CichlidFish.com - Fish That Think.

Our Oscar seems to be getting worse. We've done the epsom salts and tried the peas, she still won't eat. This morning we woke up to her still in same spot on the bottom, but now she seems to be breathing heavier and her eyes are protruding and swollen and look cloudy. Any suggestions? I'd hate to think she is suffering, but want to do everything possible to help her. Also, it's about time to clean/vacuum the tank - will this cause her too much stress with her being sick? Afraid to do more harm than good. Any comments or suggestions would be much appreciated - I know to some people it's just a fish, but I feel like I'm losing my cherished pet!

I know exactly how you feel about your oscar and how attached you are. I feel the same way about my red devil. My red devil was very sick also and I felt terrible. I wish I can help you but I don't know much about fish. I'm sure someone on this board can help. They helped me. Good luck

How long has it been since your oscar stopped eating? have you checked the ph of your water.I would clean the tank maybe this will help i wish you luck.

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great expectations are things that refuse to materialize and a promise never kept.

Try reading the other topics on this board about oscars. Maybe you will see something that sounds like the problem you are having with oscar. That's what I did and I realized my red devil had ick. Then I looked on the internet and found all the information I needed to cure ick.

Vaccuming wont hurt just add the water a bit at a time.vaccuming should also be done at least every 2 weeks and I reccomend once a week with weekly 25% water changes.
You might also want to try some broad spectrum antibiotics in the water.

Sorry to hear that your oscar isnt getting better and it sounds like you are doing your best to save the poor thing.

Dont worry we all here know how you feel about being more than a fish.I love my oscars better than most people(my wife and kids excluded)

Anyway all you can do is keep trying, keeping up the water changes etc and hope for the best.

I truely wish you the best with your oscar and keep us informed.

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TONY
Australian and proud of it!!
My Cichlidfish.com Home page
No Feeder Nazi
worldcichlids.com

[This message has been edited by oscar2001 (edited 05-05-2002).]

have you eliminated the possiblity of it being a disease called dropsy? just 2 months ago my 4-5 year old oscar who was about 10 inches long developed some odd symptoms. at first i thought it had something to do with all the breeding rituals him and his tank mate had been taking part in. then i thought maybe it was constipation. by the time i read something about dropsy ( a disease i had never heard of), and figured out that that was what he had it was entirely too late. his swelling got worse and worse. his breathing became very stressed. in a matter of a week he was just about dead. i had to put him out of his missery. it was the worse thing i had to do...i love my oscars! please read up on dropsy and eliminate that as a possiblity, as ur symptoms sound very familiar to mine. good luck!

me i would go out buy 20 gal tank.with a good filter. 50 times biger then the gal per hour
make shore the water is right like ph an other things .no salt .
my oscars just love water changes
they wont eat i do a water change then they love me
sounds like you wave a sick fish
hope the best
love oscars
and no light for a day
oscars hate bright light
water change
brian

Maybe I'm being ignorant ... but this happened to my fish as well maybe not for the same reason though .... have you checked your ammonia and nitrite levels? I hope I'm not being stupid hehe .... but that was the case with our new tank and we put in a special ammonia pad that filters that stuff out and within a few days the remainder of our fish were eating again and soon they were just fine .... because adding more fish or changing feeding amounts or even having uneaten food can result in ammonia flucuation (sp?) .... eepz and hides ... i hope this helps and that i don't seem like a brat ... mmmm tell me if i need to shut up hehe

You're not being a brat at all CichlidKid. I think its always helpful to know what caused a similar problem for someone else and how they fixed it. So many problems with fish can be due to a number of reasons so its good to get as much input as possible and then make your own decision as to what to do based on that. I've learned a lot from the younger members of this forum.