There are unusual brown p**p like strands at the bottom of my cichlids tank could this mean he is sick?

Question

He is an oscar fish in a ten gallon tank and just recently was sick with ich and has many scratches on his sides from relaxing at the bottom of the tank when he was sick. I believe he has recovered from ich and lately he has been much more energetic. I used stress coat to help him with his cuts and its been helping....I think. There used to be a plecto in the tank with him but when I was using the ich medicine he died. I havent had one in there for a few weeks. I feel like maybe because the plecto isnt in there is why the brown p**p like strands are there. Maybe he used to pick them up but I have never seen them before and they dont look like healthy fish p**p to me, they are are very largee. He is very important to me and would just love to get him healthy again! HELP!

Answer 1

That sounds like normal fish p**p to me.

Plecos don't eat p**p. Just so you know

Answer 2

IT IS WHAT YOU EAT  

Answer 3

Its sounds like poo to me. Just so you know, PLECOS DON"T EAT POO!! Just left over food and sometimes algae. Try using a gravel vac/siphon to get all the poo out coz its real bad for your fish to have decomposing poo in your tank. 10 gallons? You know how big Oscars get, right?

Answer 4

Ashley,

The length of the waste is not uncommon at all.  You have to realize an Oscar is a fish that is always looking for a food source, and basically, the pig of the fish world.  That 10 gallon tank is going to do more harm then good.

While the larger tanks might be more expensive, in your case, it's extremely necessary.  A 10 gallon tank is not going to be suitable to keep an Oscar in for a long time.  I hope you have some speed to saving up, but here's what you're facing in this situation.

First issue is he's going to generate more ammonia then your filter will be capable of coping with.  I suspect if you check your water chemistry, you'll find the presence of ammonia and probably nitrites in your water, and that is going to kill him at some point.  So assuming you could get him the minimum sized tank for an Oscar, 55 gallons, you'll probably end up with an ammonia issue even still as you'll not have enough filtration to cope with that too.  It takes 1.5-2 months for a tank to properly cycle out.

As the others have said, a pleco does not eat waste, as there is no fish in the world that does.  A pleco is also not an algae eater either.  It's an armored catfish and bottom feeder.  Unless you just like the looks of a pleco, I find them rather useless.

What I think you should do for the time being is get a product called Prime.  Prime you can use as a dechlorinator and will also ionize any ammonia or nitrite in the tank.  You can at least help your Oscar hang on for a few months until you get the proper sized tank.  If you are not able to get a 55 gallon tank in a few months, then your best option is simply return the Oscar now.  It's not sick just based on this input, but being the 10 gallon is far too small, he's soon going to be.  The rapid breathing is already a sign you have nitrogen compound issues.