Ick

[eddyred]

I am once again stuggleing with my aquarium I have been doing regular water changes and keeping the substrate clean one fish place told me not to clean the substrate cause if I do I run the risk of stiring up ick and other dieseases and Ive been told here and elsewhere that it is nessacery to clean it well I got the nitrate level down but now my oscars show signs of getting ick {scrathing against decorations each other and the substate} so my question is this do I wait until I actually see the ick or should I treat for it right away I had a very knarly case of ick a moth ago and it took a bout two weeks to get rid of it and I really dont want to see my fish go through that again I lost one of my albinos and thought I was going to lose a tiger as well frustrated and looking for help Ed

[BigFutch]

Go ahead and raise your water temperature to about 84 degrees F and add some aquarium salt (1 TBS / 5 gallons water) and turn the lights off inyour tank. Over time your fish should stop scratcing against the rocks. Keep the temeprature elevated for about a week after the fish show no other signs of ich. There's also an in-depth article on ICH on this website that you can find if you go to the articles section.

If you have some scaleless fish in your tank, such as loaches / botitas, you may want to lower the salt amount as they are less able to handle the increased salinity. I've used this amount in an African Cichlid tank before with loaches, with no ill effects. However these loaches were about 4 -5 cm in length. Main thing, as with any sort of treatment, is to closely watch / monitor fish behavior. If the scaleless species start to have issues, perform a water change to decrease the salinity by not adding any aquarium salt back to the tank.

This heat trreatment has always worked for me. There is also some other type of disease that's not ich, wherein the fish rub on the rocks. If the heat treatment doesn't work after about a week you may have this other disease. In that case, you'll want to use something, such as "Quick-Cure" that has a combination of formalin and malachite green.

Good Luck!!!

Reggie

[William]

Very good answer BigFutch gave you there.

[eddyred]

Thanks for the help I elevated the temp 2 days ago when I learned that ich cannot reproduce in temps of 84 or higher I started using aquarisol instead of salt and the presymtems of the preakout seem to be dissipating I have one other question at what size should I seperate my oscars I have 4 in one 55 gallon tank with one pleco I already know that they will soon be too big to keep all 4 in one 55 gl tank I am thinking that 3 gallons per inch of fish is about the minimum amount of water for an oscar what do you think?????

[BigFutch]

I don't really feel as though there is a good rule of thumb for Oscars. Oscars are typically messy eaters, who eat a lot and produce a lot of waste. So depending on your filtration methods and quantity of water changes, you may be able to keep them together longer if your water parameters are acceptable.

Sometimes keeping them together will somewhat limit their size, especially in a somewhat narrow 55. At some point, they'll begin to get taller as oppossed to longer, as they'll start running out of room to turn around in the tank.

It also depends on how well they get along with one another.

Currently, how big are they?

I didn't really answer your question, but it seems like alot of Oscars, Dempseys, etc. end up being one tank fish.

[eddyred]

Currently they are about 4" for the biggest and 3" for the smallest I have kind of decided that I want to put them into a 125gallon aquarium because that is about as big as I can go and still have room for the 55 in the same room wich I am thinking I may put in a pair of piranah or convict cichlids all I really know is that the oscars are going to go into the 125 I was hoping to keep them in the 55 till sept. or will they outgrow it sooner than that they eat once a day and I change water 25% every 5 days and keep very close eye on the water quality I filter the 55 with two penguin 200 bio wheel filters

[BigFutch]

Feeding them once a day will definitely limit their growth, as Oscars grow fast! Your filtration should be sufficient, especially if the 200's are on opposite ends of the tank. As long as you are monitoring your water parameters, maintaining the 25% water changes, and the (4) Oscars aren't fighting too much (to the point of one of them killing another one) I think you should be fine.

In case you don't already have one, you should also have some good bottom feeders for your tank, since a lot of the Oscars' food escapes through their gills while eating. This will help clean up the bottom of the tank and minimize your uneaten food wastes.

A group of 4 - 5 Cory Cats would probably suffice for now, but as the Oscars grow larger they may eventually become lunch. If you want a catfish to grow along with your Oscars and to be transferred to the future 125, you can get (1) pictus cat.

[eddyred]

I put money down on a 125 today and also picked up a pictus cat two days ago I know this is kind of overcrowding a small tank but I hope to have the 125 running within 2 weeks I think I got a really good deal on the tank I got the tank tops and light for 329.00 the only dilemma I have now is how to cycle the new tank and move the old one for I want to put the 125 where the 55 is now and move the 55 to a different location in my home How do you feel and have you any experience with the bactria you can buy to relieve "new tank syndrome" your advice is welcome

[William]

That can be hard to complet but not impossible.jut two questions.

Do you have a third tank where you could keep the fish for a couple of days. Are you able to get something that contain a lot of water during the move, preferale al the water in your 55 gallon tank.

