How can I cheer up my Oscar?

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DirtyPaws949

DirtyPaws949

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Jul 12, 2015
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Newport Beach
I got her when she was 3”, and the other fish tried to bully her. The larger Oscar I had stepped up and protected her. After the older Oscar got mauled and lost most of her eyes, she turned the tables and protected her while she healed, and continued to do so til the day she died (I’m assuming egg-bound). The two were thick as thieves and were always touching or following each other. I referred to the two girls as life-partners.

Following her death, the remaining Oscar would just sit in the corner where I removed the body, for weeks. I tried getting her a new companion, but she just charges at it with her mouth wide open and rams it. She hasn’t been the same fish since, and is usually sulking in a corner on the bottom unless it’s feeding time.

What can I do to cheer her up?
It’s been months.

 
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FINWIN said:
Wow thats sad. If you have room why not try giving her her own tank? Maybe being in the same space is reminding her of her buddy.

Then once she settles see if she'll accept a new companion.
Click to expand...

Yea that’s a good idea, she died and ended up in the one piece of driftwood that she’s staring at in the video. I rearranged the 4 pieces a couple weeks ago and put it on the other side of the tank, and she moved her sulking spot with it. So I think that’s triggering her, too.

I’m going to see about building an above-ground pond outside, at least 200gal with water plants. I hadn’t planned on her being one of the fish I would put in it, since she’s one of my favorites and the tank is in my bedroom, but it might be best for her.
 
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Might want to play her some more cheerful music. That selection is pretty depressing.
 
That's a sad story. Maybe if she had her own tank she would be happier.
 
Sorry for your loss. I hope she can move on soon. Its always hard to watch them be miserable.
 
Backfromthedead said:
What other fish are in the tank?
Click to expand...

2 Jack Dempsey, I’ve had one for 5 years
2 Vieja X
1 Royal Acara
1 Blood Parrot (his name is Donald )
His previous home was trying to kill him
1 SB Midas X (best guess) has her 5 years
1 Pleco— about 12”, he was being offered on CL with the 30 gal tank they had... barely enough room to move around, so I bought him separate.
1 medium Oscar (the one she rejected, Petco reject also).

There’s some convict cichlids, 2 adults, and eight 2” babies which I had put in there around 1” to see if the fish would eat them and thin the herd. But, it turns out they only eat fish I spend money on

It’s a little crowded IMO, I’ve seen worse, but I think they would be happier with less tankmates or a larger aquarium.

I had the smaller Vieja X, one JD, and the smaller Oscar on CL to give them more room. There were several responses, but the tanks were small, already overcrowded, not cycled, etc. There was one person who seemed like they would be wonderful, but since I’m a full time student with 2 part time jobs (~50 hours a week), I couldn’t read/respond to the 25 indecisive texts he sent, and 20 hours later he sent a text that included:
“...And your post was pathetic! Are u serious?... they’re just fish lol!!! Flush it down the toilet and put it out of its misery! I love u anyway. Good luck pawning off you problematic fish.”

Had he not turned into an impatient psycho, I probably would have given him the fish for free... but, wow, am I glad I was super busy that day.
That’s when I decided that I would rather try and build an outside pond for some of the fish, than risk them going to a home that views them as “just fish” or potentially more overcrowded than mine. I don’t take rehoming animals that I’m responsible for lightly, these guys are my buddies.

The little Oscar is trying sooo hard to be her friend right now. I’m watching it swim next to her and try and tough tails with her.

Honestly, I would never house a fish by itself in a tank, unless it was extremely aggressive. Fish living in solitary confinement have substantially decreased amounts of neural pathways. Even if they’re regularly solitary animals, in the wild they would have a much richer life with other mental stimulati to promote brain health and well-being.
 
Sorry to hear about your Oscar. Your tank is overcrowded, but you seem to really care about the fish, and looks like you are exploring options to fix that.
Oscars are intelligent fish, not to be overly anthropomorphic here, but it's like the fish lost it's life partner, understandable that it would sulk. I think time may be the best thing, supposedly it "heals all wounds". I would just keep the Oscar in a low stress environment and give it it's favorite foods. I think that's really all you can do except for maybe continuing to try with other Oscars.
 
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