# Possible rescue this weekend, preparations?



## gryffin (Feb 11, 2008)

I may be rescuing a 4in oscar this weekend (I told the woman I'd take it if she doesn't find a home for him by tomorrow). It's 1 year old and has been living in a 10G tank. I am going to want to have him in a hospital tank for QT as well as to treat him for any issues he probably has.

What size hospital tank is appropriate for this oscar?

Thank you!


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## smellsfishy1 (May 29, 2008)

Anything bigger than a 10 gallon would be an upgrade.
A three footer would be heaven to that poor fish.
Good luck and I hope you can get that O.


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## gryffin (Feb 11, 2008)

I'll find out today whether I am taking him.

I'm working on clearing out either my 36G bowfront or my 46G bowfront for him. Small for the long term, but seems like either could be adequate for getting him healthy.

Another question- he is located just under an hour from my house. What's the best way to transport him? I was thinking a 5G bucket with a lid. Will it have enough air if I fill it only part way?


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## gnomemagi (Jun 13, 2009)

^^ Should be fine air-wise.

Poor guy, if hes a year old is growth is stunted terribly.


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## Rhinox (Sep 10, 2009)

gnomemagi said:


> ^^ Should be fine air-wise.
> 
> Poor guy, if hes a year old is growth is stunted terribly.


I thought so... I once had 2 oscars that reached over 10in in 6mo. or less. 4" for a 1 year old oscar is definately stunted.


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## oscars4me (Feb 22, 2009)

That's sad at a year old he should be at the very least 10" but closer to 12" what a shame poor thing.


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## twohuskies (Mar 1, 2008)

gryffin said:


> I may be rescuing a 4in oscar this weekend (I told the woman I'd take it if she doesn't find a home for him by tomorrow). It's 1 year old and has been living in a 10G tank. I am going to want to have him in a hospital tank for QT as well as to treat him for any issues he probably has.
> 
> What size hospital tank is appropriate for this oscar?
> 
> Thank you!


Bless you for rescuing that fish! I did the same thing, but mine hadn't been in that 10G prison for a *year.*









BUT, I will say that mine has progressed very nicely! Lots of good food and clean water will go a LONG way.

Good luck with him. I think either of your tanks will be the taj mahal for that poor fish. Thank goodness you're coming to his rescue! :thumb:


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## gryffin (Feb 11, 2008)

I'm picking him up this afternoon between 3 and 4. I was hoping for Sunday to give me time to get set up, but this was the only day the owner was available so he's going to have to spend the night in my 20GH. At least it is still bigger than the 10G and will have clean water (no water change in awhile I'm told).


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## gryffin (Feb 11, 2008)

Well I have him.

He's got hole in the head and pop-eye. He had apparently shared his 10G with another oscar until the other jumped out and died.

Would I be crazy to put him right in a 65. I can't imagine having this fish in a small tank even though I have seen it with my own eyes.


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## mmz3 (Sep 7, 2009)

> He's got hole in the head and pop-eye.


sad... *** never been able to cure a fish with hole in the head. good luck to you.


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## twohuskies (Mar 1, 2008)

Is the 65 set up already? If not, you can "seed" it with stuff from other tanks. Switch the entire filter from an established tank; use some gravel, plants, decor from other tanks, etc.

If it were me, I'd put him in the 65 if you can seed it with stuff from other tanks.

Poor, poor fish. :x Thank goodness you got him out of that tiny tank he was in. :thumb: Now I understand why the other jumped out. But, your guy has the best chance of having a decent life now. Myself, I don't care if they're not the prettiest fish; I just want to give them a good life. You may be surprised at how he changes in a bigger tank with clean water and good food. Mine sure did. Went from a mud colored, nearly dead fish to a sassy fish with decent color that seems to grow an inch every week!


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## gryffin (Feb 11, 2008)

I did put him in the 65G- it was all clean, set up on a stand and ready to scape, so all I had to do was fill it and plumb a filter. I didn't put in any decor or gravel yet.

I had a new Rena XP2 that I planned to put on a 28G. I took the XP3 from my 46G, split the media between the new XP2 and the XP3, and then put the XP3 on the 65G and the XP2 on the 46G.

