Sad Sad Oscar!

[tonilee7]

Hi I have 4 oscars, 2 tiger eyes, 1 albino and I'm not sure what the other one is, I have had them for a while and I have had no problems but I got up this morning and noticed that the last oscar I mentioned above had faded and lost his colour. He spends most of his time down the back of the tank. He has little bits of cotton like stuff on him and his poo is like a thick piece of cotton, also I noticed his fins are not in such good order, I am only knew to oscars so I don't know what to do, I don't want to lose him or the others for that matter so any help would be much appreciated. toni


120 litre tank: ph level is 7.0 and amonnia was 2.0 ppm ( could that have been the reason, I have done a half water change this morning)

It contains 4 oscars and 1 angel.

 

[onemisterchristian]

First of all, oscars are new world cichlids not african, but that's not really important. Secondly...Wait 120 litre or gallons?!? ONE oscar gets 12-14 in. and needs a minimum tank size of 75 u.s. gallons, you are about 40? (correct me if i'm wrong) If so that would explain your ammonia being 2.0. Oscars are big fish and big waste producers and need a BIG tank with a BIG filter. If you don't have a tank that can accomodate them then i suggest you take them back to wherever you got them from before seriously endangering their health. Sorry if I am to blunt but you are severely overstocked and it's resulting in the poor health of your fish.

 

[black angel]

I agree too. The tank isnt big enough for one oscar never mind all the others.
It sounds like the fish thats ill has an internal bacteria problem and you need to get bigger water changes done of around 75% each day just to clear the gravel of any dirt. What filtration are you using as it would need to be huge to deal with the waste.
How big are the fish? Can you take the sick one out and isolate it in a rubbermaid for a while?