urgent please help!

I have a 55 gal tank with an oscar 6.5"and a common pleco <4". My oscar's back fins are whitening, and they can't get any worse. They have exceeded the normal amount. Everytime I get my water tested they say do a big water change and start again... I change my water a lot and I like my brand of water conditioner. Can someone tell my how to easily reduce maintenance or tell me how much water and how often I need to change it.

Thank you

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Permalink Reply by Peter on January 23, 2014 at 6:11pm

Get a bigger filter, get a sump, wen u do a wc do atleast 50% (atleast!! U can do more), feed less, remove uneaten food, remove fish waste. If ur oscar has fin rot its due to water quality. Also who tests ur water? And start agai....?wat? If u dont have a matured filter(filter thats been running on cycled tanks) just do bidaily 25% wc till ur filters bacteria grows more. Keep an eye on ur oscar make sure hes eating and being active. Even tho u think it his fins cant get worse they might just keep up with clean water and if u want dose some fish meds( found at u lfs)

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Permalink Reply by Kevin Flynn on January 23, 2014 at 11:01pm

Thank you for the post. I get my water tested at a very reliable local fish store, I have also made sure my oscar has been eating less. Looks like more water changes and a better filter in my future.

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Permalink Reply by Kami on January 27, 2014 at 6:46pm

Common plecos and oscars produce a lot of waste so that could be a contibuting factor to the problem. This waste in turn releases ammonia and other chemicals which can help festering bacteria within the tank. To me it seems like a fungal infection but clean out the tank every few days and find some medicines, Tetra makes some superb ones.
I do around 70% on my nano tanks a week and they are usually fine, although generally its recomended to change the frequency and amount with the size of tank and the fish present. With a common pleco and and oscar try to do twice a week and around 50%. Make sure the tank isn't cloudy.
Whats the ammonia, nitrate and nitrite levels present in the tank?
If you have loads of ammonia present its definitely the fish waste produced due to the filter not being able to remove as much and more frequent changes are needed.
Nitrate means your filter isn't working properly. Make sure its the right size and larger for the aquarium if possible but not too much power that it bashes the fish.
Fin rot can be a by-product of open wounds. Have you seen your oscar doing some odd behavior, what ornaments are present in the tank? Plecos have been actually known to feed on fish, I haven't seen mine personally do it but if your pleco is it may be causing a little damage to the oscar.