sphinx_87

Hello, I am new to this site and this is my first post!

I have a 100 gal tank that i have recently set up, and less than two weeks ago i bought 4 oscar pups each about 1 inch long, maybe less. One red oscar, one abino tiger oscar, and two tiger oscars.
The first couple days went fine, but then the albino was acting funny, was being bullied a little, had what looked to be early signs of ICH on one side fin, and had a couple small tears in the tail fin. I went to the local pet store and they said to raise the temperature to about 80F ( which was about 75F before) and to add some Instant Ocean Sea Salt. About a day or so later the albino's fins healed fine and he seemed to be normal.
A day or so after that, one of the tiger oscars, which was fine before, began to not eat as much, turned pale, and very lathargic. He would sit on the bottom of the tank and not move or stay near the heaters at the top of the tank. The tiger also began to have rapid gilling and opening and closing of the mouth. The first few days of this the tiger ate only about a pellet a day, then stopped eating completly for about two days. The albino would bully the tiger some what and i first thought this could be causing the stress. A few days ago i put a divider in the tank with the three on one side and the sick tiger on the other. This may have helped a little, because the tiger has eaten about a pellet a day for the last two days and has shown a little more activity. But he is very thin, and still pale. He is also still gilling rapidly along with the opening and closing of the mouth, and seems to have almost a hic-up in his breathing.
Now the albino has been showing similar symptoms for almost two days. The albino hasnt really moved from laying on the gravel and did not eat today, and barely yesterday. Along with the rapid gilling and opening of the mouth
The other tiger is growing very rapidly and the red oscar is doing fine as well.
The ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels are all fine. The pH is slightly high, around 7.3, 7.4 or so.
The temperature is back around 75
I have 2 rena filstar xp2 canister filters
Ive just started to notice some green algae on the glass and brown algae on the gravel forming.
I thought i had seem a worm on the albino the other day but was not sure. If i had to guess i would think internal parasites or something similar.
But that is why I am here writing this long post.

Any input is greatly appreciated!!
--Thanks!

aquarist48

Hello Sphinx87 and Welcome to Fish Lore. So hate to hear you're having such problems.

Can you provide us with the exact readings for your ammonia, nitrite and nitrate? With your tank only being recently set up I have to question if it is actually cycled. Too, if you would tell us how you cycled your tank will be a big help.

As for the ICH concerns: raise your temperature slowly to 84 degrees. Ich cannot survive in temperatures over 82 degrees. Leave it there for 2 weeks. Do a couple of gravel vacuums each week to vacuum out the ICH spores that have fallen off the fish and into the grave/substrate. If it is ICH then your fish will look like they have been sprinkled with salt.

Best of luck and by all means keep us posted.
Ken

Shawnie

welcome to fishlore!!!

I agree that tank needs to be cycled......even tho you said parimeters were fine, did the pet store tell you that or do you have your own test kit? if you have a kit, can you post for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate readings that you got? your ph is fine as long as it stays stable and doesnt go up and down..so dont mess with that at all...

keep the temps back up to 78- 80f as oscars are tropical fish and need the warmer temps...if you have anything sharp or hard for decorations in the tank, you might want to remove them as they will injure themselves on it..especially if there is chasing going on...

so once we know your exact tank readings, we can help from there good luck !

sphinx_87

Thanks for the replies and welcomes!
I tested everything today, ammonia is at 0ppm, nitrite is at 0ppm, and nitrate is at 5ppm. I may have slacked a bit on letting the tank cycle , i installed my filters, filled it up with water, and let it run for a little over a week before i got impatient and bought my oscars.
Ive started to raise the temperature level as recommened.
There are no signs of ich.
Yesterday i added two magic balls as recommended by the pet store, crushed one up and dropped the other in whole.
Im going to keep the lights out to maybe slow the growth of the algae.
The tiger ate a pellet earlier today, but the albino is still not moving from the bottom of the tank.

Red1313

Are you using a liquid test kit?

sphinx_87

yes they are the API test kits

Shawnie

how did you cycle the tank in 2 weeks? and what are "magi balls"?

sphinx_87

Magic Balls are a water neutralizer that the local pet store sells, I mentioned my ph was slightly high and even though i was putting ph down in, it kept rising. The ingerdients are plaster of paris, quartz, perlite, and methylene blue. It says it will keep your fish in better health, better color, and more able to risist fish ills.
As far as cylcling the tank, as i said before i think i slacked on this. I didnt add anything to speed up the cycling process. I was impatient and figured oscars are hardy fish and could handle it.

Tony G.

