Oscar has odd discolorations

kopite · 05-29-2010, 05:09 PM

I have a red oscar and it has developed what appears to be "dead skin" on its head (I am aware that fish don't have skin). He rubs his head on the gravel and the blotches are growing. He's active, he eats, so his behavior is normal. Can anyone tell me what this might be?

Judge · 05-29-2010, 06:40 PM

Welcome Kopite to FTF. Maybe some pics would help along with more info? How long has your tank been set up, how big is your tank, what are the water params, any other tankmates that could be bothering your Oscar?

kopite · 05-29-2010, 07:21 PM

The tank has been set up for a few years, though the oscar has been in there about 6 months. Right now its tank mates are a couple of feeder fish, so he bothers them. The tank is a 55 gal. The ph is a little acidic and the nitrogen levels are up a bit, which is something that needs to be fixed.

Judge · 05-30-2010, 07:50 AM

Hmm, well without some photos I am not sure. I can tell you my experience with something that sounds similar, although it is saltwater. I have two clowns. When I got Mickey D he had a small "patch of skin" that grew just by his gills. His gf Mary Kate developed the same thing. I believe it was cancer. I enlisted the aid of 3 Neon Gobies who ate the growths off of them and they have not returned. Not sure if the freshwater world has such a "cleaner fish" or shrimp for that matter but I will research. I am sure someone will swim along with more info.
My other guess, only a guess is some type of bacterial fungus. Is he still eating?

kopite · 06-03-2010, 10:00 AM

His behavior hasn't changed, he still eats like a pig. The growth doesn't grow out away from his scales, it grows laterally along his body. There aren't any white or yellow dots, it doesn't appear fuzzy, and only the leading edge is a whitish gray; where it grew before looks dull rather than white or gray.

kopite · 06-05-2010, 11:30 AM

I'm pretty sure its a fungal infection. I've started treating with pimafix it seems to be working well. Most of the discoloration is gone after the first dose.

Judge · 06-05-2010, 01:57 PM

Kinda what I was thinking. Glad to hear he is getting better..keep us posted!

kopite · 06-05-2010, 03:18 PM

I have another question, but not related to disease. I want to put live plants in the tank with the oscar, but his favorite past time is to move everything in the tank to one corner. Since he cleared a large area for himself he hasn't mess with the decor. I know oscars are primarily carnivorous, but would he eat or destroy live plants?

Judge · 06-05-2010, 07:20 PM

Probably not. I do not think he will eat them but as you have already pointed out they are fond of moving stuff around. You plant....they dig 'em up! LOL I have heard of the odd case where they left plants alone but it is not the norm..

ZeroSystem · 06-06-2010, 02:11 AM

Oscars are actually omnivours far more so than carnivours. Although they will certainly eat fish and shrimp and such, in the wild they are known to eat just about everything, and that includes the many types of plants that can be found in south american rivers. Also a lot of the small fish they eat are mostly herbivours themselves, so they get more veggies that way. I've even read that during certain times of the year when the rivers rise higher they will eat nuts and mushrooms that they normally can't get to! I've heard some Oscar breeders refer to their secret weapon for awesome looking O's is as simple as frozen peas which they feed along with a high quality pellet.

Anyways, sorry for the ramble. As for your actual question, Judge has already hit the nail on the head. Almost every Oscar will uproot, rearrange and utterly destroy almost any plant you try to put in there. I've seen some okay sized oscars (maybe 5 or 6 inches or so) that weren't that bad with java fern and anubis, but they had been put into the tank after it had been well planted at a very young age. I don't know what happend once they reached full size either.. but I can guess!