Oscar in tupperware. Mmmkay...

[>:(]

Long story, but I just got an Oscar for free. You can read it or just go to the second paragraph, which tells you my problem. We were at Walmart getting popcorn so we could watch 300. We walked by the fish department when I noticed a container on the ground in front of the tanks and there was something splashing in it: a little Oscar. The girl sees me staring at it and tells me someone just left it in the tupperware like that this afternoon. I asked what they would do with it, and she said it had already killed some fish, so she was going to "flush it or something." Ok, we all know Walmart is evil, but I think this reaches a new low.

Anyway, I got an 18 gallon tub for like 4 bucks and took him home. He's in there for now, it's half full with a Whisper filter and a heater stuck on the side of half-gallon glass tank and some fake plants. He's dinky right now, less than four inches, so I'm thinking about putting him in my 55 with my blood parrots (need a bigger tank down the road, I know). I think he may have ich, though, so I wonder if I can keep him in the tub for a while. I put a tiny bit of salt in the water to help with the white dot I thought looked like ich. Also, he seems pretty stressed, he's crashed on the bottom, but he does move on occasion. Is there anything I can do for him, or just have to wait and see?

 

[Opiate]

well...it would seem that it's easy to do water changes if it's in a tub, up the temp...add a lil bit of melfix, if it has lighting turn it off completely...do 20% water changes every 2 days...and he should be fine within a week, post updates tho dude!

 

[>:(]

I'm a girl. Lulz. You can call me dude if you want, though, I guess.

So, anyway, I guess I'll turn off the light in my room and stop checking on him every five minutes. I'm sure that's not helping the poor baby. I'll definitely do updates, and when he settles down, I'll post pics, too. He's got great coloring.

 

[Mystix212]

Treat the tub like a normal tank. The white 'dot' probably isnt ich unless he's has dozens of them. Jusat put the temp at 80-82 and let the good times role.

 

[cichlaguapote]

yep and he'll probably just sulk for a little and be ok in a few hours.. Great save. Keeping him in a tub for a while is fine as long as it's filtered and heated..

 

[DISCIPLE]

i agree he should be fine with the advice from above in a week or so. as far as the 55 goes i think that will work long enough to give you time to get a larger tank. he will grow a min. of about a inch a month. best o f luck w/ ya new baby! ohhhh show some pics of the lil fella

 

[>:(]

The white 'dot' probably isnt ich unless he's has dozens of them.

He doesn't have dozens, but he has a few. It's just that they look exactly like the "salt grain" cysts ich is usually associated with. Even if it's something else, better safe than sorry. So I'll bump up the temp and watch him. I don't want to stress him more with a salt treatment if it's not needed.

yep and he'll probably just sulk for a little and be ok in a few hours..

I hope so. I looked down on him this morning when I woke up and he was swimming. When he saw me he just dropped to the bottom and played dead. I've never had an oscar, but after seeing how shy my blood parrots are, I'm guessing this is normal behavior since he's little and in a new environment.... or should I be worried?

as far as the 55 goes i think that will work long enough to give you time to get a larger tank.

My only worry is for the blood parrots. They're bigger than him, but not by much. I have some silver hatchets in there because the bp weren't comfortable alone and two angels. I know I'll have to move the angels to my 30, but will the parrots be ok? Will the silver hatchets be enough to spread the agression? He'll never be able to catch them. Or is he so tiny I'm getting ahead of myself?

Anyway, I'll stop with the questions for now, and thanks bunches, guys. Pics coming up, too.

 

[>:(]

As promised, here are some pictures. He doesn't look very impressive in these, but he's actually a very deep red, and his pattern is very clearly defined. No grey blotches or yellow. It'll change as he grows, but he looks nice now. I named him Oswald. Aww.

Here's his temporary home.

He's constantly redecorating when I'm not watching him. Those plants were all grouped together to give him a hiding spot.

Finally, here's where he will go. The set up is a little different now. No bamboo, no gouramis, and the other plants have grown a lot. I have an aquaclear 30-60 and a penguin 200 on the tank. Adequate for an Oscar?

You may have noticed, but I also have a thing for guitars lol.

 

[BichirAddict]

Hope he turns out okay. Nice lookin 55 gallon

 

[Ianab]

Neat emergency hospital 'tank' there

If it's out re-arranging the furniture thats a good sign

Your big tank should be fine for an Oscar in the short term, you can allways add an extra filter in there before you get a bigger tank, and get the filter 'pre-cycled' then move it and the O into the new tank together.

Yes you are going to need a bigger tank sometime soon, but it's not critical yet. Just keep up the water changes and he will be OK in there for several months.

Cheers

Ian