New Oscars

Question
Ok, I already talked to the fish store but they didn't seem to understand.  We
just got 2 baby oscars about 3 weeks ago.  they were very inactive and
weren't eating well.  i noticed white things on the bottom of the tank in the
rocks.  it wasn't fuzzy food.  more like skinny white things about a quarter of
and inch in length, all over the bottom.  we did a water change and swept the
gravel and the fish really perked up but the problem is that the white things
came right back.  the fish are still doing better and eating better but i'm
conserned they will get worse again.  what should i do?

Answer
Ok this sounds like planaria it doesn't harm your fish so don't worry yourself over it. The reason you have planaria is because you have oscars and they are messy fish so be sure to net out uneaten food after 2 minutes after the food is put in the tank. With oscars you want to have a big tank so for your pair you need to put them in a 75 gallon tank because oscars can reach max. sizes of about 14-16 inches in captivity just to let you know. To help remove some waste and leftover food use 2 filters for 75 gallon tanks when and if you get one. Also to keep the ammonia and nitrite down use a gravel vac and stick it in the gravel all over the place to suck out uneaten food and waste.

Ok to remove the planaria you need to start doing weely water changes of about 25% and you will need to get "General Cure" to kill off the remaining parasites. Good luck with the new fish! Oscars are one of my few favorite fish. Also you will nedd to get a test kit for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, alkalinity, hardness, and pH, and be sure all the levels are at the right level.