oscar help needed

Question
Hi, I am very in need of help. I have two albino oscars and two tiger
oscars in a sixty-five gallon tank right now. The problem that im having
is that the two albinos have stopped eating,stopped playing, etc,
anything that has to do with activity. Majority of the time they just lay at
the bottom on the gravel. They do have swollen gills,and i've treated
the water with maracyn two, and I was told to turn the heat up in the
aquarium and add salt.One has gotten some what better and the other has
gone down even more. Is there anything you would suggest doing before I
loose them?


Answer
Hi Jack;

If they still don't get better in spite of all your efforts, it could be "gill flukes" or other parasites. Here is a web page wbout gill flukes;

http://article.dphnet.com/cat-02/flukes.shtml

Bacterial infection can follow a case of gill flukes so that may be why they improved a bit with the antibiotic.  

Increase of temperature is a good thing to do for most illnesses. But, increase the oxygen in the water with a good sized air pump and good sized air stone. The higher the water temperature, the lower the oxygen saturation in the water. Any gill disease causes fish to have a difficult time getting oxygen.

Swollen gills can also be caused by exposure to ammonia or other toxins. Oscars are pretty messy guys so chronic ammonia and/or nitrite can be a problem in their tanks. The albinos aren't as strong as the others so it would make sense that they are affected first. Check the levels of ammonia and nitrite. If ammonia or nitrite are anything above zero, make water changes of 25% daily until they are under control. Cut back on food too. Oscars are natural-born  gluttons and when water quality becomes a problem, feeding just has to be minimized.

They would all really benefit from a series of water changes right now I'm sure, even if there are no toxins present. Replace 25% of the water every other day for the next week. It will boost the immune systems of all your fish and help the sick ones get better quicker. After the series of changes, do them at least once a week and vacuum the gravel every week as part of your normal maintenance.

The tank is just too small for all four of those guys to mature in. It's really only big enough for two oscars. Even if they are still small right now, they are headed for more serious problems as they grow. Oscars are very messy and are very territorial and it will just get worse very soon. With the overcrowding, it's possible that the albinos are being bullied by the others. They can't see as well as regular oscars because of their red eyes so they often aren't the dominant oscars of the group.

If your guys are still small (under 8 inches) they will be okay for maybe 3 or 4 more months depending on how fast they are growing. It would be best to look into a second tank or a larger one in the very near future.

I hope they do well and feel better soon.....

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins