Albino Oscar,is not happy

[Micknmeld]

Hi Folks. a newby to your forum and I am here, hat in hand asking for advice.

I have been keeping cichlids for many years and had no idea that there would be a forum dedicated to them. I have had a read and am impressed with the amount of info on your boards.

Alas, the info I seek is a bit hard to find here.

Problem: I have an Albino Oscar that is approx 4-5 years old it was about 1 inch long when I got it and is now at least 12 inches. It is housed on its own in a 4ft tank. It's diet mainly consisted of pellets, any insects that I managed to catch and the occasional feeder fish. About 4 months ago it started to refuse the pellets and would only eat live foods. Not long after that it began sitting on the bottom of the tank like it was sulking (such is the way of oscars). There were about 40 feeder fish in the tank with it (mosquito fish) and occasionally it will chase them about and then retire to the sulk position. There are only 6 or so feeders left so I presume it is eating them, albeit slowly. One morning I found the fish lying as though it was dead, on the bottom but about half an hour later it was again upright. From watching the fish it appears that it is an effort for it to swim and it acts agitated and it seems to be struggling with bouyancy and it will "plonk" back to the bottom when it does have a swim around.

I asked a local fish dealer about it, who in turn rang a fish biologist, who was going by my description of the symptoms, 99% sure that I had a fluke problem.
I now have in my possession, a bottle of Formalin Malachite and was told to give the fish a "dip" in an aerated solution of 3ml to 40 litres for 3 minutes.

Before I subject the fish to this treatment, I thought I would run this scenario by a group of Oscar experts, hence me being here in the first place.
Thanks in advance for any input.

Cheers thumbs2:
Mick

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Here it is chasing mosquito fish

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[gm72]

What are the water parameters? How large is the tank in gallons?

[Micknmeld]

Actually I dont know. Never paid attention at school on the day they taught us how to measure volume. (blush)

It is 4 feet long, 18 inches wide and 20 inches deep.

[Lady Hobbs]

The problem with feeding live food is trying to then get them to eat food that is actually good for them. Constantly eating feeders is not a good choice and lacking in essential vitamins. I wonder if that many feeders in the tank didn't raise the ammonia levels? Have you ever wormed your Oscar for internal parasites?

[Micknmeld]

A bit like a kid with sweets? Try and get them to eat something that is good for them once there are sweets on offer...LOL

I have never medicated the fish at all. It has lived happily in the tank since day one. The thought of an ammonia build up crossed my mind and I had been doing 50% water changes and on the weekend I did a 100% change, including new gravel and a total tank scrub.

As for worming and parasite prevention, what do you suggest? I have never even considered doing it in the 20 years that I have kept Cichlids. :sconfused:

[MCHRKiller]

A 100% water change and new gravel combined with a total tank scrub could have caused serious damage to your bacteria colonies especially if you cleaned the filter on top of all of that. The bacteria is what breaks down fish waste, killing out or damaging large parts of your colony can cause spikes in water levels. I would check your parms ASAP, and begin doing daily partial waterchanges if you notice any trace of ammonia or nitrite.

I would also cut out the feeder fish, they as Hobbs stated have little nutritional value and can pack in all sorts of disease. Instead choose 2-3 types of dried food for your Oscar and add in some frozen foods and fresh seafood. Your tank is around 75gallons, which is a great size for an Oscar.

Your fish looks great, he has a nice conformation and has obviously been well cared for. I would also do a treatment for him for about 2 weeks using a combo of Prazi Pro and Metro...those two meds will knock out any internal parasite the fish could have.

[Micknmeld]

Thanks for the feedback folks. :22:

I am using an undergravel filter system and when I cleaned the tank out it was putrid under the filter. All the feeder fish are gone now and the Oscar's demeanor hasn't changed as of yet. ( Note: that I use water from a rainwater tank)

AS I am in a rural area in NSW, fish medications are a rare commodity indeed and now we are believe it or not isolated by flood waters. It will be several days before I could possibly get my hands on the products you mentioned.

The local pet shop in town has a product that seems to claim to be a cure all,

I have heard of the prazi (propholene?) and I presume that is the product you refere to?

No one has commented as of yet about the Formalin Malachite as a "wash" for the fish. Any thoughts on that folks? :suicidepills:
Cheers
Mick