So about a week ago i came down stairs in the morning and noticed my 6-7 year old tiger floating sideways at the top of the tank. I immediately thought he was dead. I went over to the tank and he immediately started swimming around normal acting normal waiting for me to feed him. So i feed him, he ate it all up. Over the next weeks some times he would be sideways sometimes not. I thought maybe he wasn't feeling well so i let him be and rest.

But.. now...... its worse. Hes sluggish. and completely sideways. He ate. But when i go over to him he doesn't really care....

Is he dieing? His water and stuff is normal. Hes in a 55gal Tank with 3x75gal filters that were recently cleaned.

Is he the only fish in the tank?
what exactly are your water parameters?

yeah hes the only fish. I got him about 2 years ago with a severe case of HITH. I've gotten it down pretty minimal.

Ph = 7.1 It was between 7.0 and 7.2 on the card colors.
Temp = 80
Nitrate = 0ppm
Nitrite = 0ppm
Ammonia = 0ppm

This is literally the best his water has ever tested.. Usually something is above 0ppm at least a little bit.

I forgot to mention i changed his water and mechanical filter media the day i found him floating even though his water tested normal.

Part of me thinks his swim bladder is broke.. He'll start swimming around and straightens out but as soon as he stops his side starts floating up and soon he is on his side.

I posted on bethany's facebook. Dont know if that will help you any. , hope it pulls through.

well im going to punch him probably. Maybe he just needs a reality check.

punch him is a very good idea,i just got done slapping my 2 10 inch albino silly ,

then i would put 6 table spoons of rock salt in his tank.

sometimes just a 1/4 water change and leaving the chlorine in the water helps kill certain bacterias is good ,chlorine will evap in a day any way.

im an Oscar fan too

well he is till alive.....

When does one decide to euthanize? Can he live comfortably sideways w/ no energy? I dont want him to suffer

well if you do decicide to euthanize the fish
clove oil works good or you can freeze him

Clove oil is the preferred method as I have read I to be the most humane way. But sounds like maybe swim bladder disease?

Yeah my guess is swim bladder.

Can he live a happy life like this?

With the swim bladder issue? No.

stressful.

Watch for him to go to the bathroom. IF he is constipated,(bloat) then it can shift the muscles and swim bladder. Making the bladder off centered, when he try's to rest it will put him on his side.

What is his normal diet?

Also 0 on all your parameters worries me. I test water all day every day. Having absolutely 0 nitrates is a bad sign. Even on my 300g which has a 2gph drip system. Nitrates will register 3-5ppm.

How old is your test kit? They're only good for 2 years, then they become inaccurate.

you have done well caring for your Oscar 6to 7 years,if its time for him to rest then be proud of yourself ,that's a long stretch ,im still hoping he pulls through

jeff

IS time to put him in the freezer

the freezer sounds like a terrible way to go honestly.

Not only wouldnt he be able to breath hed be cold as shit.

Clove oil is generally considered the most "humane" way of putting them out. They go to sleep. Then you freeze them after they're asleep to actually kill them. Or you can use alcohol as well.

you could put him in water then freeze him that way the temp drops slower and he can still breath

I just chop thier head off. Or freeze them.. its what it is. Never nice , never what you expect it to be.