CichlidFish.com - Fish That Think.

First things first. This is my first fish tank and i read up on how to cycle and decide to do a fishless cycle. So after 3 weeks my tank was ready and i went to the store and bought my self a tiger oscar for my 49 gallon tank (hes maybe 2 inches long). The first day he just say at the bottom and hid behind the plants. The second day he ate and i thought he was allready aclemated. Then it is all down hill from there. Its been 2 weeks now and hes hasnt eaten very much that i have seen and i am geting really worried i took out all the plants and drift wood so that he would get used to me cuz he was just hiding in the corner and not movign very much. Then yesterday i went to the store and got some tetras just to liven up the tank to see if that would get him to move around. Still not very much movement and he still doesnt eat. The black on hes body is almost a light grey and hes is kinda white. I am going to clean the tank and get some stress coat and an airator today and see if that helps. Ammonia 0 nitrites 0 nitrate 40 (I am doing a water change today) the ph was at 7.6 i think last time i checked. Please help i dont want to lose my fish.

I have been feeding him pellets. And i have only seen him eat them once. Update today i bought some bubble wall and a air pump. I put in some stress coat. I also bought some tubflex worms no luck on him eating yet though. I also bought some stress zyme but i havent put that in. Help ASAP!

OK, I'm not familiar with Oscars, but here's what I think:
Of course he could be sick, but my first impression is that the poor little dude is very stressed and doesn't feel safe in his tank, hence the pale colors. From what I've heard it's not unusual for O's to pout until they get used to their new environment. Perhaps he's simply too afraid to eat, especially when you're watching him.
Before he gets used to you, I'd say he must first of all get used to his tank. So I'd put the driftwood and/or plants back in and let him hide where he wants and leave him alone a bit. When he's feeling a little bit safer, his colors should come out better, too. Perhaps you can then try to put in a bit of sinking food where he sits and get out of sight. Sometimes they won't eat when they are being watched.

Your water quality seems to be ok for me, so I'd do the necessary water changes and that's it. If you can see any further signs of illnes like red sores, frayed fins or white fuzzy stuff, you should specify that for us to get a better idea what else it could be.

I know this is not much of help, but perhaps the Oscar owners here have better ideas.
Good luck so far!

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Gisela
moppel@gismo.owl.de

I am afraid he took a turn for the worst i just went to check on him and hes on his side barley moving and i dont think it will be very long before he goes.

I do think your oscar may go, sorry your
water may have minerals in it,.

Sorry to hear that, ThorinMan
Sounds as if it's too late now to find out what's wrong with him, perhaps he's been sick from the beginning or got an internal infection.

BTW, there's nothing wrong in general about tap water containing minerals unless there's too much copper in it. The stuff one should be concerned about is chlorines and chloramines.

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Gisela
moppel@gismo.owl.de

sound like he went into shock. always float your new fish in its bag before you release it into the tank, also check with the shop you bought it from, how long they had had it in stock before you bought it. Sometimes when the shops get them in they have travelled a long way in packing. maybe if he was new stock, he got twice the shock of moving home.