I think he is closer to 6 inches- it looks like barely six of him will fit across the width of the 65G (it's 36 x 18).

It really is sad- and his owners knew next to nothing about fish care. At least they didn't feed him live food- he got Tetra pellets and sticks as well as frozen blood worms and something that looked like brine shrimp with spirulina.

He likes his new tank- he didn't sulk or act withdrawn- he just started swimming around it quietly- probably the first time he has actually been able to swim in months. I'm glad I put him the biggest tank I had empty.


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## twohuskies (Mar 1, 2008)

AWESOME!!!!! I think you did the right thing in giving him a "castle" right off the bat. OMG - a 6" fish in a 10G?!~?!?!  Sounds like my rescue story, unfortunately. BUT, mine has turned out really well, and I predict yours will too.

If you can, get some gravel and plants from other tanks to add more "seeded" material to that 65. Rockin' filter, BTW - I love my XP2 that I have on a 45G corner. I know it will be expensive to treat that big tank, but wondering if you should start some treatment for HITH and the popeye?

BLESS YOU for saving that fish. Mine was really thin when I got him. Had to beef him up, and boy...is he BEEFY now! :lol: He's always begging for food, and he pouts if he doesn't get some kind of "treat" at bedtime. Took that fish all of about 24 hours to wrap me around his fin!


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## heylady (Oct 14, 2004)

I think it's great you saved him too!! =D>

I bet he's enjoying all that room too  What kind of O is he? Got any pics??


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## gryffin (Feb 11, 2008)

He's a red oscar. I've decided to name him Phoenix. Phoenix ate today. This morning, I put in one of the cichlid sticks- he didn't touch it while I was around, but ate it sometime during the day.

Tonight, I offered him a Kensfish meat and spirulina wafer which he looked at, but didn't touch at first, and a couple of NLS medium pellets (the ones with garlic). He ate the pellets as they were falling and then attacked the wafer. I'm pleased he is eating.

I tested his water- 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites and just under 5 nitrates, so it looks like my established media is doing its job!

I think I am going to do daily partial changes to keep the water as pristine as possible while he is healing.


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## twohuskies (Mar 1, 2008)

AWESOME!!! Good idea with the WC's. With his HITH & popeye, it will certainly help. Can't wait to see some pics of Phoenix! opcorn:

Great name...he really did rise from the ashes... :fish: :fish:


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## oscars4me (Feb 22, 2009)

=D> =D> =D> =D> opcorn:


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## gryffin (Feb 11, 2008)

Phoenix continues to well- he seems to prefer to go after food that is sinking slowly- he grabs it, eats it and then looks at me to see if more is coming. Not begging, but more than just a passing interest in food.

Speaking of which- how much and how often do you guys think should I feed him? Based on what I was told, he's a year old. I think he is about 6-7 inches, but it is just an estimate right now, based on how much of the tank width he seems to take up.

BTW, I'm think he's a tiger, not a red as I originally thought!

Here's some pics from today (I'm home sick):


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## Strohs58 (Aug 3, 2009)

=D> Good job on the rescue. =D>


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## ~Pandora~ (Nov 3, 2009)

I feed mine bloodworms when they are a little under the weather it perks them right up.

Poor fellow looks like he is missing a few scales.


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## twohuskies (Mar 1, 2008)

OH! Phoenix is very pretty! MUCH too large for a 10G, but thank goodness, you got him out of that prison. :x

Are you treating the HITH? What is that whitish spot near his tail too?

Overall, he looks better than I thought he would. You are his savior, that's for sure! :thumb:

It will take him a few days to settle in and get used to his new, palatial home. :wink: After that, he'll be wagging and begging for food everytime you come near him. :lol: TFG is the best to answer on the amount and number of feedings. I was giving in to the begging, and he set me straight. :lol:

Great job, again, on the rescue! Keep us posted... opcorn:


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## gryffin (Feb 11, 2008)

I think that Phoenix is a girl.  Last night she was hanging out near the front glass in such a way that I could clearly see an oO vent configuration.

This morning she ate two pellets right as I dropped then in, but then seemed to get hung up watching me and swimming back and forth a bit, even bumping into the glass a little. Then when I walked away, she started going after the other pellets I had dropped in.

