Oscar sick

Question
Hi,

My Oscar is about one year old and in a 30-gallon tank.  I feed him mainly flakes and baby scrimp a couple of times a day.  A few weeks ago he began to develop a white ring around one of his eyes and just this past week there was a red piece of tissue protruding from around the corner of his eye.  Now I'm wondering if he'll make it much longer.  Is there anything that can be done for him?

Answer
Hi Larry,
Oscars are very polluting fish and they dirty their water very quick. To put it quite bluntly, your oscar is likely suffering from poor water quality all the time in that tiny 30 gallon tank. He may also be stunted. He needs at least a 55 gallon and better yet a 75 for him to be really comfortable. These are husky fish that grow to 12 inches and need lots of turning room and gallonage to dilute their waste.

*The poor fella also needs a more varied diet with cichlid pellets instead of flakes and more variety of meaty type live foods.

So for now, do 50% water changes everyday if you can. I promise your oscar needs it. It will also help whatever condition he has right now.

When white rings appear around an oscar's eyes, it usually means the eyes are beginning to swell or have already swollen. It is tissue being stretched. Look at your oscar from all angles, especially from above. He may be developing popeye. Which is more of a symptom of many various illnesses. Please read more about it here-
http://www.flippersandfins.net/pop-eye.htm

Oscarfishlover.com is a great source for oscar health issues and general care.

Best wishes and I hope this helps!
Karen~