CichlidFish.com - Fish That Think.

hey i guess i need help again...

my oscar...1.5 inches...has white dots all over his/ her body..there are black dots near the gills. i am pretty worried because my pleco just died (and dont tell me to spell it pl*co). if it is ich or something like that...could i put the medication with the fish in the original aquarium? or does the oscar have to be in a seperate tank? very worried for the lives of my fishies. help.

o yea...my oscar's rear fins are turning clear..he also has been eating some pretty big ghost shrimp. the mouth is looking funnier..iono how..but it looks different than before..

Hi,

It's best to move fish out of contaminated tank if possible, into "medication" tank. But anyway, you could treat the whole tank with anti-parasitic medication, antibiotics etc...if you see signs of mold starting on them treat with anti-fungal stuff too...



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Joe
www.cichlidfish.com

it sounds like you have ick, that is the white spots on the body. i have no idea about the black spots on the gills, but you should still treat for ick. the clear tips of the fins is completely normal, oscars tend to develop this as they age, i don't think it is as pronounced in smaller oscars.

Hi, yep, and remember WATER quality, WATER quality........

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Joe
www.cichlidfish.com

you can put your oscars in a salt water bath,"USE AQUARIUM SALT MIXED AT like one teaspoon per 2 cups,doesnt really matter,just dont over salt the water. Stir till desolved then leave the fish in the solution for ten minites,then put them back in the tank,all done ,in a day or so youll see no white spots on the fish, i had the same problem,frequently and i do that to clear it up!!!

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redwopman

Yep, salt is a great general cure.....also, some people say they like to keep a bit of salt in their tank all the time to keep disease down. I recommend though that it is better not to, and just use it to treat disease not as prevention...

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Joe
www.cichlidfish.com

cichlidfish: I am curious what you would suggest for me if I am just worried, and wanna make sure to prevent or stop anything my oscars may have now?

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-albino oscar
-red oscar

the best way to prevent disease is keeping you water quality impeccable. changing part of your water every couple of days will accomplish this nicely. however, if you do water changes every couple of days for awhile, and suddenly stop and try to go to a weekly or bi-weekly changing schedule, you will experience problems. you have to ease back into a schedule, increasing the amount of time in between changes slowly.

the second way is to feed your fish a varied, balanced diet. you should be feeding mainly pellets(about 80% of the time), as they are specifically formulated to provide the things that your fish needs.

if your fish already has a disease, it needs to be treated, in most cases with a specific medication. so the disease must be identified in order to prescribe a remedy. if your fish isn't acting strange, or things don't look right, i wouldn't worry about it, just concentrate on the water quality and diet.

how do you guys do water changes? I have hard water, with chlorine and all, will i have to chemically treat water every week when i do the changes? or is there a better way to go about it? I just set my tank up and i've let it run through the filter for about 24 hours with no fish at all. I have a magnum 330 for a 30 gallon tank. I know this is an excelent filter, so will I have to change water less? What is usually done?

adam

first of all u gotta get rid of the clorine...you could treat it(water conditioner) which is the easiest way...or you could age the water..let it sit for a long time so the clorine could leave. in all water changes, the temp should be about the same..so dont puy 60 degree water in 78.

Don't worry too much, or if you want, give them a medicine treatment with anti-parasite, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal stuff and maybe then also add some salt. After you treat them then just keep your water clean, don't feed them diseseased live food and they should do just great.

Originally posted by xhpx:
cichlidfish: I am curious what you would suggest for me if I am just worried, and wanna make sure to prevent or stop anything my oscars may have now?

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Joe
www.cichlidfish.com