I did stick a trio of plastic plants and a single terra cota pot in the tank last night after I did another partial water change so that there was some shelter and some things to investigate.

The white spot near her tail is an area of missing scales- it may have happened when she was moved from her 10G to my 5G bucket- there was a lot of thrashing as she was caught and moved.

At the moment, I am treating her with salt (gradually increasing to 5TB per gallon) to help her cope with the transition from dirty to clean water, ~25-30% daily partial water changes and a quality diet. After a few days, I'll see how things are progressing and decide what additional treatment she may need. I was concerned about medicating too soon because sometimes clean water does wonders on its own and also medicine can be tough on an already weakened fish.


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## smellsfishy1 (May 29, 2008)

I think 5 tablespoons per gallon might be too much.
Maybe 1 tablespoon per 5 gallons is what you meant.
Not sure but I just noticed it.


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## gryffin (Feb 11, 2008)

Yes, bad typo- I definitely meant 1TB per 5 gallons!


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## twohuskies (Mar 1, 2008)

I think you're right to wait on any meds. Salt, clean water, and good food can really help any compromised fish. How's Phoenix doing now? opcorn:


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## gryffin (Feb 11, 2008)

She's doing great! The white spot her her tail is about 1/3 the size it was in the picture above. The little one behind the gill cover is gone. The big pit on top of her head is darkening.

She's out swimming about a lot more, and she comes to the front of the tank just about any time I approach it. She's begging for food and eating readily.


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## twohuskies (Mar 1, 2008)

gryffin said:


> She's doing great! The white spot her her tail is about 1/3 the size it was in the picture above. The little one behind the gill cover is gone. The big pit on top of her head is darkening.
> 
> She's out swimming about a lot more, and she comes to the front of the tank just about any time I approach it. She's begging for food and eating readily.


YAAAAYYY!!! Sounds like Phoenix is on the road to recovery. Great job with the rescue! :thumb:

I think it's time for more pictures... :wink:


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## gryffin (Feb 11, 2008)

Here's one from this morning- while trying to entice me to feed her 

And no, I don't normally slant my filter intakes, but someone keeps adjusting it everytime I straighten it. :fish:


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## twohuskies (Mar 1, 2008)

WOW...now THAT is a dramatic improvement!!! :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: She looks GREAT! :dancing: :dancing: :dancing:

I'm so happy I'm just full of emoticons this morning :lol:

I have the same problem with various fixtures in my O's tank. He/she (dunno which) just seems fin-bent on rearranging things. :lol: I didn't go looking for an O, but I'm soooooo happy I rescued mine from a 10G prison. Great personality in a fish...And the begging is soooooo incredibly hard to resist, but alas, I must. But, he still pouts if he doesn't get something yummy at bedtime. :fish:

GREAT job with Phoenix. I'm sure that fish is starting to realize she is the luckiest O because of you!


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## oscars4me (Feb 22, 2009)

=D> :thumb: =D> :thumb: =D> :thumb: =D> :thumb: Great Job. :thumb:


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## earth intruder (Oct 14, 2008)

Bravo!!!


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## gryffin (Feb 11, 2008)

Phoenix continues to do very well!

Here is an updated photo of her in her new tank. She was moved to my 75G after I sold my 65G in preparation for my new 120G (yeah!). She has 3 small severum and 2 small bristlenose as tankmates. They will all be moving to my 120G when it arrives. If you look closely on the right, you can see the three severum (one is behind the filter outake) and the 2 bristlenose (under the driftwood).


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## gryffin (Feb 11, 2008)

Here are a few more. These show the healing progress of the head "wounds". They also show Phoenix greeting me and my camera- she always comes to see me.


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## twohuskies (Mar 1, 2008)

WOW...what a success story! I'm sure Phoenix knows how lucky she is - from a tiny 10G prison to a 75G and soon to be upgraded to 120G. Woooooo Hoooooo! :thumb:

She's looking GREAT! It is amazing how fish can turn around with great care, clean water, good food, and a tank that is the right size. Mine comes to greet me all the time too, and I just LOVE the personality of the O's. Love the sevs too - they are beautiful fish as well.

FANTASTIC Job with Phoenix, and thanks for the updates and new pics! =D> =D> I need to post new pics of my rescue - he's getting HUGE!


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