# Internal parisites, clear poo and bloating. Need help fast.



## Evoclimber86 (Apr 2, 2009)

Im having some problems with my tank and i dont know where else to turn. I think my fish may have internal parisites. I have one large Oscar and a pleco. My Oscar seems slugish but from the outside he looks healthy. My pleco has transparent poo and his belly is blown up to twice its size in just 2 days. I was told this might be internal parisites. Here is the list of question that is needed for the forum about my tank set up.

1. Size of aquarium (# of gallons) 90 gallons
2. Is your aquarium setup freshwater or brackish water? freshwatter
3. How long the aquarium has been set up? 1 year 4 months
4. What fish and how many are in the aquarium (species are important to know) 1 large oscar and pleco
5. Are there live plants in the aquarium? no
6. What temperature is the tank water currently? 82
7. What make/model filter are you using? sump filter (500gph) Fluval FX5 canister filter (300gph)
8. Are you using a CO2 unit? no
9. Does your aquarium receive natural sunlight at any given part of the day? no
10. When did you perform your last water exchange, and how much water was changed? The 16th only 20% I let my water set in a 20 gallon tank for a few days befor i add it to my tank.
11. How often do you perform water changes? one a week
12. How often and what foods do you feed your fish? twice a day but both have stoped eating for the past week.
13. What type of lighting are you using and how long is it kept on? fluorescent
14. What specific concerns bring you here at this time? pleco has transparent poo and bloated stomach, Oscar is slugish. Both have not been eating.
15. What are your water parameters? Test your pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. No amonia or nitrite. I know nitrate is never high and ph is always aroung 7.8
16. What test kit are you using and is it liquid or test strips? Its aquarium pharmaceticals liquid master test kit.
17. When was the last time you bought a fish and how did they behave while in the pet store tank? Its been more then a year It was the pleco.

The pleco has larg bloated stomach with clear poo. I know he hasnt been eating beacuse the alge have started growing for the first time in a year. My Oscar isnt eating aswell and slugish. Hes not beging for food anymore  What can i do?


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## 1077 (Apr 16, 2008)

I am no expert but I have kept large cichlids from Discus,to Oscars. You need to post readings for ammonia,nitrites,and nitrates. without this info it is near impossible to even guess as to what may be affecting the fish.
I will say that were it me,,(and it aint) I would step up the water changes to twice weekly, and increase the volume of water that I changed out.If your nitrates are above twenty this could contribute to the problem and water changes are the fastest way to lower them (nitrates). Some might say that nitrates of 40 ppm are acceptable but All fish will do better with nitrates as low as you can keep them. 
You do not indicate what type of foods you are feeding but Oscars should never be fed feeder fish unless you are raising the feeder fish yourself. It is the quickest way I know of to introduce parasites to your tank. Oscars DO need a variety of foods to do well. 
Common Plecos are serious waste producers as you no doubt have discovered and Oscars also produce tons of waste. 
Assuming (always a bad thing) that your water always test's 0 ammonia,0 nitrites,and nitrates of twenty or below and that you have a healthy biological filter that is maintained on a regular basis,then many times,,fish can fight off parasites and or pathogens. If water quality is suffering however ,,. The pathogens and or parasites and bacteria can better get a foothold due to fish that are stressed and thereby weakened. 
If you wish to treat the fish for parasites ,,it is important to make sure the water quality is at optimum level. Medications will have little effect otherwise.
I am not a big fan of medicating fish, but if I were to attempt to in this case, I would search for a product such as METRONIDAZOLE. See www.DrsFosterSmith .com Jungle Parasite clear Tabs have also helped in some cases and can be found at walmart. But again,, Maintaining water quality will determine how effective medications are. Hope some of this helps.


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