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Post by novemberjamie on May 3, 2009 8:46:54 GMT -6
seems like every week i have an issue. my meds for the gt come in tommorrow. but the oscars in the tank.. well i have a question about them. its easier asking it in here rather then searching the web for hours at a time. only my tiger oscar and the red oscar seem to be loosing a few scales... most are around its belly and i assumed its from growing fast? theres also an albino oscar but he/she looks fine. do you think it could be something else? if you want ill try to get some pics of them.
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Post by sirknight on May 3, 2009 9:04:43 GMT -6
Scales are not lost by growth. Without a picture I would think that a fish is biting on your Oscars or your Oscars are fighting or the Oscars are rubbing on objects in the tank from a parasite or your water parameters are way off. Anyway this is not normal. What size tank do you have and what are your water parameters.
Joe
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Post by novemberjamie on May 3, 2009 9:16:46 GMT -6
well i would have to check it again, but we have hard water naturally... the ph and akal. have always been fine. there in a 165 ... along with the gt or im sure has bloat. but im almost positive that they dont have bloat. in the tank i also have a blood parrot... who has this lil cave that he has claimed his own. hes small compared to the oscars....but if they go around the cave then he comes out and nudges them away from it. ive watched him do it many times but didnt think that he was taking scales off of them like that. are there scales gonna grow back?
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Post by jgentry on May 3, 2009 9:26:40 GMT -6
If you are having troubles with a GT and your oscars you definately have something going on either parasite wise or poor water wise.
Like Sirknight said the only way your fish are loosing scales are if they are scratching on your decorations due to either ick or some other parasite or it is from fighting.
Please list all of the following as accurately as possible so we can help you out.
Tank size
Filtration
Water change schedule
Nitrate levels
PH
Tank inhabitants
Has anything changed within the last 2 weeks (new fish, plants, water color, clarity, etc)
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Post by sirknight on May 3, 2009 10:47:17 GMT -6
You asked about the scales growing back.
Yes, they will but the things you need to do is find out what is happening (what is causing the scale lose).
With scale lose you could develope another problem. The fish could develop a Bacterial Infection from the wounds.
Oscars are not that aggressive compared to the Greens Terrors and other cichlids.
I don't know anything about blood parrot fish. I have never had any because they don't appeal to me and because they are hybrid fish that to my knowledge can not be line bred.
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Post by novemberjamie on May 3, 2009 10:57:56 GMT -6
well the only thing that changed is i put the gt in there. ...after that is when i started having problems. in the tank are:
1 green terror
1 blood parrot
1 bala shark
3 oscars
1 jack dempsey
1 pleco
its a 165 gallon, i didnt notice at the begining of the week that i started to get some algea...didnt ever get any before..atleast not noticable.
also i have started doing more frequant water changes and the water is still a lil cloudy looking. about 20% daily. i was doing a 20 or 30 % like every 3 days. I bought 2 new filters, emperor 400's so those are running in it now. all of my levels in the tank run high...the ph, hardness and so forth. the nitrates i just checked and its a lil high...around 80
hardness is around 150 alkalinity around 120and ph is between 7.2 and 7.8. i just did another water change and took out all the plants and everything and rinsed it real good. i was looking at the oscars and it seems to be getting worse, im pretty sure its not from fighting. i did however order Metronidazole... and decided to treat the whole tank.*becasue of the gt* will this maybe cure whatever they have?
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Post by sirknight on May 3, 2009 11:29:17 GMT -6
Nitrate levels are a little high do another water change (50% would help a lot). You maybe over feeding the tank.
Also you IMHO don't not have enough filtration for that size tank and the fish you are keeping, something else to look at. All of the above will cause algae
For your size tank I would go with a wet/dry system or a couple of Eheim Pro's or a combo of the larger capacity filters. Just as an example: on my 65 I have 2 aqua clear 70's and a Fluval 305, I do 50% water changes every other week.
Metro will not cure every problem, but will help with few.
