Oscar stopped eating

Question
Hi,
 My oscar "Ozzy" stopped eating about three days ago.  He usually plays in the air bubbles and mets me at the top of the tank at feeding time but lately he's been very lethargic and sad looking.  He's currently in a 40 gal. tank with two filters running.  His diet was consisting of large pellets and meal worms.  I've checked his PH levels and they seem ok, water temp is normal, and I just changed the filters.  What else can I do?  I bought ICK medicine, do you think that would help?

Answer
Hi Annie;

Make a water change right away. Replace 25% and test the water for ammonia and nitrite. Changing the filters all at once can cause a spike of one or both of these toxins. The filter pads have beneficial bacteria in them that keep toxins under control. Replacing the filter pads removes the bacteria. Rinse the filter pads and never throw them away unless they are literally falling apart or you can't rinse them enough to make them free-flowing again. Rinsing preserves the bacteria clinging to the pads but gets rid of the crud that plugs them. Keep making daily water changes of 25% if the toxins stay up. Once the filters become biologically balanced again it will get back to normal.

Don't use the ick medicine if he doesn't have ick (tiny white specks). It will only burn his skin more if it is already irritated from toxins.

I hope he feels better soon....

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins