bloated oscar!

Question
QUESTION: my Red Tiger oscar, about 10 months old is very bloated an swollen in his stomach an bowel area's. his not eating an seems to be in pain! his with 1 more oscar same age and around 25 other cichlid's, they have all been fine for a few months, just noticed he was bloated yesterday! the sick oscar is also just sitting on the bottom an not fighting back with the other oscar as it normaly would!

any information would be great, i am thinking he may heav eaten a rock or a suction cap or sumthiing from within the tank that caused him to become blocked, is this a possibility and wat could i do?


he is approximately 25cm long, nose to tail fin! had white spot around 3 months ago, 5 weeks ago i put all he fish into a new 6ft X 2ft X 2ft aquarium, and they all seem to get along ok, its only the oscars who fight amongst there self!

could it be over feeding, i have feeder fish in the tank for a constant supply of food, i feed the cichlid sticks in the morning, n blood worm n cichlid sticks at night. theres a lot of fish so they dnt get very much blood worm, the oscar who is sick used to eat a block of blood work, approx 5gm n spit out about 1/4 of it through his gills!

thanx very much for reading!

ANSWER: Twenty-five cichlids, in one tank is way too many.  I am thinking that they are lacking oxygen.  One Oscar should have a 66 gallon tank to himself, and 2 should have 120 gallons, and so on.  Of course they fight amongst themselves, there is no room for them to swim, let alone finding a territory.  You may not know this, but Oscars are best kept alone in a 66 gallon tank or bigger where he can swim, and turn around. I am really suprised that people would put an Oscar in with 25 fish...I just can't believe it, and wonder where you got this information that this would be the right thing to do.  It is cruel, and makes your Oscars stress, and stress causes disease.

The only way to help your Oscar for now, is to be kind to him, and give him space to swim, a clean aquarium, and food such as pellets that you find at the Pet Store. There are pellets especially made for him, and they contain all the vitamins an Oscar needs.  Never feed him, or them feeder fish.  These fish are full of disease, and if your Oscar/Oscars eat them, they will get sick also.  Feed him well cooked frozen peas, cook them until tender, remove the first layer, and feed them to your oscar as he may be constipated. Let him fast for a day or so.  I don't believe that he would have swallowed a rock or anything else, they do borrow and push sand, but they are intelligent enough not to swallow these things.
Feeder fish have no nutrition value what-so-ever.  

When buying fish you must always read up on them, you cannot just stick fish in as some are not compatible with others.  The Oscar is one of the most mistreated fish on the market.  Once sold, it is rare that the fish store will ever take them back as they grow quite big.  They should be fed 3 meals a day, and water changes must be made every single week without fail.  Ammonia builds up fast in a tank, and I am quite sure you have ammonia in yours right now.  Ammonia is the number one killer of fish, and the only way to get rid of it, is to make water changes.  Always test your water at least once or twice a week.
Not knowing the cichlids that your Oscar is in with, makes me wonder.  What is your PH?  For an Oscar it should be around 7.0 which is neutral.  You must always follow the right PH for cichlids, as some live in acidic water, and some in alkaline water.  You cannot mix these cichlid together as they will be very very sad.  You cannot force them to be happy in a lower, or higher PH.  It is as if they would be living their days with a bad headache, and eventually will die.  This is so important.  
The fish stores are there to sell, so they don't tell you all that you should know, even though they do know, and should.  This is why, people buy fish without knowing, put them in an aquarium, and bingo! - trouble starts.
It is much better, and wiser to read about the fish that you put in a tank before buying them, to avoid sorrow, and being hurt when they get sick and die.
Looking after fish is not a game, you must know what to do, how to help them, how to keep them, what water they should be in, etc.
Ocars are so intelligent, and live a long time if kept right.  They can actually be a real good friend, and they feel love, just like we do.  
I have an oscar, he is going on 11 years old, he is in an 80 gallon tank.  I talk to him, give him kisses, and pet him.  He brings me so much joy, and I try to make his life a happy one.  He can jump, turn around, and do tricks.  He is like a little dolphin.
Fish so not ask to be put in aquariums, they would rather be in their habitat, free... but seeing as we want them, we should make sure that they are well treated, and that we do our best to make it so.
I'm telling you all these things, as I can see that you have been mislead, and this really angers me.
If you have anymore questions, ask away, and I am sorry of how your tank is set up, and can only blame the people who told you that this was okay.  Everyday you learn something new on fish.  I hope I have helped you understand a little more, and please don't be angry with me.  I know that the truth hurts, but better the truth, than to come home to fish dieing everyday, or sick, and impossible to cure.
Lynda




