Please Help

Hi,
My oscars are not moving around, they are just at the bottom of the tank. They were not like this when I first got them. They are not going after food like they use to. They'll feed once and a while but not as I expect oscars to. They usually greet me when I come home, but all of that has stopped. I suspect a few possible cause, but I need help narrowing it down. Here is my current set up.

4 Oscars (2 inches) in a 40 gal. Tank

Fluval 403 outputted to 2 Bio-wheel Pro each handling bio load equivalent to a 30 gallon undergravel filter with 50 lbs of cultured gravel.

Power head for added circulation (not sure on gph)

I suspect:
40 gal tank too small (but I think it's too soon to see problems now because between the 4 of them @ 2 inches, there's ample room to swim around. Plus my filter is mature and test come back as 0)

Contaminated with soap (before I even set up this tank and before I ever picked up a book on this hobby, I washed the aquarium down with soap. but rinsed really well)

Contaminated with rock intended for gardening that was just sitting in the yard that I rinsed off (I know, stupid- I did not know at the time, and is now removed from the tank- Another result of jumping into a hobby without reading first.)

It's possible that it's all of these factors combined, and I understand that one alone is a serious offense in the hobby. Is there any one outthere who made the same mistake and came out ok in the end? Is there anyone out there who can give me advice on how I could possibly reverse this? Is it even possible?

Thanks

 

I'm not that good on larger fish, though ill give it a try, what are your testing levels? (like ammonia ext....) My best guess is that it would be a factor of all of the mistakes cought up on the fish, maybe remove the fish for now, put them somewhere else that they will be ok in for awhile. Rewash the whole thing down and remove the rock. Thats the best i can think of.

 

How long have you had the oscars in there?

What are you feeding them?

Please post the numbers for ammonia, nitrIte, and nitrAte.

And yes, a 40 gallon is way too small for 4 oscars. If you can't get about a 200 gallon tank within the next couple of months, you really should return all but 1 oscar. Oscars grow incredibly fast and you're going to start having some serious problems if you keep them in that tank much longer. One oscar will eventually need a 50 gallon tank (although 75 would be much better), but could stay by himself in the 40 for several months.

-Chelle

 

My ammonia level is 0 mg/l
nitrite is 0.3mg/l

I don't currently have a test kit for nitrate, I'll get one today. I cleaned out my filter yesterday and I discovered uneaten blood worms that looked decayed yet did not have a funky odor to them, just smelled like organic vegies which is what I would expect when ammonia is properly being processed.

it could be the nitrate because my the foam on my fluval 403 was all covered with decaying blood worms, there was not one surface area that was not tainted with blood worms. I even had to clean out the impeller. If ammonia and nitrite level are ok, it must be nitrate. I'll get a test for sure.

 

My nitrate came back as 80ppm

 

When was the last time you did a water change and how large was it?

80 is too high. Ideally, it should remain below 20 but you definitely don't want it above 40.

It could be from all the decaying bloodworms, or from your tank being overstocked, or a combination of the two.

-Chelle

 

First, get the nitrates down. If you continue to have a problem after that it could be from soap residue. Soap will leave a film on everything. The only way to get rid of the soap film is to break the tank down and wash everything with a bleach solution: 1 part bleach 10 parts water. The gravel will have to be replaced. After you have washed everything with the bleach solution, refill the tank without fish and add chlorine remover and let the tank run for a couple of days. You should be able to tell when the chlorine odor is gone from the tank. Again, take care of the nitrates first to see if there is any improvement with the fish.

 

I took out 2 trays of biomax from fluval 404, and left only one in. I also did several water changes at about 4 hour interval. I was also advised that it could be that my temp is too high. My temp is on an average of 81 to 82 degree ferenheit. Thats why I did so many water change, I'm trying to cool off the tank. Hadn't had any luck. I might have to run it through a chiller but reluctant to spend the 300 bucks.

They are doing better however, 2 are starting to feed again, and the other 2 that are not feeding yet are at least moving around. I noticed this when the temp droped from 82 to 81.

Thanks for all the help

 

82 really isn't that bad. During the summer, my tanks generally average around 85 but as long as I keep the air stones going to put more oxygen in the water, they do fine.

-Chelle

 

The air stone made a world of difference. half hour after I installed them, the other two that were hiding out and not eating finally came out. Awesome. Thanks again.