parasite of chiclid fish?

  • Thread starter Thread starter grubbderek
  • Start date Start date
G

grubbderek

Guest
i have a oscar and a jack dempsey and they have had parasites for awhile now they both scrape on the rocks and get little wierd burst of speed. my oscar lays on the bottom alot like he is tired and he also has a white slime looking coat on his whole body and now is looking like he at the top gasping for air. i been using quick cure parasite killer and it does not seem to be doing any good any other advice would be great thanks. derek
 
Try an ick away medicine if possible. Ick is a parasite, but Im not sure if the parasite clear will have any effects on it. Its a blue colored liquid.
 
How large is your tank? A single oscar require 75 gallons, and if you have a JD in there with him you'll need at least a 100 gallon tank, and even that would be cramped. Have you checked your water parameters recently? Scratching can be a sign of poor water quality, not necessarily parasites. Do a 50% water change (which you should be doing every week anyway).
 
water quality problem probably ammonia or nitrites are high. The slime coat is in reaction to it and their gills are probably burned badly. Theres no way to reverse it but test the water and make water changes and try to fix the problem. if its just cycling problems then just do water changes if its a filter in need of a cleaning then clean it. If the gravel needs vacuuming then vacuum. Most of what you are saying is signs of water quality problems, the flashing, tiredness, gasping for air all point to that. The parasite killer may actually just stress them out even more i would consider to add activated carbon to remove it and do water changes.
 
Back
Top