# Possibly Sick?



## arrluk (Mar 11, 2007)

_Um...I'm kind of new to the forum but I'm not new to the fine art of fishkeeping.  I recently got into cichlids and through some awesome chance of luck, got a 55gal tank and beautiful oak stand for free. Anyway, I've had them for about a half of a year now and they're all really healthy. 

However, I've noticed they always have a trail of poop hanging out. Am I overfeeding them? (odd, because ODDLY whenever I put food in, they don't really go crazy over it like the two cichlids in my 20gal. I've tried MANY different kinds of food. They do eat, just not crazily) Or what? Thanks!_


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

I've noticed that on certain fish. Angels, tilapia, and goldfish seem prone to this. Its not harmful, I think the fast moving fish knock it off and the slow-movers drag it around.


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## arrluk (Mar 11, 2007)

Mine are fairly fast moving fish, though. My much slower moving Oscar has no problem, neither does my cat or algae eater. It just seems to be my Africans.


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## Guest (Mar 19, 2007)

i am going to take a wild guess and guess the fish you have in your tank. 55 gallon-
oscar
African cichlids
catfish, not sure what kind
algae eaters

anything else?


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## arrluk (Mar 11, 2007)

Lessee:

One average/middle sized oscar: A good 8-9inches
Three "Assorted African Cichlids": One is 3-4inches, the others are around 4.5-5.5inches
One Ahyli (or however you spell it) African: around 5.5inches
One "upside-down black catfish": around 8-9inches
One (Chinese?) Algae Eater: 8-9inches

And they all get along rather well.


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## arrluk (Mar 11, 2007)

Oh, and fishbguy, your "squirrel" looks more like a sugar glider. ;-)


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## Guest (Mar 19, 2007)

sugar-gliders and squirrels are one in the same. and actually it is a northern flying squirrel..lol

your oscar will need a MINUMUM of a 75 gallon. 

The Africans will need there own tank. the algae eater, because of it's size, should be able to hold it's own against the africans. http://aqualandpetsplus.com/Oddball,%20Chinese%20Algae%20Eater.htm the cat should be able to live with the Africans as well. if i guessed the total length of the cat right, feel free to correct me if i am wrong, you need at least a 75 for those fish, not counting the oscar because it needs it's own tank. If you get rid of the cat, you could keep the Africans and the algae eater in the 55 along with some other africans. 

Andrew


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## arrluk (Mar 11, 2007)

Ah, thanks! I'll...have to figure something out. I read somewhere that you could keep one oscar in a 55, guess not. He's actually stopped growing...not to mention the fact that he isn't your average oscar. He's actually somewhat mentally...disturbed I suppose you could say.

I got him from Walmart, sadly, and the lady getting him out of the tank didn't normally work in the fish area. Unfortunately for Steve, he almost died. The bag split open and he fell into the Walmart sink before they were able to get him back in the bag. For the first few days in my tank, he looked like he was going to die.

Then he recovered and became the beastie he is now, with a few odd quirks (like sleeping nose down in the gravel).


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## Guest (Mar 19, 2007)

yes, you can keep an oscar in a 55 for a short time. but not with other fish. oscars can grow to be 14+ inches in length and produce alot of waste. fish generally don't stop growing until they reach their full size. they may slow down but they still grow. i forgot to mention in my last post that is is not a good idea to house african and american cichlids in the same tank because they need different kinds of water.


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## arrluk (Mar 11, 2007)

Yeah, I actually learned about that a month or two ago (usually I'm _really_ good about reading up on things like that, it never occurred to me). Fortunately, they don't seem to be killing each other.

I'll definitely look into better housing for him, but I absolutely do not want to give him up. He's named Steve for a reason, we just happened to get him the day Steve Irwin died (I happened to admire him very much). I'm not sure how to go about it, though. I wish I had known I couldn't keep other fish with him...


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## Guest (Mar 19, 2007)

i am assuming that steve is your avatar? i used to have an oscar. they are like little dogs..lol they great you when you walk into their room, they beg, they are a stomach with eyes, ect. so i know where you come from when you say you don't want to get rid of him. and once you name something, it makes it even harder to get rid of it. good luck with finding a new tank for steve.


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## arrluk (Mar 11, 2007)

Thanks! 

Oddly, he doesn't have that personality. He's actually fairly afraid of anyone who walks up to the tank. Probably related to the incident at Walmart. 

Thanks for all your help!

Oh, and yes, Steve is my avatar.


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