how to help my oscar fish?

Question

MY FISH IS STILL ACTING VERRY FUNNY AND DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO WHAT SHOULD I DO FOR HIM

well he is not eatting or not hardly swimming the only time he swims is when he tap on the glass and he is kind of lying donw on the gravel i have a 10 gallon tank but he is only a smal fish a new born one so he has along to to go until i buy the one on wait for me but he wont eat i just got him to day like 2 hours ago

Answer 1

There's no way we can help you if you don't give us better details. How is he acting funny? What is he doing?

Answer 2

Please answer my questions on your other post. Otherwise I can not help you. I need to know what is going on before I can see what is wrong.

When you go to the doctor you don't just say "my leg hurts, what is wrong with it" The doctor has to ask other questions then examine it before they can figure out what is wrong.

Here I will copy and paste my other answer to your question here to make things easier:


First off goldfish are not healthy food for oscars. They are OK for occasional treats but do not have enough nutrition. Go get some cichlid pellets for your oscar and that should help a whole bunch.

Just to make sure that is actually the problem would you mind telling me how big your tank is? Also how long has it been set up, how did you cycle it, and are there any tankmates?

Also, don't tap on the glass, this causes stress for the fish, it may be contributing to your sick oscar.




OK the problem is that it is in a 10 gallon tank. Oscars need 55 gallons MINUMIM!! And that is for 1 fish that is all by itself. Absolutely no other fish. Your oscar is suffering in it's own filth, either go get a 55 gallon tank or take your fish back to the store or else it is going to die. You can help it live longer by doing water changes every day, but in such a small tank, even that will not be enough.

Also, read this about cycling:

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=20

Answer 3

Number one
DO NOT TAP ON THE GLASS you are stressing him out more. You can tell if he is alive by looking at his gills. if theyre moving, he's alive.

He's small, so maybe some brine shrimp will perk him up. It'll give him something to chase and spark his interest in eating. Oscars LOVE to chase thier food. I think i told you last time to get toughies but i didnt know he was a baby.

Are you keeping your light on for 10 hours a day? good lighting is important for all fish.

Do you have live plants in your tank? Build of of organic matter like fish poo and dead live plant matter can create an unstable level of chemicals. You should get a testing kit that will tet for EVERYTHING not just PH. You could be poisoning your fish and not know it.

Did you cycle your tank before putting him in? Have you used some kinda start right chem. remover?

Is your water warm enough? the tank should be at about 78degrees. Also, do not make any sudden changes in temp. that could make him sluggish. Do about 1 degree per hour.

Does he have any signs of disease like holes inthe head, rotten or torn fins, white spots, ect? All of these things are very serious.

Are you sure your oscar isnt swimming around while you arent looking. Like i've said before, osars are like lazy old men, they eat, chill, then sleep on the bottom


and as for the other guys answer, 10gal tank is not too small, as long as you plan on upgrading VERY soon.. you oscar will be way too big for that tank in about 2 months.

Answer 4

our first oscar went into shock like that all the time. it usually took him two or three days to get back to normal. we didnt really do anything special to help him get over it. we still fed him like normal. and, also, we had him in a 10 gallon tank to start, and then moved him to a 55 gallon tank. he had no problems being in a smaller tank when he was a smaller fish. i wouldnt worry about it too much. the trauma from being removed from his familiar tank and thrown into a new one can be hard on some fish, especially oscars.

in response to the person with ALL the answers, we had our oscar in the tank with several other fish over time. hes been in a tank with a very large plecostemus, a nigerian bicher, and a very small albino codydoras, and never had any problems. the plecostemus and the oscar butted heads occasionally, but no one ever got hurt. i think it all depends on how you treat the fish. and i do agree with him about tapping on the glass. its not good for the fish.

Answer 5

well, i think your maybe sick? maybe not ? make sure he is getting plenty of oxygen and he is not swimming in his own ammonia
and the temp is between 78 and 82 degrees and lets not for get the p.h. balance and also use one table spoon of aquarium salt per gall en
show him lots of attention NO GRAVEL!! and make sure you saved your receipt. good thing your not too attaches to him yet cuz i am going thru an emotional hell with mine. i believe he has swimbladder and there is no cure . i am still holding on to hope that i can do some thing for mine. i love him. he is like a child to me. i have had him for many years and he is a oscar about 9 inches or so. i wish we had a fish doctor who could do surgerys.
if we did... i could save him. i wish you goood luck my friend.

Answer 6

Mandi,

There are vets that handle Exotic pets and I believe tropical fish would qualify. Check yahoo yellow pgs for some around you. Call them to make sure then set an appointment so that your Oscar can get good help before he dies.

HTH,

Answer 7

Sounds like he needs some time to adjust to his environment. Test the water for Ph and such, which is very important for those fish, or take a sample of your aquarium water, in a covered container, to the pet store and they will test if for you to see if that is the problem.

Answer 8

i have the same kind of fish it takes a few days to get use to the tank it will come to soon

Answer 9

i think that your oscar is just "hangin out" mine does it quite frequently. especially after he has used energy beggin for food at the corner of the tank or trying to bite my teenage daughters fingers as she feeds him! he tangles with the large plecostomus and chases the tinfoil barbs in the tank but hes fun to watch