REALLY Sick Oscar

Question
QUESTION: Ok,
I have a Tiger oscar named "Oscar" (3.5-4 in.), he currently lives in a 55 gallon tank with another tank mate, a Red oscar named "Red" (same size as oscar).
We purchased red about 3 weeks after we purchased oscar, and red came home with ich. So of course I treated that, now the 2 oscars appear to be fine, at least for a few days.
Now Oscar is swimming around with his mouth open and his gill plates are wider than normal showing his gills, it's like he's breathing heavy. His gills appear to be a healthy pink color. His lovable personality has faded and his appetite is gone. Also, it appears after watching him closely, his feces is white in color.
So far i'm thinking it could be "rockitis", or some kind of  intestinal infection.

PLEASE HELP. I don't want oscar to die.


ANSWER: Hi Benjamin,
  I have never heard of "rockitis" -- that word doesn't make any sense ("itis" means "inflammation of", so "rockitis" would be "inflammation of the rock" ????).  

  The white feces tell you that it is definitely an intestinal infection. Have you been feeding him feeder fish?  If so, that is the most likely cause of the problem. You need to stop that immediately and never do it again.

  Try feeding him some thawed frozen peas.  That helps to clear his digestive tract but of course that only works if he is still eating and
fish with intestinal infections typically stop eating entirely.

  You need to be doing regular weekly water changes.  You should be changing 25% of the water once a week, every week. Are you doing that?

-- Ron
  rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
  Cichlid Research Home Page <http://cichlidresearch.com>




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

QUESTION: Rockitis, I guess is not a very commonly used word. What I mean is I think he could have a rock lodged in his mouth. I don't see a rock, but his head looks wide and his mouth is half open like he's got something in there. Today I notice he stays near the top of the aquarium. My other oscar "Red" is fine. The water is always changed 25-30%% once a week. Oscars diet consists of frozen bloodworms and hikari gold cichlid pellets.

What is the possibility that he ate something on the filter, and it gave him some kind of intestinal infection? Because i HAVE seen him picking at what was caught in the filter.
If left untreated (he wont eat peas, or anything for that matter), will he die from this?

Answer
Hi Benjamin,
  (Unfortunately, rockitis isn't a word.)

  Can he have a rock stuck in his mouth? Possibly, but that would be very unusual for an oscar because an oscar has a very large and very extendable mouth.  Eating something on the filter shouldn't pose any problem.

  Is he breathing hard, i.e., are his gills pumping in and out a lot?
Is he missing any scales?  It sounds to me like your other oscar is bothering him.  

-- Ron
  rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
  Cichlid Research Home Page <http://cichlidresearch.com>