeders from the LFS again. Can I raise them instead? What are the best types of feeders? I've got several spare tanks.