[eddyred]

My thought was this since I do water changes every 3-4 days I could remove about 50-60% of the water in the 55 so its manageable for two people to set in on the floor right in front of where it is now then refill it set up the 125 and cycle it when it is ready I can move the fish into it . I realize that this change will create alot of stress on the fish but it is really the only way I can concieve to get this done I am staying in the same home so there will be no transportation required .The fish will go from one tank to the other .

[BigFutch]

RE: your bacteria start up question, I've used Cycle and Bio-Spira by Marineland. If you can find it, as it is only sold refrigerated by select local fish stores, Bio-Spira is the bacteria of choice. It may be somewhat expensive for a 125 gallon, but I can vouch for their claim of cycling a tank overnight. You'll just want to add your fish, and then 10 minutes later add the Bio Spira.

To get as much of the water out of the 55 into the 125, you could try the following:

1) Remove as much of your rocks, substrate, decorations (hopefully you're reusing some from the 55) and move it into the 125. You'll want to bring as much "bacteria" from the old tank to the new. You can even start up your new filter(s) in the 55 so they can establish some bacteria, and also move them to the 125.

2) Empty enough of your water out of the 55 into 5 gallon buckets or some other large containers. You'll need to get enough out so you and hopefully Superman can move the 55.

3) Depending on the final location for your 55, relocate it and locate your 125.

4) Set up your heaters, filters, etc. in the 125.

5) Begin transferring the water from the 55 to the 125 by locating a garden house between the two tanks and creating a suction from the 55 to the 125. (Yes, this usually involves inhaling deeply into the hose on the 125 tank end of the hose, but you'll hear the water rushing down the hose before it gets to you!) It's hard to use a cup or something to get water out of the tank when it gets down near the bottom, so I use the syphon method, even during water changes.

6) Once the fish barely have enough water in the 55, transfer them into the 125.

7) Once you've emptied the 55, fill the rest of the 125 with dechlorinated water as close to the same temperature as the other water.

8) Start your filters as soon as possible, as you want to start mixing the water.

9) Keep an eye on your fish and monitor their potential stress levels. Unless they get really stressed, you'll still want to leave them in the 125 as they acclimate to their new tank.

Hopefully I didn't leave any major details out as I typed this really fast!!

Don't forget, Oscars are hearty fish, so they should be fine.

Good Luck!!

[William]

That might work if you think you can handle the 55 gallon than. Also remeber to take it easy and not tilt the 55 gallon to much or put to much pressure on it as it might break if you do. I recommend you remove all rocks etc before trying it.

Don't fill it (55) all the way up at once. it is better if you allow that to take a few days.

it is also a good idea to save a couple of buckets old water from the 55 gallon and but in the 125 gallon as this will speed up the cycling process considerably.

[eddyred]

Thank you for all your helpful advice the 125 is now set up and going well moved the fish into it last night WOW those oscars are not easy to catch all seems to be going very well once again THANKS for all your help

[cj]

i have 2 oscars about 6 to 61/2 in now were about an in when i got them at wal mart. sometime's they act like they are really running away frm something splashing water out of the 35 gal tank and running into the side of tank making ALOT of NOICE i had to take out ot their hard castle cause they ran into it an took off it looked like a couple of scales (looks white)
and we are feeding them bait shop minnows is that wrong ??? if so what should we feed them???
they seem to love each other, got one at first and he/she seemed so sad wouldn't eat or swim around the man at wal mart said it needed a buddy so i got another one and it loved it and came alive. we have had them about 4or 5 mo.
we just got a 35 gal tank and it look's now as we need a 55gal
and by reading the other notes one time a day is good to feed the oscars???? my husband feed's them ALOT!!!!!! yes they are very messy. and the water is always cloudy look's dirty!!!
i also got a cat to help clean and they tries to eat him (ate his tail off before i took it out.) yes the little cat is still living in a smaller tank.
we just learned about a frozen food (san francisco bay brand) is this better than bait shop minnows????? yes i do also feed them flakes once a day - which they really don't like but they will eat them. i guess they will eat anything
thanks cj

[eddyred]

cj Feed your ocsars once a day I found that if I feed more than that I also have cloudy water I think that most of this is caused by there own waste. It does not break down fast enough to be cycled by the ecology of the aquarium . I also found that the nitrate levels get vey high if the waste breaks down too slowly .

I would highly suggest that you no longer feed bait store minnows they are not raised the same way that goldfish are and are prone to fish lice and other disesase not as common to tropical fish and once you have fish lice it is extremely difficult to get rid of . I suggest that you feed pet store goldfish they are a little more money but well worth the hassle you might save yourself. I feed goldfish and pellets and alternate them every other day while they may beg for food [mine do ] they come to the front of the tank and swim up and down . feed only once a day they can go two days without eating but this is very hazzardous to smaller fish in the tank . my oscars also ate my pictus cat about a week ago they will eat any thing they can get in there mouth.
Oscars are like anything alse why eat flakes or pellets when they can eat real fish It may take some time but they will eat the pellet food I feed cichlid gold and they really like it they go after it the same as gold fish also they will as they get bigger tear apart the tank I decorated my 125 with rocks and driftwood they dont seem to move that stuff around as much as the smaller decorations Ed