why is my osacr not eating and stays at the surface of the water?

Question

also have a jack dempsey in the same 185 gal. tank that is eating and seems to be fine.

he is not bloated, been about 5 days like this. acts as though he is gasping for air. also have jack dempsey that is just fine in same tank. oscar does not have a swim problem.

unfortunately, i came home about an hour ago and found my oscar laying on the bottom not breathing. i dont understand what happened. all my water tests came up normal. i moved him and the dempsey out of a 55 gal. that they shared wih a green terror for over a yr. i moved them about 5 weeks ago and he was just fine after a couple of days. he was eating pellets and small goldfish up until about 4-5 days ago.

ok, i just noticed that there are alot of microscopic white things attached to the inside of my tank. they are attached to the tank and kind of fan out at the other end.

Answer 1

Everyone seems to have covered the obvious points of ammonia, nitrite, and oxygen in the water, and your tests and the behavior of the other fish would seem to rule these out. Still it wouldn't hurt to double check, and have your water tested by a second source. The behavior could also have been caused by a gill parasite. I'd examine the fish, just to be sure that could be ruled out (and to be sure it doesn't spread to any other fish in the tank). Usually an antiparasitic like Clout will clear up any parasites. See the gill-related ailments in the website below:


ADDITION: Not sure what you mean by fan out, the the two most likely would be a planaria: http://www.caudata.org/cc/images/articles/critters/planaria1JOHNSON.jpg or a hydra: http://home.comcast.net/~gorpli/pics/hydra.jpg I doubt that either would have killed your oscar. If what you had was the planaria, they are usually only present in tanks with a lot of organic matter, so that might mean higher ammonia, nitrite, or nitrate. I'd double check your water tests, and maybe have another source do the testing. Chemicals don't last beyond 4-5 years, and paper strips can go bad even faster if exposed to light or moisture. The move to a new tank may mean it's still cycling and you've got higher ammonia or nitrite than you know. I'd suggest a partial water change just in case.

Answer 2

What are the water parameters? I, too, have an Oscar and a Dempsey but the O seems much more sensitive to water parameters than the Dempsey (I swear..he'd live in yellow stinky water!).
I would do a 25% water change anyways (can never err on the side of clean and fresh). Vacuum the gravel. Check the temperature in your tank..if possible up it to the low 80's. It could be that he ate something that didn't agree with him (bugs are out now and one could have gotten into your house and into the tank in search of water and found your O instead!) Staying near the surface means he's looking for more air. But in a 185, the water parameters should remain pretty equal. Let me know if he shows any other symptoms if your parameters and temp are good.
You can email me at [e-mail] if you'd like.

Answer 3

There could be several problems. The two most likely are lack of oxygen in the water and bloating. When fish spend a lot of time gasping at the surface of the water it is because they are trying to get more oxygen. Get a bubble stone and make sure your pump in clean and in working order. Also make sure it is the right size for your tank.

If your Oscar is at the surface but not gasping for air, he may be bloated. Check to see if his scales are poking out from the sides of his belly. If he is bloated you can add some aquarium salt to the water. You should also try feeding him something with fiber in it like whole, dried baby shrimp or even peas with the outer skin removed. Often bloating will go away on it's own eventually, but serious cases can be fatal.

The other possible problem is that your Oscar has a problem with his swim bladder. If he keeps floating up to the top despite trying to swim down, this is probably the case. Swim bladder problems are usually irriversible and fatal. I hope this isn't the problem!

Good Luck!

Answer 4

I really like the details in your last answer and I think that's what I would look into, but just to rule this out, one of the first signs of ammonia rise, is gasping for air. It's very possible that the Jack Dempsy is more hardy then the Oscar and not effect, AT THIS POINT, so I'd first do a check in your water quality to rule this out before proceeding to treating for swim bladder. Swim bladder is very serious but rule out ammonia poisoning first.

Answer 5

If he looks like he's gasping for air, he probably is. Add an air stone in there to increase the oxygen levels. Also, add more decorations. Maybe he's bored and swimming at the top.

~ZTM

Answer 6

If your water quality is good- ammonia and nitrites 0 ppm, and nitrates ideally under 20 ppm, he may be suffering from a gill disease like gill flukes:

http://www.fishdeals.com/fish_diseases/skin_gill_flukes/

.

Answer 7

well if it's been quite a while not eating, it might just die. But if not, it may just not be hungry yet. Good Luck!

Answer 8

Sick?

There's not much you can do when a fish starts doing that...


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