Not 100% sure what it is on my Oscar, and Pleco.

It could be ich, it looks salty around my plecos mouth area, and somewhat around his fins, but I have dealt with ich before and it did not look quite like this, also the pattern of my pleco's colors is throwing me off.
My Oscar I believe(hope) is just growing, but I am not sure, as I have stated. He has as you can see in this picture, red edges on his fins, normally that is white like most oscars. I recently moved him out of his 30 gallon tank into a properly sized tank, at 60 gallons. It is just him and the pleco. Another thing I noticed is my Oscar has white on the top fins, but almost as if he's gearing up for a growth spurt, which is normal once put in a bigger tank. My pleco also seems to have a dent on his head from far away, hoping its not HITH, but when I go up closer it looks almost normal, but none the less sketchy.

Both these fish seem to behave normally, and there is no flashing or scratching of any kind that I have seen, and they eat twice a day life spectrum pellets for the oscar, with some brine shrimp pellets high in protein and today I just fed him his first peas, which he chewed a spit out. My Pleco probably just gets teh bread crumbs because my oscar is selfish, I TRY to get an algae wafer but it usually never makes it to the bottom.

In closing, what I am looking to have answered is if any of these pictures indicate the presence of ich, HITH, or fin rot. Water is in perfect condition right now, and will be doing 25% weekly changes to maintain.


Edit : this forum is giving me a hard time posting my photos. Brutal, will message if possible?

 

I don't see anything that would worry me. How fast did it come on? It could just be a natural color change over time.

 

I agree with Chris99....

Beautiful Oscar!

 

agree with tian and chris. beautiful oscar.

 

Is that a common pleco?

 

Thank you everyone for the reassurance, I sketch out a lot at what seems like nothing, cause Oscars are such a deadly fish I don't want anything to happen to him.

As for when I noticed the reddened fins, I HAVE seen it in the past, but in the old tank he didnt have a light so I left my rooms light on, so its much easier to tell now.

If its a common pleco, I would say yes, but not sure. The fish store I buy from generalizes the pleco's, and there were definitely oyher kinds in there, like those cool ones with horns on their head.

Again, thank you all for replyig, I will try to get better pictures of what I'm "worrying" about tonight to reconfirm! Peace!

 

This thread has a picture of my oscar who looks very similar. I've been out of town so had to check the coloring on his fins. It is very similar to yours.

 

That is one stunning setup you've created there Chris99!!!!

If i've seen correctly now, is that a Texas or Jack Dempsey cichlid you also have in there?

And I agree.... it is very simular colouring....

 

Thanks! Jack dempsey.

 

I have 2 tiger oscars. Both of which change colors when stressed. kind of a lighter paler shade of red or black.

 

chriss99 yes very very similar!!!! Very pleased to see your first picture of the Oscar, it has the reddened edges on the fins, and a lighter white after that as if there are layers of growth you can see, and that's mostly what I have been worrying about! Thank you!


this is what I was worried about more up close, the layers on his fins, but now that I see it on yours Chris, I feel I have nothing to worry about, but obviously will keep an eye on him!

I also would like to add, that this forum is SO MUCH BETTER THEN OSCARFISH one. When I went on there, I had concerns of HITH, months ago. Turns out it was nothing, but all the advice I got on there was how awful of a fish keeper I was and I should rehome the fish, and then I got banned cause I was getting angry with them for giving me such horrible advice and not helping my current situation. Lol, they hated that he was in a 30 gallon, I had plans for the 60 (which is he in now....) and they told me he would die, without even seeing a decent picture. Again, thank you all for replying, means a lot, and I will continue to enjoy and be a part of FISHLORE!

 

Glad your Oscar didn't die

 

I also would like to add, that this forum is SO MUCH BETTER THEN OSCARFISH one When I went on there, I had concerns of HITH, months ago. Turns out it was nothing, but all the advice I got on there was how awful of a fish keeper I was and I should rehome the fish, and then I got banned cause I was getting angry with them for giving me such horrible advice and not helping my current situation. Lol, they hated that he was in a 30 gallon, I had plans for the 60 (which is he in now....) and they told me he would die, without even seeing a decent picture. Again, thank you all for replying, means a lot, and I will continue to enjoy and be a part of FISHLORE!