---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: in my 150 gallon tank got 2 Oscars, 25cm n 30cm, both same age n brought same day, 2 Plecostumus, 35cm n 25cm, 2 Fuelleborn both fully grown, 5 Elec Yellow the biggest is 5cm, 5 Elec Blue 3 of them are 5cm an two are 12 cm and 9 cm, 2 Blue Arcara 8cm and 5 cm, 2 Convicts 9cm and 7 cm, 4 Clown Loaches 4cm upto 9 cm, 1 Firemouth 7cm, 2 Riverlatus Gold both are 4cm, 1 Hongi fully grown, 2 Blue Peacock 7cm and 5 cm, 1 Star Sapphire 7 cm, 1 Rusty cichlid 4cm, 1 White Knight curenttly has a brood of eggs then im moving this fisg to a new tank, My 480 ltr tank i hav 4 Barramundi (australian big bass)

they all seem happy, plenty of room to swim n all have enough room for a territory,

the reason for telling you this is im quite interested in your opinion. your very strait forward n truthful, so please give me your feedback!

i also found out that the oscar, who is 25cm is constipated, n ive read that epsom salts will help relieve this. is this true, im quarantining this fish in a 27 gallon tank till its better. is this a good idea?

Answer
Hi Corey,
Try giving your Oscar the pea treatment before quarantining it.  Epson baths are the last resort.  This is not a catching disease.  Try the Pea treatment, and it should work.  If not then you could put him in an Epson bath for 15-20 minutes by adding 1 tablespoon to one gallon of water.  This would mean 27 tablespoons of epson salt, (almost the whole bottle) to your 27 gallon aquarium!!  Never leave him in this water for more than 20 minutes.  Personally, I never had much success with these baths, they stress the fish, and a stressed fish gets worse. The pea is a much better solution.  If he eats the peas, and has no waste, then you could treat him with Kanamycin which is one of the best, and if you can't find it then buy Tetracycline or Furan 2.  The pea treatment usually works well with oscars has they will eat the peas.
I will try to keep this letter as short as possible, but it is lots of study, and you should read up on the fish you now have.  For instance Clown Loasches grow up to 6 inches and need a big tank such as the one you have now.  They are a schooling fish, and should be kept with at least 6 others.
Personally, I feel that African cichlids should be kept with African Cichlids, as there water is more alkaline than water needed for the Oscar who does best in 7.0 PH. ..so do clown loaches, and Blue Acaras. I really feel that the blue acaras are out of place here, as they are a peaceful fish, and grow to 8 inches long.
What I really think is that the oscars should be kept alone in this tank.  (I would like to mention, never put a third one in, first lack of space, and 2nd one could kill the other)  
Either this, or keep your African Cichlids, adding more, making sure that they do get along as some are less aggressive than others. They are beautiful fish, territorial when spawning, so need plenty of hiding places.
It is up to you, and I know that it is a hard decision, as all fish are beautiful.  A tank with African Cichlids is beautiful to see, just as pretty as a salt water tank.  Oscars too, are awesome, but must be kept in groups, or in two's.  Your aquarium is big enough for two.
I wish I could say keep them all, but that would be a big mistake, as Oscars grow very big.  Pleco's too, and most all other fish in your aquarium one day will reach their full size.
Think about it, read up on them, you can google some, and you will see, and make up your mind which kind of aquarium you would like to have.  It's a tough decision, but it will come to you.  You cannot keep all the fish you have now.  One day soon, there will be alot of trouble in the tank....ammonia build up, lack of oxygen, not enough space, disease... They haven't reached their full size yet, but one day they will, and you must think about that.  Also not all Oscars are bad.  I have had many Oscars, and they got along just fine with Severums.  I had a tank with one Oscar, one severum, 2 blue acaras, one black ghost, 6 clown botias, 4 Keyholes, 2 bala sharks, 2 silver dollars, and lots of little catfish.  I went against the rules, and put two angel fish in, who became a pair...the oscar was scared stiff of them.  I found them another aquarium, but it was funny to see a big Oscar afraid of two little angel fish!!   I never had a problem in that tank.  I guess it depends...
Wishing you lots of luck, and all the best in the holidays.
Lynda