Peni
07-24-2007, 07:17 PM
Hi everyone, Im new here and I desperately need some information on whatever is happening to my beloved oscar! I'm not sure I'm posting this in the right place, but here goes anyway...
I have a custom-made 6foot tank, housing a breeding pair of tiger oscar's and a large pleccy. I have had them all for 5 years now, and the oscars regularly spawn on a large piece of slate - which the pleccy happily eats during the night, lol. The tank is serviced by two large fluval canister filters and I do a 50% water change weekly. The temp is 28/30C. I do water checks every two weeks and have never had a problem there. They get chichlid floating pellets and bottom feeder tablets, plus some earthworms and prawns as treats.
Four months ago my female oscar started swimming erratically and tilting over. I feared swim-bladder disease and the next morning my fears were confirmed when she was floating on the surface. Over the next few days her body gradually bent further and further backwards and she obviously wasn't eating. A small swelling appeared around her tummy/vent area, which rapidly swelled to between the size of a golf ball and a tennis ball!! It was gross, pinkish with clearly discernable veins.
I went to the pet shop, who promptly told me that she had dropsy and I must flush her down the loo!! I have seen dropsy before, and it sure didnt look like that. Needless to say, as all people owned by oscars knows, they are not just "fish" - they are pets, and I couldn't flush her!
This carried on for four months, with her getting thinner and thinner, until she was literally paper-thin. Then one day I came home from work and she was on the bottom, swelling gone, but with a gaping hole in her belly, which the plec was trying to get hold of! When I fed the male she propelled herself to the surface with her tail and literally gulped the food in - obviously starving.
This was two weeks ago - she went from strength to strength, the wound closing up and her tummy filling out nicely. By Saturday she was swimming normally again, and the two of them happily went back to cleaning the spawning slate - an activity that keeps them busy for hours!
Story not over yet, lol - when I got home from work yesterday she was floating on the surface again, the swelling clearly visable, although not quite as large! I was devastated, but as I sat there looking at her, the swelling literally went back inside the now open wound again, and she happily flipped over and demanded food! Over the course of last night this happened repeatedly - the swelling appearing and dissappearing!!
I went to the only other pet shop in our town today, but the fish expert there was totally baffled! He said that he has never heard or seen this before and would love an explanation, as would I!
Sorry for the long story, but I wanted to give you all the facts. I have a pic of the swelling, but am not sure how to put in on here....
Any help for my poor oscar here??
I have a custom-made 6foot tank, housing a breeding pair of tiger oscar's and a large pleccy. I have had them all for 5 years now, and the oscars regularly spawn on a large piece of slate - which the pleccy happily eats during the night, lol. The tank is serviced by two large fluval canister filters and I do a 50% water change weekly. The temp is 28/30C. I do water checks every two weeks and have never had a problem there. They get chichlid floating pellets and bottom feeder tablets, plus some earthworms and prawns as treats.
Four months ago my female oscar started swimming erratically and tilting over. I feared swim-bladder disease and the next morning my fears were confirmed when she was floating on the surface. Over the next few days her body gradually bent further and further backwards and she obviously wasn't eating. A small swelling appeared around her tummy/vent area, which rapidly swelled to between the size of a golf ball and a tennis ball!! It was gross, pinkish with clearly discernable veins.
I went to the pet shop, who promptly told me that she had dropsy and I must flush her down the loo!! I have seen dropsy before, and it sure didnt look like that. Needless to say, as all people owned by oscars knows, they are not just "fish" - they are pets, and I couldn't flush her!
This carried on for four months, with her getting thinner and thinner, until she was literally paper-thin. Then one day I came home from work and she was on the bottom, swelling gone, but with a gaping hole in her belly, which the plec was trying to get hold of! When I fed the male she propelled herself to the surface with her tail and literally gulped the food in - obviously starving.
This was two weeks ago - she went from strength to strength, the wound closing up and her tummy filling out nicely. By Saturday she was swimming normally again, and the two of them happily went back to cleaning the spawning slate - an activity that keeps them busy for hours!
Story not over yet, lol - when I got home from work yesterday she was floating on the surface again, the swelling clearly visable, although not quite as large! I was devastated, but as I sat there looking at her, the swelling literally went back inside the now open wound again, and she happily flipped over and demanded food! Over the course of last night this happened repeatedly - the swelling appearing and dissappearing!!
I went to the only other pet shop in our town today, but the fish expert there was totally baffled! He said that he has never heard or seen this before and would love an explanation, as would I!
Sorry for the long story, but I wanted to give you all the facts. I have a pic of the swelling, but am not sure how to put in on here....
Any help for my poor oscar here??