Btw, your pleco looks fine to me

 

I'm not sure if my pictures of him do justice to what I'm worrying about in respects to the salty whiteness by his mouth, however in the further away pics you see the black spot that I think looks like a crater on his head, go up closer and bam it looks normal! Sketchy none the less

 

The colours on the oscar's fins are just normal coloration.

The plec is a common. It's underfed, which gives it that bony appearance. It should have an almost constant supply of veg, as well as its other foods.

60g will end up way too small for either of these.

 

I wouldn't say boney, but I will try extra hard to get those algae wafers to him, had to stick my arm in the tank and put it in the egyptian head statue, where he's normally chillin, don't think my Oscar can fit in there but he could a month ago, it's tough when you have a greedy Oscar! As for the tank being too small, I disagree but am aware that its not recommended. I feel with adequate water maintenance it can be done, and I do not plan on adding fish. Thanks for the concern though

 

Once a plec gets a certain size, algae wafers become pretty useless. You really need sizeable chunks of veg that it can chew on all day, and lots of 'normal foods'. If it's the same length as your Oscar it should be eating nearly as much. That's a seriously underfed Plec which will just get worse...

 

hampalong

What size is a "certain size"? My common sailfin plec is around 7" longs now - how do I tell if he is underfed?
What veggies are best for plecs?
Thanks

 

I give mine zucchini, peas, sometimes a big leaf of spinach. Mines still tiny (abp). I also put shrimp pellets and HikarI tropical bottom feeder wafers on the bottom. I'm always worried my plec isn't getting enough because my cories and other fish are piggies




Also this stuff they seem to love. It's convenient to prepare and give them a big block too




Oops forgot the pic

 

Thanks. I feed cucumber, peas and bottom feeder wafers as well as a rotation of brine shrimp, daphnia, bloodworms and krill pacifia for all my fishes, and my frog.

How do I know if he is underfed?

This was him about 5 weeks ago



And this was around 10 weeks ago (he changes colour in the sand!)

 

I think it's because it has that kind if boney appearance. Google search for "common pleco" and a lot of them look plumper and more "smooth".

Not a pleco expert though

 

I honestly don't think my pleco is underfed, at all. The thing is about 4 inches and my Oscar 6 or 7. I feed flakes every second day since they get pushed by teh filter towards teh bottom, and my Oscar gets his pellets anyways. That and my attempts at algae wafers at night as well, so I just don't think he is underfed, maybe my pictures didn't show his whole body well enough.




took a birds eye view from the top of the tank too, still don't think he looks boney, thin, or underfed for his size. I respect your opinion though and will keep an eye on him

 

Have you tried feeding him veggies? Like zucchinI ?

 

No, I have only fed peas, peas that the oscar doesn't steal, other then that algae wafers and flakes for pleco

 

Agreed with hampalong. You may not think much of it because you don't see clear and obvious ailments as a result of it, but its going to get extremely cramped in there for your Pleco. It might even extend to stunting at a point. A common Pleco needs a tank a good double the size you are keeping yours in.

Think along the lines of keeping a fully grown Labrador in a 4x4 foot room its entire life. Its the same sort of thing.

Also, your LFS generalises Plecos? That's a recipe for disaster if I've ever heard one.

 

A plec's belly should be flat at worst, and convex (bulging downwards) when full. Being herbivores without much of a stomach or a very efficient digestive system, they should be convex most of the time.

If the belly is at all concave at any time. it's underfed.

 

Okay, when I look it seems relatively flat, but not caved in or anything, I can't say for sure that it is convex, I can say it looks like a football with the point around his anus/start of tail. I see that thing pooping all the time so I assume he's getting enough, been feeding more flakes lately too, and he goes to town shortly after. Thanks hampalong a lot though I don't mean to sound like I don't believe you I am totally taking all you are saying in and trying to get some sufficient food to that pleco, that Oscar is super greedy though! Haha

 

I used to think flakes and algae wafers were enough too for my salfin pleco. Then I started adding in zucchinI and squash and he loves it! goes to town on it! and he looks so much healthier. more plump, better colors. Just because he is pooping a lot doesn't mean he is getting adequate nutrition. he is going to poop a lot no matter what. lol

and remember, nobody is trying to tell you how wrong you are or attack you. we all want the same thing....healthy fish. by sharing experiences or knowledge, we can help each other out.

if it is a common....he will get at least 18" if not more full grown. so compare that to the tank he is in. it may be enough for now. but it really could stunt his growth. I got this great advice from everyone here on fishlore. I have a 6" sailfin pleco. I am about to be shipping him to his new home because I know I will never be able to have a 100+ gallon tank for him. Sucks, but it is what it is.

