oscar sick

[queendolphin]

i have a year old oscar and jack dempsey in a 55 gal tank and am running a ehiem 2026 filter. i feed them pellets and krill and sometimes live goldfish. last week our pleco died and looked like he had skin coming off. this week i tested the water and the ph was at 6.0 and the ammonia is high. now oscar is growing white fungus like stuff and not eating.. he looks really sad . i have done a 25% water change but still no luck. any ideas.. thanks in advance

[AquariumPro]

Hi:

Bottom line is that you are over-feeding and are not doing good water changes!!! Those are the only factor that will explain high ammonia and a pH value that low with only two medium-large fish in a 55 gallon tank. The nitrates are probably off the scale which is making the water acid, and decaying food explains the ammonia problem.

You need to cut back on the amount of food you are feeding to these fish. You should be changing 25% of the water every three weeks, and vacuuming the gravel to remove dirt that accumulates in the gravel. You should be changing carbon and white pads in the Eheim every month.

To fix your problem immediately, do a 50% water change and vacuum the gravel well. Change carbon and white pads in the Eheim. Do not buy any more fish until ammonia is zero. Watch the feeding! Check our FAQ on the right way to feed fish.

[queendolphin]

thanks so much do yu happen to know what the white stuff would be adn how to cureit.or will it go away with good water quality?

[AquariumPro]

Very sorry! I missed that part. That is fungus and it will start to go away when you correct the water quality problem. You should probably also treat the aquarium with aquarium salt. Wait until after the water change.

It is critically important that the Oscar start eating again. After the water change, the Oscar will perk up a little. The next day, offer it some live goldfish. I would also start medicating the tank with one tablespoon of aquarium salt per five gallons of water. Here's how you do that. Dissolve Ten Tablespoons of aquarium salt in a quart of water. Add one cup of the solution in the morning, and another at night for two days.

You may need to do another 25% water change one week later. Make sure you dissolve two tablespoons of aquarium salt in the new water before you add it back to the aquarium.

Salt will kill fungus fairly well. If the Oscar starts eating quickly, but the fungus is not going away, you will probably also need to medicate with an anti-fungal medication. You can try Maroxy, but it doesn't work that well. The best bet is Aquatronics Super Fungus Plus. You can buy that from us or from most good aquarium stores.

[queendolphin]

thank you .. i think it may be a very bad case of fungus and may not be cureable, but we will try our best.. thanks again