Please Help My Oscar!

[superoscar]

He started to get bloated about a month and a half ago. I tried salt and reducing his diet and the bloating has stayed about the same and he has seemed normal. Now today he is floating at an angle up near the surface. I've done water tests and everything is fine, have done another water change. Nothing I do is making him feel better! Is there anything I can do? I'm worried he might not make it through the day! He's three years old and a foot long, I don't want to lose my little buddy.

 

[black angel]

Tell us what you have for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and ph.
How big is the tank and what filtration, any other tank mates, if so what and how big?
How much water do you change and how much? What are you feeding?

 

[superoscar]

Ammonia, nitrite and nitrate are all down within acceptable levels. PH is the only thing thats off, its down around 5.0. I've been gradually working on improving it without any sudden shocks. Maintaining stable PH has been a problem since day 1 but in three years it has never seemed to bother him so no real changes there. It's a 50 gallon tank, no other fish. He has the thing to himself, he's about 11-11.5 inches long. Because he's so large I do water changes daily of about 5% everytime. Filtration is a little lacking, he has an Aquaclear 200, hence my consistent water changes to make sure everything stays in check.

Food seems to be the most likely culprit for the bloating. For a while all he would eat was freeze dried shrimp. When I first noticed bloating back in June I took him off those and began a mixture of frozen brine shrimp, cichlid pellets and the occasional shrimp. I starved him for a week and he refused to eat green peas.

The bloating has stayed about the same for about two months now and he has been acting normal. In the last week the bloating has gotten worse, his stomach is quite distended now. Its just today that he's really worrying me. He went back to the bottom for a bit and now he's in the corned at the top again. I'm not sure what I can do.

 

[superoscar]

I should add that his scales are not sticking out at all and he hasn't shown any other signs of illness except for the distended belly. He is still pooping of course but they are small and very dark which makes me think it is a diet issue. But at this point if thats the case I'm not sure that theres anything I can do.

 

[WILDER]

Shelled peas, is he going to the toilet.

http/www.bobstropicalfish.com/constipation.html

He needs to be in a much larger tank.
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=47035

 

[Boxermom]

There are no acceptable levels of ammonia or nitrites.

 

[Tolak]

Since he's a big fish in a 50-gallon, you may as well treat him in that tank. Epsom salt helps with constipation issues, start with 1 teaspoon per 10 gallons, and increase by a teaspoon daily for a few days for a maximum of 3 teaspoons per 10 gallons.

It would help if you could post the actual numbers from the results of your water tests. The epsom will increase the hardness a little, but this might stabilize the pH. I'm especially interested to see the numbers for your gh & kh, this may have something to do with the pH swings.

Even though you are doing daily small water changes, which you should be commended for, the bio filtration of the ac 200 may be a little lacking. What I like to do with messy fish, or an overstocked tank, is to put a powerhead on the bottom, with a foam pre-filter stuffed in a 1 liter bottle. You could do the same with a 2 liter bottle, here's a pic of one made out of a 1 liter;

The powerheads are around $12 online; the foam is a couple of bucks. You could increase your filtration immensely for around $15, while keeping the bottom cleaner.

 

[superoscar]

I have API Aquarium Salt. is this the same as epsom salt? It was the only type I could find at the store.

 

[Tolak]

Epsom salt is entirely different, you can get it at most drug stores.

 

[superoscar]

Ok thanks, I'll head to the drug store tonight and pick some up. After a couple days of it will it get his system moving again?

 

[Tolak]

It works great for constipation, if it doesn't clear up in a few days you are dealing with swim bladder, something that requires antibiotics. Many times being constipated will affect the swim bladder, and clearing it up helps any swim bladder issues.

Wilder has a link to treating constipation with what I believe is cod liver oil. I've never had to use it, epsom has worked every time.

 

[superoscar]

Ok I have a bag of epsom salts now. It's a 50 gallon tank so 5 small teaspoons tonight. Ten tomorrow and up to 15 the day after that. Then do a large water change? Is there any risk of the epsom salts harming him if I don't go over those specific amounts?

 

[Tolak]

Epsom does tend to increase hardness. Some people like to dose with 1 tablespoon per 10 gallons right off, I like to ease up to that amount. The fish is already sick, no reason to cause any problems with the water on top of the illness.

If the fish isn't better in a few days, it probably is swim bladder. You could try the cod liver thing, http/www.bobstropicalfish.com/constipation.html

 

[superoscar]

Ok, thanks Tolak. At this point my biggest worry is he won't live long enough for the salts to clear out his system. Should I increase the dose right away? And after the three days should I do a large water change? There was some aquarium salt in the water already. Will the combination of the two be harmful?

 

[Tolak]

I like to increase it daily, you could try it a little faster if you like. It shouldn't hurt anything having both salts present in the water, they are 2 different compounds that don't interact with each other.

You should be doing larger water changes anyway, fresh water is he best thing for any fish, especially a sick one. Just remember to replace the epsom that is removed. After a few days if the fish isn't appearing to get better, you can try the cod liver oil, or go with antibiotics. I've used antibiotics with epsom in the water with no problems, it will work it's way out with water changes. Maracyn and Maracyn II are some of the more commonly available antibiotics that work against gram positive & gram negative bacteria. Most any lfs has them available.