Why did my fish (Oscar) die?

Question

I'm really sad. Everything seemed ok then the other day I woke up to feed the fish and my Oscar was upside down on the bottom of the tank. He had no color , his scales looked like pencil shavings, and he had pop eye( foggy eyes). I don't know why this happened and it was weird because it was so sudden. He died that same day. He was also bullied a bit but I don't see how that would of caused it. I have 2 other catfish that shared the tank with the ocsar and they seem to be doing ok . Its a 55 gallon tank, they are always fed and have clean water so I don't know what could of caused this. Bacteria? Parasites? Or maybe it was just his time? Please help me solve this I don't want my other fishies to die. Thanks:)

Answer 1

To be honest there is really no way to tell. It was probably something internal that didn't show signs until far too late to catch them and do anything about it. Despite the best of care, sometimes fish die for no apparent reason. Sorry for your loss.

MM

Answer 2

Add more details! It could have been anything from toxic levels of ammonia to parasitic fungi. What do you feed? I cannot claim to know much about Oscars, but understand them to be predators. If you're feeding live bait fish, it could be any of the above. Check the filters, the ammonia level, look for growths on the fish, discoloration, and never handle fish if at all possible. How long did you have them? Was the tank old or new? If old, was there ever a similar problem? Was the water clean of toxins, including those used to sterilize the water for human use? What was the PH? Too low? And, did you have the water tested for any of the above? If you could, I suggest taking it to several different pet stores in case the pet shop sold you sickly fish. Good luck!

Answer 3

Well it could of been a number of things. Maybe it was your catfish that killed it. But my brother used to have an oscar and we were informed to also feed it bloodworms along with the fish food we nomally gave it. That could of been a reason but it may have just been something in the water or it could have been a number of things. If u have city water u have to buy stuff to bring the PH level down in the water or bring it up depends. You should always test the chemicals in the water and the temperature before introducing your fish to their new enviroment.

Answer 4

It sounds like he may have been malnurished. Were they competing for food? Another possibility could be the water quality. Clear, doesn't mean "good". Try checking your pH and alkalinity. You can get a cheap water testing kit at wal-mart or any pet store. You want your pH to be 6-8. Alkalinity is the buffering capacity of your water. So you want a HIGH alkalinity. This would mean that it's harder for the pH to change. Low alkalinity would mean that your pH could fluctuate much easier.

No worries. You didn't do anything wrong. Even fish in natural systems die from various changes in their habitat. :o)

Answer 5

Sounds like 3 things.
1-the oscar was bullied to much and the other fish ended up killing him(the pencil shaving skin gives me this theory its happend to me before)
2-too much ammonia in your tank but if this was the case your catfish would be the first to go so i doubt this is why
3-your oscar had an internal bacterial infection did you buy it from petco or petsmart if you did ITS ALL YOUR FAULT I WORK AT PETCO AND I STILL TELL EVERYONE DONT BUY FISH FROM HERE

Answer 6

Catfish didn't like new intruder.the oscar was too small and the catfish figured it was food.

Answer 7

It's a fish. They die. How the hell are we suppose to know???

Answer 8

how long have you had him? he might have died cause he was too old..mine died like that..

Answer 9

I've had 3 Wal-Mart fish die....still lookin into it !

Answer 10

maybe hes pretending. you know, hanging out for a change of scenary.












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