sick oscar

[oscar1]

Hi i just wanted to let everyone know that today was a sad start for me i had a pair of oscars and today the female was euthanised.I had no choice i tried everything to fix her .It started with what looked like nips out of her body ,mainly her head and this was 6 weeks agoand a coupla of body nips(thought it may have been the male tryin to mate) and then a hole developed in her gill this got bigger did everything i was told by the aquarium staff ,But they all have different ideas.Anyway today i found her in the bottom of the tank gasping so i quickly put her in a container and into the freezer.(what else could i do) and then had a cryPeople dont understand but these fish become pets like dogs and cats. still not sure wot was wrong with her any advice might help if this happens again

 

[nc_nutcase]

I feel your pain... Oscars are by far my favorite fish. I recently lost one (Red) when he decided to find out what was on the other side of the glass and jumped over to check it out... I didn't find him until morning and it was way too late...

Oscars are known to be vulnerable to "hole in the head" disease. In it's earliest stages it is somewhat easily treatable but usually leaves large scars and even sometimes holes... From what all you described I have some doubts that was what your Oscar suffered from... but it's a start...

 

[charmd2]

What size tank were they in? And what were the water parameters? Sounds like poor water quality.

 

[oscar1]

I am only new to this but as for the water quality i did have a guy come and check and everything was fine i also have other fish in the same tank and none have been effected i still have a male oscar a couple of gouramis 2 salmon catsand a fish that i dont know its name its a long flat thingy with a face like a catfish so no i dont think it was the water as thry are all still fine.I was told that the males can get agressive when they try to mate and maybe she got a secondary infection to the wounds,,,,,But everyone will tell you different..Does anyone think i should get another mate for my boy or will he be ok i dont want him to stress because she is gone and its a 120 gall tank

 

[nc_nutcase]

Let me throw out a few questions...

How long has your tank been set up?

How long have these fish been in together?

How old / big are your Oscars?

When Oscars are small they love to be around their own kind. As they mature they will often break from the group into individuals or pairs. It also isn't unheard of for them to remain in groups well into or through adulthood. My point is... groups or *individually, they seem to do well ('experts' say to keep them *individually, as mating pairs or in groups of 6 or more; I have had success with groups of 3 or 4).

*when I say individually here I mean as the only Oscar in the tank, not the only fish in the tank, but they do good that way too (or so I hear, I've never been able to have just one of anything though... lol)

 

[oscar1]

Hi well here goes ....I have had the tank for 7 months and the oscars or the one left is approx5 inches a big healthy one and he was with the other when i got them..The lady who sold them to me said they had been together for as long as she could remember,,,,but he does have other fish in the tank to keep him busy..even an angel which he doesnt even bother with...not like the 1 inch sharks that he ate very quickly.......greedy but i love himi suppose a lot can happen to fish even things we cant explain . Maybe it was "hole in head" just not really sure but it was the only one effected''pity it wasnt one of the gouramis I really wouldnt of missed one of them.....Sorry just loved my oscars

 

[oscar1]

ONE FISH.................................YEAH SURE>>>>>>>>>ITS AN ADDICTION

 

[nc_nutcase]

I would do a search for : Oscar hole in the head. See what you come up with, compare they're pics to what you saw, and make the determination. I've seen hole in the head strike one Oscar even though it was amongst others. Her immune system may have been just a touch below his and he overcame it.

The best preventative cure I've found for Hole in the head (as well as other diseases) is simple old fashioned water changes (well, that and proper filtration and not over stocking). Okay well I guess it takes all three, but with all three you should be in great condition.

So... ya gonna get another one???

 

[digital_run]

I am only new to this but as for the water quality i did have a guy come and check and everything was fine i

Im not going to comment on the Oscar because i dont think im as qualified as some of the members of this forum....But i will put my 0.02 in....I know that at first testing water can be a confusing and seemingly complicated thing...But i've seen alot of people who have had people over to "check" their water and said that everything was green light and perfectly fine....But id say that 75% of the time these so called "experts" are probably just a little bit more informed than yourself.
I was the victim of this when i first started out....I had fish dying and i brought multiple water samples to an employee at a local Ifs....he said it was fine (bored out of his mind cause im the millionth person to ask him today)...after awhile i got fed-up and bought a test kit....hit the web....and found that my amonia level was through the roof aswell as my Nitrate/Nitrite...I had no idea what a cycle was...But its not as complicated or daunting as it seems....the tests are straight forward with easy to read instructions....theres plenty of info on this site that will probably answer all your questions...and if not you can ask them ....Again just a nudge from a friendly fish dude.

Digital_run

 

[oscar1]

Hi and Tanks, Yes when i say i am new to this i did have fish 15 years ago so i do know a little and yes i have all my own aquarium test kits and they were all fine ......so i know the water is ok,,, and yes its possible her imune system was down after what we think may have been battle wound got worse so yeah i have looked at some pics but its really hard to tell from the pictures...all too small
thanks anyway for the info