Oscar Help

[jbbrown2001]

So I have an Oscar and he's been in a 55 but have not quarintened him because he has white like pock marks by his head which I thought my be hole in the head but it happened over night and it also has like white frilly stuff hanging off it so idk and I thought it may be ich but the white marks are to large. I did miss a water change a bit ago due to vacation but I didn't think it'd be a large problem other then that everything's the same as usual. The Oscar also acts like nothingd wrong

 

[Lunar Jetman]

Whilst water changes are essential to maintaining a healthy tank, missing one isn't going to be a disaster unless your water change regime is very low.

Do you have a picture of the Oscar we can look at? How big is it and how long have you had it?

Also, can you confirm the water parameters, nitrate, nitrite, ph, ammonia, etc? Do you have anything else in the tank with the Oscar?

How often are you changing water and how much each time?

I presume when you say you have a '55' you mean its 55 gallons? What are the dimensions of the tank as well?

 

[Colin_T]

Without a picture its impossible to say exactly, but the description would suggest poor water quality and a dirty environment.

Oscars are predators that eat a lot of meat based foods and create lots of waste. They need big (75%) water changes and complete gravel cleans every week or even twice weekly to maintain good health. This is also the quickest way to fix most issues in fish. Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate. And if you have a power filter, clean that too. Wash filter materials in a bucket of tank water.

White pits in the head is usually the start of hole in the head disease (aka head and lateral line disease) caused by a parasitic protozoan called Hexamita. These are found in dirty tanks with lots of organic matter. Gravel cleaning the substrate, big water changes and regular filter cleaning will normally prevent this disease from occurring.

White frilly stuff hanging off the fish is usually excess mucous caused by stress and poor water quality. Again, big water changes, regular gravel cleaning and filter maintenance will fix this and prevent it from recurring.

Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank.