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we originally had 2 green terrors and 2 oscars in the tank but then the terrors started ripping the oscars up and we removed the terrors when we started to notice that the oscars were all torn up so we removed them and they have been out of the tank for about 2 months and the 1 oscar died a few weeks after we removed them but the other oscar hasnt really recovered at all he still has gashing wounds all over his body and u can see his gills cause he is so badly cut up and he also keeps getting little circular holes in his tail that seem to eat there way out and his lip is kinda crooked i have no idea what to do at all and its really just confused me if u could give me any advice id greatly appreciate it...

i need help cause i dont know how much longer he is gonna last in that tank

I'm not sure I'm following what you're saying here, so let me break it down a bit.

Your GT's beat up your O's, and after removing the GT's from the tank, the O's don't seem to be healing well. Is that about it?

Since one of the O's died, is there anything in the tank with the O you're trying to heal? If so, you may need to move the O out (or the other fish) to prevent further damage. You can also buy a partition for your tank relatively cheap from your LFS to separate the fish.

I've always used Melafix to heal wounds and have had a great deal of success with it. It's an all natural product, and my fish have healed very quickly. It's not good for everything, but to heal wounds, it works fine.

Some will also tell you to raise the temperature slightly, and add salt to your tank to help to speed up the healing process. Unfortunately, someone else will have to tell you how much salt to add safely to your tank.



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My name is Michele and I am a fishaholic.

I think it may help to provide us with a bit more info, i.e., tank size and equipment, water parameters, other inhabitants, how often you change the water and how much, how and what he is eating and so on.

As I've understood, he's the only inhabitant left. So if he is still getting more wounds and no other fish could harm him, then he may probably be ill. I guess his immune system was weakened due to the stress with the GT's, hence he got sick.

What do the wounds look like: Just holes, ulcers, red and inflamed, white or fuzzy stuff on them ... ? From your description it could have various causes, from fungal or bacterial infection (what would be my fav) to HITH or open tuberculosis or anything else. Hard to tell without knowing more.

At first, I'd do what Michele suggested plus provide him with the best possible and healthy food and very clean water.

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Gisela
moppel@gismo.owl.de

Thanks Michele & Gisela!
The Oscar shares his 55 gal. tank with only a medium size Raphael cat. He eats Hikari Gold Cichlid food (and his appetite is good). He just doesn't seem to heal... constantly has more sores. I have tested the water for amonia - no problem there. Anything else I should test for? I will try the Melafix. (Can it be found at any pet store?) I will also try a signficant water change and a temp. raise. Does anyone have advice on how much salt to add? And should I remove the Raphael before treating the tank?
I have another tank (40 gal.) with an Albino Oscar, two Pacu, a big Hypostamus and a small Cory cat. I would like to put this group into the 55 and move the ailing Oscar to the 40, but I am hesitant to do this before knowing what is wrong with the Oscar! I don't want to expose the 40 gal. group (all healthy!) to any disease that might be in the 55...
Any advice will be appreciated!

1tsp per 10 gallons of water is usually what I use. That with frenquent water changes and the melafix should do it. I wouldnt swap tanks tho until you know for sure what is wrong. Could be some kind of bacteria or infection

Thanks, Ryan
I took the Raphael cat out (tough to catch!!) and put him in the healthy tank. He has no sores or any other visible problems. Wouldn't this lead you to believe that whatever is wrong with the Oscar is not water-related?

Id like to bet that d/t the gashes and being beat up severly, your O develouped a nice fungal infection. Secondary to that he probably develouped a bacterial infection.

Id treat with Mar-Oxy for the fungal infection and also Maracyn-two, maracyn, tetracycline tablets, or Trisulfa for the secondary infection.

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Candice
ccmso12@yahoo.com

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