I recently got a 60 gallon rubbermaid type setup for my dorm room. I have an oscar and a goldfish in there right now. The goldfish is doing fine, swimming, eating and exploring. The oscar however is hiding all the time. He ate a piece of krill once but hasn't since. The setup is now 2 days old but fully cycled because I used old media from my tank from home. I raised the temp from 75 to 78, the pH is 7.0 and no ammonia. Both fish are tiny now at about 2.5 inches each. I am concerned about the oscar and would appreciate everyone's input.
My oscar is always hiding
- Thread starter nycxaro
- Start date
Oscars are very prone to pouting, I own 3 now and used to have a 5 inch one. When you change ANYTHING in their tank they will pout and play dead for a while. As long as you keep good water parameters, the oscar should do well soon. Try putting a few small feeder fish and letting them swim around, your oscar will usually start chasing them sooner or later, and once that happens it will be more comfortable with the tank.
nycxaro said:
just as bdawg said
the fish is new, give him time to settle it and he will shake it off
oh yeah, like the others said just give him some time. oscars can take a week or two to get settled into a new tank. in time he'll be out and about begging for food every time he sees you. 
its probably not a good thing that you have a goldfish mixed with an oscar. Depending on the type of goldfish, goldfish are primarily coldwater species. Plus, when the Oscar is big enough he might think of the goldfish as food.
how is your rubbermaid set up? is it on a stand or sitting on the floor. i'll echo what others are saying about the oscar settling in. also be aware of the rubbermaid if its sitting on the floor, that it might be just getting too much vibration when someones walking around, it's equivalent to someone tapping on the aquarium at all times. Good luck!
Two days isnt long enough for an oscar to get used to a new home,are there any plants or hiding spots?usually a few hiding spots will make a fish feel more secure and hell come out more
evilxyardxgnome said:
That was a concern for me as well. I know that the temperature is high right now but they both seem to be doing well as I changed the heater settings about once every couple hours to minimize the shock. Right now they are both the same size but still haven't figured out what to do when the oscar gets inevitably larger. But right now, I am mostly worried that the oscar won't even get any bigger if he doesn't start eating.
snogard said:
Yea the rubbermaid is on the floor. I wonder if the vibrations is what's causing him to stress out. However, my room is carpeted so that may help some. That's a good point you brought up but due to my circumstances, I don't have much of a choice to put it elsewhere. Infact, according to my housing agreement, I am only allowed to have fish tanks up to one gallon.