Welcome to Fishlore Sphinx

Please do not add anything to lower your pH. It will only make it unstable. Most fish acclimate to pH ranges, so its not really a problem. As far as the Magic Balls, i wouldnt use them. One of the ingredients( methylene blue) is used for bacterial preventions ( if you notice the betta's in the cup's water is blue) and will crash your cycle. The rapid gill movements your OScar's were showing, were probably signs of ammonia. Hoopefully your aquarium finished the cycle and they are doing ok. As far as the food, you can soak the pellets in Garlic Juice. This makes them want to eat them, so you wont have a problem with food. Also, you said you have 100g? it is a huge tank! As far as i know, each oscar needs more than 65g, though i guess you could keep 2 in there. You could wait for them to pair off, and then take the other two back to the store before any agression occurs.
Good luck!
Glad you joined the forum

Shawnie

im not familiar with magic balls..so I have no advice on that one....the ph down/up will effect them as they dont handle chemicals well at all and those are a product that has a fast, drastic effect on the ph and fish...so as tony said, id stop with those....the ph is fine and my oscars were in 7.6 ph ...as long as its a stable one, once again, its fine ...

i am worried about your test kit telling you the tank is cycled tho..im not sure if the products you are using in your tank are giving you a false reading ...without some type of cycle aide like tetra safestart, its almost impossible for a new tank with oscars to be cycled in 2 weeks.....if it were me, id stop using EVERYTHING and try to find some prime...prime will detox ammonia/nitrites (even tho you arent getting them on the readings ) and allow you to cycle the tank properly..id do this for 2 weeks straight without any other chemicals and test again...id change 30-40% a day with the prime....I think you will see a huge difference in your babies and I do hope they get better soon!

sphinx_87

O i forgot to mention when i set up the tank originally i added Amquel immediately, which says it removes ammonia, chlorine, and chloramines.
The tiger seems to be doing slighty better, hes eating a little, moving around some, but still doesnt look very good, some what pale and lathargic and rapid breathing. I think being seperated from the others helps some.
The albino looks even worse now, still hasnt moved much from sitting on the gravel, been prob over two days now and a complete loss of appetite, along with rapid breathing.
I want to say i have some sort of parasite or bacteria. The symptoms are similar to those of velvet, gill flukes, or maybe somthing similar to a salt water parasite uronema marinum; except for the rubbing or scratching. But especially with the rapid breathing, more than 80 times per minute. The tiger has almost a hic-up in his rapid breathing and slight red spots near the back of his gills.
None of this started until i added some of the Instant Ocean Sea Salt. I didnt put in very much, but soon after was when the tiger started to not look well. Although, this seemed to help the albinos fins originally and he seemed to be strong and doing well, he now seems to be the sickest.
I bought some parasite medication called SentryAQ Mardel, Biospheres Maracide for ick, velvet, and other external parasites. Im not sure if this is what i need and have not used it yet. I was thinking of using either this or Tank Buddies parasite medballs.

Thanks for the input and advice!!

aquarist48

Hello Sphinx87. Is is possible for you to post some photos of your tank and fish? Maybe someone can help to identify the problems your fish are having. Too, I would consider doing a 50% water change and add the Amquel. Amquel is probably only going to detox the ammonia for about 24 hour period. Part of the problem is probably the Instant Ocean Marine Salt you've added to the fresh water tank. If you choose to add salt it should be salt for "fresh water" aquariums. Keep checking your ammonia, nitrite and nitrate readings. Do the test before you add the Amquel to see exactly where you stand with ammonia. (I'm sure you'll get some more responses).
Best of luck!
Ken

sphinx_87

The albino seems to be doing much worse now. He is laying on his side on the gravel and his tail fin is shaking as if having convulsions. Parts of his fins have a dark black looking color to them. He was swimming around kinda funny for a second but returned right back to laying down. Pull through little buddy! Gonna test everything again now, may do water change tomorrow just hope the stress doesnt send him over the edge...

Wow just saw the albino swimming in circles angled towards the top of the tank bobbying up and down and kinda in loops... weirdest thing ive seen... not looking good

I merged your two posts. Don't forget you have an edit key for add on thoughts and corrections. Thanks! Ken

k thanks

aquarist48

By all means keep us updated. I merged your two posts.
Ken

Shawnie

Please get some prime and do a 50% water change....amquel + (plus version only) detoxifies ammonia/nitrites but will NOT completely cycle your tank...stop using all meds as oscars dont tolerate them at all....even salt .....salt doesnt evaporate and must be removed from tanks with water changes.....im not sure you can save the sick boy at this point but you can save his buddies ....

sphinx_87

Well as i suspected the albino did not make it through the night. After seeing him swimming all crazy like I had a feeling it was over for him. It was weird though because a week ago the albino seemed to be the strongest out of the four. Within three days or so he went from looking great to dead. So Im not sure what i have thats making my fish sick but i hope it doesnt affect the two healthy ones. I still have until tuseday to bring him back and exchange him for another fish from good ol' petsmart, but im debating if i want to do that or not. But if the other tiger pulls through i would need another fish for them to pair. The tiger ate a little today but still looks kind of lathargic and still has the rapid breathing.
About to get some prime and do a water change today.

sphinx_87

just added sum photos, not the best quality tho
<<<<
...added couple more that are better quality

sphinx_87

Just did 50% water change and added Prime and Tank Buddies Parasite Clear. Hopefully this helps my sick tiger. Brought back the dead albino earlier and got store credit. Did all the water tests and everything seems ok: ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate around 5, and ph dropped slightly to about 7.2.