Some pleco's (larger version) can and will scratch fish, Jack Dempsey's are very aggressive compared to Oscars as are GT
Just some things to consider.
Joe
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Post by jgentry on May 3, 2009 16:08:34 GMT -6
Joe is giving you some great advice. From your readings your nitrates are way to high. Plus if you just increased your filtration and water changes and they are that high they were probably over 200 shortly ago. The goal is to keep your nitrates below 20. I'm not sure how big your oscars are but they are really dirty fish and produce a ton of waste. emperor 400 are OK filters but they really don't provide biological filtration. You would be much better off with a quality canister filter used along with your hang on filters. When dealing with large cichlids I always recommend you have 5 times the recommended filtration.
You also have to remember that fish and food/waste create ammonia which your bioligical fitration converts to nitrite then to nitrate. The only way to remove nitrate is with water changes. I would do a 50% water change ever other day for a week. From there up your filtration and start testing your water to see how long you need to wait inbetween 50% changes. I do 50% ever week just because, but you really only have to do it when your nitrates start approaching 20. Depending upon your fish and feeding it could be 3 days it could be 3 weeks. But with 3 oscars it is probably not going to be very long. A 165g sounds big but not really for the fish you have. If you do not get the nitrates down the oscars will for sure start developing hole in the head if they have not already. They are very sensitive to it.
As for the Green teror I really doubt it has bloat, but instead is experiencing what is called old tank syndrome. Your older fish have been in the tank as the nitrates have steadily risen and are more used to it. The GT was dropped in from low nitrate water and stressed by the high nitrates. It could also have some other things wrong with it but I would get the water clean first before I treated anything with any medications. With clean water missing scales and split fins will heal quickly with no issues.
Let us know how it goes and good luck!!
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angel
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My Husband's A Birdbrain
Posts: 40
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Post by angel on May 3, 2009 16:21:46 GMT -6
Hey that's great news! Name any other forum that has a network of moderators and members like this! You guys are awesome!
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Post by jgentry on May 3, 2009 16:36:56 GMT -6
Forgot to mention Jamie. If your having trouble doing that large of water changes go out and get a python water change system. They are a lifesaver for big tanks and make it extremely easy.
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Post by nebelhund on May 5, 2009 15:01:03 GMT -6
I ended up with a python system when I bought a tank a few months back...but can find no good instructions on how to use it. Does anyone have any info?
(I looked for a pdf instructions file online but can't find anything.)
Thanks!
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Post by novemberjamie on May 6, 2009 7:52:30 GMT -6
well i will say it sucks doing water changes on that tank...atleast larger ones..like 50%. ive been doing water changes everyday.. and the last two days have dosed the tank with the fish zole.. or metronidazole....
so im not sure how long its suppose to take to work? but either way everyone is still acting fine accept the gt..and man is he gettin skinny...its been over 2 weeks since he has eatten and im afriad im gonna go in there one morning and hes gonna be dead.
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Post by jon carman on May 6, 2009 9:30:49 GMT -6
Try soaking the food in aquarium water with metro in it if he is still eating. If he's not keep your fingers crossed. Most meds should work in 3-7 days. If he is still sick after that I might try one more dose a little stronger wich should be alright as long as you do it gradually and you don't have any scaleless fish. Good luck.
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fishme
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Posts: 503
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Post by fishme on May 6, 2009 10:56:58 GMT -6
I ended up with a python system when I bought a tank a few months back...but can find no good instructions on how to use it. Does anyone have any info? (I looked for a pdf instructions file online but can't find anything.) Thanks! It should be already assembled. Is it the type that connects to the faucet or the smaller version that requires a bucket to haul the water? |
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Post by sirknight on May 6, 2009 11:30:30 GMT -6
I would say if the fish hasn't eaten in 2 weeks and has a sunken belly there isn't much hope.  . It may be time to put him to sleep. Joe |
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. It may be time to put him to sleep.