Oscar acting strange after adding Driftwood

I went to Petstop pta to pick up some Driftwood,i got 3 pieces but i don't know what kind they are.

2 of the pieces are bright yellow and this white transparent stuff has been growing on them,the Tank had gone completely dark yellow.The other piece is thin and floats,it looks and feels like bone.

My Dominant Oscar and 3 Firemouths are fine (aggression went down),Golden CAE doesn't seem to like the new wood except the bone like one,Syno is always in his usual hiding spot (the Oscars sleep in the same spot)

I plan on buying a testing kit for PH,Nitrites,Nitrates and Ammonia later.I do 30% water changes twice a week and i haven't had any problems yet.

On another note:Will the yellow in the water do anything to plant growth or will they be fine?

 

Probably would have been best to soak the wood in a bucket and rinse and soak and... to get rid of some of the tannins. I did this for over a month and when I put the wood in the tank the water went brown. The yellow (Is it yellow or brown?) in the water will affect your plant growth in that you have reduced light penetration but I wouldn't be overly concerned. If you can, get yourself Seachem Purigen, it will remove the tannins otherwise good old wc's. Tannins are supposed to be good for fish so maybe that's why your fish are chilled...or maybe they just can't see each other :laugh:

 

It's yellow,almost brown.Still the water is clear.

I'll pick up Seachem Purigen when i go for the test kits.

BTW,any idea what the best test kits are?.I hear the strip ones are bad.

Also do you think i should take the wood out and boil it every now and again and test it in another empty tank or should i leave it in?

 

Looks like tea? Tannins...Purigen will remove it but just remember to replace/replenish the purigen when it's exhausted. I put all my driftwood in a bucket and put hot water from my tap in the bucket and I replace it morning and night. If you have a pot big enough, boil it.

 

I have the Sera Master test kit which has all the tests in 1 box but very seldom use it.

 

How much did it costs?

I think it would be a worthy investment to have it on hand,or do you think i should buy the most needed test kits separately?

Yeah,it's a tea like color.I'll put up a video later.

 

If you have the money then the kit is a lot cheaper than the individuals. I paid R750.00 for mine. Depends what you are trying to test I suppose.

I would say - Get the basics, keep your water clean and watch your fish :top:

 

Only trying to test Ammonia,Nitrites,Nitrates and PH.I see the test kit has tons of things i have never even heard about.

 

Here is my tank currently :

 

Driftwood looking good man, the big piece in the left corner looks like spider wood and the other pieces are mopani.

Does your oscar come out to eat?

 

Only at the usual feeding time,he stays in his hiding even when i add more food later.

I'm guessing that he might just be having some mood swings.

 

It is good that he does at least come out to eat. He just needs to get used to his new surroundings give him a few days.

Just make sure he does eat, that is the most important.

 

DC, the wood is definitely going to cause a drop in pH. So it is important to get the pH test kit as soon as possible to monitor it the whole time.

If you are looking to buy the Sera test kits, I would recommend not to buy the Master test kit. It is going to be a waste of money if you are only going to use it on that Oscar tank, since it has a lot of tests that you are not going to use. Rather buy the tests you mentioned in your first post separately. The other option is to buy the Sera Aqua Test set which include pH, gH, kH and Nitrite and then you can add an Ammonia and Nitrate kit to it.

That Oscar of yours does not look too happy. Is the other Oscar maybe bullying it?

 

i think it would take a lot more wood to change the ph,the most you would get is maybe a little softening of the water.all depends on the buffering capability of the water.

 

They fight from time to time but before i added the Driftwood they would just follow each other around,he usually follows the other oscar out if he comes into the spot and swims a circle around the tank before going to his hiding spot.My biggest worry is that he is losing some scales on his one side (most near the head),the open scale marks tend to change color along with him.He has been losing scales since i got him but they usually heal,i have never seen my Oscars fighting seriously.The Dominant one would usually ram the other one and slow down just before impact but they don't chase eachother or lock jaws.

They do inflate their gills and shake their tail fins from time to time when close to eachother.

I'll take some HD pics at feeding time later today (5PM)

 

Will have to take pics tomorrow,don't have camera on hand.

 

yeah the wood is not the problem. i think the other oscar is dominating so he just hides back for peace maybe