ridgeview80

Hi,

I just purchased my first tank (two weeks ago... 10 gallons... yes I know I will be upgrading soon!)... set it up and treated with cycle (nitrifiers)... week later put in a 1.5" Oscar and a crayfish... feeding pellets and a little flake food... tank temp and pH etc. all good after a week... ammonia a little high... my question is about the health of the Oscar... he has been lethargic (at best) the last three or four days... lays on the bottom mostly, does not come up for food like he did initially... he seems to be always leaning to one side (does not seem to favour a side)... not sure he is eating now either...

I did a water replacement (about 30%)... treated new water with tap water conditioner prior to adding and another dose of nitrifiers (just did all this today)... Oscar is still in the same condition... he reacts with energy when the cray approaches him but just goes and finds another quiet spot in the tank..

What could be the problem with the little guy??

Thanks,
Jim

poppet

If you still have ammonia your tank isn't cycled yet, this could be the problem. I would water change @ 25% every day to keep ammonia and nitrites down.You will get some more replies from some more experienced people.Best of luck.

sgould

Do you have readings for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate that you can post? It sounds like water quality is your issue, but if you can tell us those numbers it will be easier to say for sure. I would suggest doing a 50% water change to see if the fish perks back up a bit.

Stradius011

It probably hasn't cycled yet and I really wouldn't put an osacr with a crayfish. You'lll have to split them when they're older before the oscar has a snack with it.

COBettaCouple

The 'cycle' product doesn't really do much for cycling a tank. if anything, it keeps a tank from really cycling. your tank is cycling now and i'd recommend treating the water with prime after a big water change now, then daily water changes like poppet said.

Stradius011

Oh....I learn something wonderful everyday.

ridgeview80

Hi,

Thanks for all the input... I did do a 30% water change yesterday and Oscar is still laying on the bottom but does appear a liitle better... not eating that I can tell... will do another water change and keep you posted...

Jim

ridgeview80

Another thing... don't have test numbers for nitrites, pH etc. ... had tests done at local pet shop... will record values after next test...

J

armadillo

Hello!

I would get the tests at home. That way, you can do them as often as you want (can be verrrry handy at times). Also, petstores often use the paper strips to test, which are pretty useless.

If you look at his gills and they look reddened, you can be pretty sure it's a nitrite/nitrate/ammonia problem.

COBettaCouple

i do our testing at home.. saves gas, we can use the more accurate liquid tests and honestly, i'm not sure i'd trust our petco to correctly do a test that consisted of flipping a coin.

nitrites issues can show up as purplish gills sometimes too.

sgould

LOL...that's harsh!

nicole

maybe your oscar is unhappy with his tankmate.

COBettaCouple

LOL.. this is the petco where the guess for a constipated male betta was pregnancy.

Gunnie

You urgently need test kits. Go to the PetSmart website and look up the master test kit by Aquarium Pharmaceuticals. Print the page that shows the kit and the price, and take it to your local PetSmart. They should honor the online price, which is probably half of the store price. Then post your ammonia, nitrite and nitrate readings. Your oscar is pouting and may be sick. If you already have ammonia readings, you probably need to be doing daily water changes. While you are at PetSmart, pick up a bottle of Amquel plus (make sure it's the plus) to use as your water conditioner. This will help reduce some of the stress to your oscar because of your rising ammonia and nitrite levels.

The crayfish will try and kill your oscar if he has the chance. That may be another reason your oscar is stressed. If you can get another 10 gal. tank for now, that would help. Only put fish in the crayfish tank that you can bear to part with, because they will get eaten if the crayfish has the chance.

COBettaCouple

sorry to hear that the crayfish got him.

Gunnie

Yep. I'm sorry too. Crayfish are cool, but not friendly tankmates. Before you make any more decisions on tankmates, run it by us here on the forums. The members here are a wealth of knowledge and experience, and will probably set you up with all the links and information you ever wanted to know about the topic. Everyone here will help you tremendously with your research.