Also, I was concerned mine had ICH for a while there, when really it was white dots on the end of his little spikes. so take a close look and see if that's the case.

 

I treated my tank for ich relentlessly for months because of one of my parrots. Turned out the white spots were just markings on its tail fins that happened to sit perfect with the fin lines making them look like raised cysts

 

I've found you have to experiment with a bunch of different kinds of veggies and fruits. So far mine likes zuchinni, cucumber(sometimes), grapes, strawberries and canned green beans. Won't touch lettuce, spinach, mushroom or apple. Next we try pumpkin and pears.

 

At first I was under the impression that he was just scrapping himself when he slides under the driftwood I have which he does 50 times a day. Now its kinda starting to spread. I quarantined him and treated with aquarium salt. he was doing a little better so I put him back in his big tank. Now it seems to be spreading to his fins also. Is this fin rot?

I'm afraid to use most medications because hes a scaleless fish! Plus I don't have a proper diagnosis.

 

I give mine zucchini, peas, sometimes a big leaf of spinach. Mines still tiny (abp). I also put shrimp pellets and HikarI tropical bottom feeder wafers on the bottom. I'm always worried my plec isn't getting enough because my cories and other fish are piggies




Also this stuff they seem to love. It's convenient to prepare and give them a big block too




Oops forgot the pic

View attachment 165378




View attachment 165380

Does that can of food really say what I think it says on it?

Not work safe!

 

Thanks everyone, as for veggies to feed my Pleco but ALSO my Oscar in case he can't have certain types( only peas at the moment) What should I feed my pleco? and if it's zuchinI or carrots or something like that, should I be dicing it or will a slice do? or mash it up? Never really thought of those types of veggies! Thanks

 

Does that can of food really say what I think it says on it?

Not work safe!

Haha yep

Thanks everyone, as for veggies to feed my Pleco but ALSO my Oscar in case he can't have certain types( only peas at the moment) What should I feed my pleco? and if it's zuchinI or carrots or something like that, should I be dicing it or will a slice do? or mash it up? Never really thought of those types of veggies! Thanks

Just cut it into coins like you would to put in a salad. Weight it down with a screw, plant weight, wooden BBQ skewer. He will rasp on it like he would wood.




And yeah, zucchini, carrots, pumpkin (heard of people carving out minI pumpkins and putting the whole thing in) spinach, kale, etc

 

how long do you leave it in there before taking it out? I have trouble believing he'll eat the whole thing!

 

He might not. I take out what doesn't get finished in 24 hours. A little longer if it doesn't look like its decaying or anything.

Way I see it, it's like .50 for a zucchinI that I cut into about 10-15 coins. I'd rather throw a big chunk or two in then remove what doesn't get eaten than chance a tankmate being a pig

 

Plecos don't usually tolerate salt well either being scaleless. If you are really worried about fin rot or some infection you can try Melafix. However the best treatment is pristine water.

Large daily water changes are the best to keep the water pristine. I have also seen recently about adding garlic guard to their food for immune system boost. I'm not sure about use on plecos, but would be worth a look. He really doesn't look too bad to me. Hard to see though. Sometimes their changing colors and patterns looks crazy enough to trick you into thinking its some disease or fin rot also.

But I would say try the water changes before medications as plecos are more sensitive. the driftwood is good for his diet as well. but add some fresh veggies in. that will help his overall health as well.

 

Does that can of food really say what I think it says on it?

Not work safe!

Insert 12 y/o middle school joke here

 

kinda hard to see but I found all rubber suction cups at walmart by the hardware where they have the plastic hooks and screws and all that. works great and no metal in the tank.

 

I rubber band mine to a rock with a stretch of fishing line attached. Put it in at bedtime, remove it when I get up. Mine with spinach the first and only time he was interested in it.