Oscar Help

[hmmm]

hey i got my oscar a couple of days ago and all he does is sit on the bottom of the tank all the time...is somethin wrong with him or wot?

thanks

 

[Tolak]

Oscars do tend to be a bit moody, sometimes taking several days to settle in. What size tank, how long has it been running, and what are the oscar's tankmates? Results of water tests will help rule out any problems as well.

 

[hmmm]

hey its in a 2 foot tank and its in there by itself does that matter? it just swims round a bit and lays on the bottom...wots up with it do u reckon?

thanks

 

[SamUK]

well the minimum reccomended tank size for oscars is 75 gallons so he could he sulking cos of the small tank.



do you have a bigger tank to move him too?

 

[hmmm]

i got my mates tank to put him in which i heaps big but hes still only small he just swims round a little bit then when i come in or wotever he spends most of his time laying on the bottom...this isnt normal is it?

thanks

 

[Tolak]

It's normal for a sulking oscar getting used to his environment. Keeping the light off, lighting the tank with only room light will help. Limiting commotion around the tank will help as well. Oscars are known to behave this way when their environment is disturbed. Mine does.

Get your water tested at your lfs, ask them to write down the numbers so you can post them here. Make sure you have a larger tank in the works, oscars get big fast, and need lots of filtration as well.

My oscar started out as a 1" fish a little over a year ago. He went from a 10 gallon to a 20, a 30, then a 72. He's a good 8" right now. He pouted for days with every tank upgrade, but he got over it.

 

[LisaLQ]

He's probably sulking. How big is your friends tank? That 2ft one will only last him a week or two max.

Oscars also like to ambush other fish, ours used to lay nearly on his side til something worse chasing came past What tank mates does he have?

 

[Miss Wiggle]

yeah Oscar's do grow phenomenally fast when theyr'e young, that tanks not gonna last long at all.

but yeah he's just in a sulk, it's pretty normal, if he's still doing it after a week or so then maybe there's something wrong.