Alright, so I just made my profile on this site after reading about it on youtube. I bought a brand new 30 gallon tank from a yardsale, still in the box. Filter, Heater, net, etc. All in the box. And..I've always wanted an Oscar..ever since first seein them. I've always wanted one. Spent time on youtube, watching the big ones, watching how they act. Well, my uncle just so happened to have ab aby oscar (about palm size) knew nothing about it, bought it at Walmart, go figure. And it ate a bunch of his fish, so he wanted to get rid of it. Coincidently the same day he told me, I bought the tank, asked him if I could take his Oscar off his hands. He gave it to me yesturday. Now, prior to putting the Oscar in I took a great deal of time making the tank perfect for him. Boiled all the rocks, thoroughly cleaned them, cleaned every little piece of equipment/decoration in that tank. Let the tank sit for two days, then got the Oscar. Well...unfourtantely my Uncle brought the Oscar in a plastic bag from a grocery store, so the bag ripped as I got in my room. He took a pretty nasty fall to the ground last night. So, I got him within a minute had him in the tank. He swam fine, didn't seem hurt. But I noticed his clors were pretty faded. He's a beuitful black, and red. Well he's got brown all over him, I think it may be a disease or perhaps just his color. What lead to me thinking he had a disease was he justl ays on the bottom, hidden in plants on his side. He swims around barely ever, and just lays on the bottom. He's breathing fine, all fins fine, swims fine. I think it could simply be the fact that he's in a new environment, by himself. Probably in a bigger tank. And he's just not used to it. Or the fall screwed him up. He hasn't aten a thing, pellets, feeder fish, nothing. I tried both. He's about palm size and just as wide, I'll be posting pics. Any advice? Thankssssss!
Oscar Fish Advice Needed!!
- Thread starter xnamesrobx
- Start date
Have you tested your water yet? Being that you put him directly into the tank without letting him slowly get accustomed he may have went into shock. 2 days generally is not enough to time to reach a desired water quality without additives. You should test your water, to ensure nitrite, nitrate, ammonia all that stuff is down. Also check the ph. Younger specimens are much more sensitive to changes in water quality. Not quite sure what the ideal ph for a young oscar would be, but to be safe, I wouldn't go above 7 or below 6.5. If you do not have a water testing kit, you should invest in one. Meanwhile, your local petstore should be able to assist you. Just bring them a water sample. Good luck with your new guy. Post pics when you get a chance.
The short answer is that your Oscar is sulking, completely normal for Oscars when introduced to a new tank. That is the good part. The bad part is that it takes close to a month to cycle a new tank. A tank should be cycled before adding fish. Since it is too late for that I suggest going to a local fish shop, explaining what is going on and ask if they could squeeze an established filter out into a ziplock for you. Immediately take the dirty water from the filter home and put it in your tank, this will help jump start the beneficial bacteria.
You are going to need a test kit and you are going to have to test it every day for a while and be prepared to do water changes daily for a while.
I think it is great that you rescued the Oscar but now you have to do whatever possible to keep it healthy.
You are going to need a test kit and you are going to have to test it every day for a while and be prepared to do water changes daily for a while.
I think it is great that you rescued the Oscar but now you have to do whatever possible to keep it healthy.
Your first mistake was getting a fish you know nothing about. Your second was to get an aquarium that is less than 1/2 of what it requires. Your third mistake was to put it in an uncycled tank.
Corrections needed: get a 75 Gallon or larger tank and cycle it and set temp at 78. Do not add live plants as they will rip them out to redecorate. Do not aquascape the tank as the Oscar will do it for you. They will arrange it according to their needs and likes.
Do Not Feed Live Food! Especially feeder fish as that is the quickest way to introduce disease into the tank. Get a quality food pellet like Hakari Cichlid Bio Gold. Invest in a water test kit (not strips), and a gravel vac. Expect to do water changes 2x a week or more.
An Oscar will grow to 15 inches or more which makes most tanks under 75 gallon unsuitable. They will live ~15 years. Of all the Oscars I have, the largest is just under 16". Many people will tell you that a 55 is suitable but it isn't.
Think about the needs of the fish before your own desires.
Corrections needed: get a 75 Gallon or larger tank and cycle it and set temp at 78. Do not add live plants as they will rip them out to redecorate. Do not aquascape the tank as the Oscar will do it for you. They will arrange it according to their needs and likes.
Do Not Feed Live Food! Especially feeder fish as that is the quickest way to introduce disease into the tank. Get a quality food pellet like Hakari Cichlid Bio Gold. Invest in a water test kit (not strips), and a gravel vac. Expect to do water changes 2x a week or more.
An Oscar will grow to 15 inches or more which makes most tanks under 75 gallon unsuitable. They will live ~15 years. Of all the Oscars I have, the largest is just under 16". Many people will tell you that a 55 is suitable but it isn't.
Think about the needs of the fish before your own desires.
On the tank suitability front our is in a 65 and is fine until even though he's started to grow again. Long term I've got a solution for now he's ok, and full of personality, plus the tank is hugely over filtered . 100g is about right for one. They don't mix well in even numbers, so the minimum is three which would mean a 120-180g tank.excuzzzeme;4391549; said:
For your oscar, they will sulk when introduced to a new tank, the are very hardy fish so even if your tank is uncycled then you do have a chance of it pulling through, the marks are probably down to stress.
Good luck and keep us posted.