Oscar not growing

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Nickavfc said:
Yea but when it gets the right one 🤷🏼‍♂️
Click to expand...

Haha! That will be a good day!

BTW, I think profanity was probably invented when somebody with a big tank full of fast fish tried to catch one of 'em. It's a recipe for wet pants and shirts, water slopped everywhere and harsh language. I use really big nets and then catch whatever I'm shooting for in a smaller net inside the big net. Short handled fly fisherman's nets work pretty well sometimes. Catfish and plecos don't get stuck on the silicone rubber type mesh. Probabilities class was a long time back but if I'm recalling correctly you should have a 100% probability of catching the right fish by the 25th time a fish has been caught in that trap. Or not.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Nickavfc
If you can't reach the bottom of your tank with the nets, then invest in nets with longer handles :p It's not like you'll never need to catch a fish again.
 
Oscars are more sensitive to their enclosure size and tank mates. They are prone to HITH (Hole in the Head) disease caused by small enclosures. If he is not developing lumps or divots on his head then try high protein diet. If that doesn't work sometimes fish are just stunted. Genetically they wont grow. Count yourself lucky, you'll save money on food and space housing him.
 
EricTheRed said:
You have already received some great advice here but I do have some additional thoughts. What is the PH of your water? You need to keep it no higher than 7.5 but preferably much lower. Also, an adult Oscar is going to need a 6 foot tank to thrive when properly housed with milder cichlids like Chocolates and Severums, so your tank is way too small in the long run. Also, the aggressive toothy Jag is a poor tankmate for a comparatively defenseless Oscar and will eventually kill the Oscar unless you separate them or get a massive 240G or larger tank. Even then, the Jag may kill the Oscar. In the meantime, your Jag and probably your tough JD are stressing out the Oscar in your small aquarium which is why he is getting sick and not growing. Please consider rehoming the Oscar ASAP to another aquarium with more suitable tankmates or return him to the fish store. Oscars have wonderful personalities but need the proper environment to reach their potential and thrive.
Click to expand...

Good luck with that. I literally just rehomed my male jag at 8-10" because he was bullying fish much bigger than him (one being an oscar) in a 240g tank. Ive had to rehome a jd into his own tank for also bullying an oscar, but ime, once that jag starts to do what they do, in a 100g tank, that jd will be the least of op's problems! So I guess I'm saying I wouldn't invest in a tank around 240g banking on it working out for this stock.

Nickavfc said:
Thankyou for replying im new to the game and i got excited and put together a few fish and now im learning im going to have to remove some , i think the jack dempsey is stressing the **** out of him tbh having said that ive done a 50 per cent water change today on advice off here ,i tried removing the dempsey today but cannot catch him for the life of me even tried luring him out with blood worms , brought a fish trap off Amazon 🤣
Click to expand...

In the past I've had success catching bigger fish with an old trick I learned on an old oscar fish forum. The trick pretty much consist of a really big baggy shirt, tie off the sleeves, and you can stretch it the depth of the tank and slowly move it towards the fish and if you're lucky enough they'll swim right into it. Then you got a nice soft material to scoop em up and out in. I've had some success with this shirt method but it can be a bit wet messy.

Also maybe my math is wrong but I thought it was mentioned the tank was 350l so is that not roughly 100g? What are the tank dimensions that you can't reach towards the bottom? I'd think a 100g wouldn't be more than roughly 20ish inches deep? Also not sure if it's been mentioned yet, but I always drain like half my tank if I'm going to be catching a fish. That cuts you're reach in half right there.
 
Last edited:
i will add. that i have not had luck with oscars in the past 3 -4 years. on my 4th oscar and they always develope some kind of deformation or extreme HiTh.
no other fish show symptoms. so i can only assume bad genetics. not saying any of the advice given is incorrect. or that yours is the same case. but im starting to see a trend in oscars coming out of the LFS in my area.
 
LukeOscar said:
i will add. that i have not had luck with oscars in the past 3 -4 years. on my 4th oscar and they always develope some kind of deformation or extreme HiTh.
no other fish show symptoms. so i can only assume bad genetics. not saying any of the advice given is incorrect. or that yours is the same case. but im starting to see a trend in oscars coming out of the LFS in my area.
Click to expand...

I've kept 3 Oscar in my time in the hobby and always found them very easy to care for and to be a rewarding fun fish to have. I rehomed the first when I moved out of state, lost 2nd to velvet fish disease and that was a lesson learned to QT new fish, and I still have the third and he's doing well. I don't mean to sound harsh but if you've had 4 oscars all die on you in a couple years and obtained them as juvies I'd say you may be doing something wrong somewhere in the process. I'm no expert but I don't think deformities and illness like HITH are genetic, or lfs bad luck. Ime they're causes by how the fish are being kept and cared for.

I do wish you luck with this latest one. 👍
 
Jon M said:
I've kept 3 Oscar in my time in the hobby and always found them very easy to care for and to be a rewarding fun fish to have. I rehomed the first when I moved out of state, lost 2nd to velvet fish disease and that was a lesson learned to QT new fish, and I still have the third and he's doing well. I don't mean to sound harsh but if you've had 4 oscars all die on you in a couple years and obtained them as juvies I'd say you may be doing something wrong somewhere in the process. I'm no expert but I don't think deformities and illness like HITH are genetic, or lfs bad luck. Ime they're causes by how the fish are being kept and cared for.

I do wish you luck with this latest one. 👍
Click to expand...
hard to say. ive grown out bass. severums. flagtails dempseys pike cichlids, in that time in the same tank without issue.
 
Jon M said:
I've kept 3 Oscar in my time in the hobby and always found them very easy to care for and to be a rewarding fun fish to have. I rehomed the first when I moved out of state, lost 2nd to velvet fish disease and that was a lesson learned to QT new fish, and I still have the third and he's doing well. I don't mean to sound harsh but if you've had 4 oscars all die on you in a couple years and obtained them as juvies I'd say you may be doing something wrong somewhere in the process. I'm no expert but I don't think deformities and illness like HITH are genetic, or lfs bad luck. Ime they're causes by how the fish are being kept and cared for.

I do wish you luck with this latest one. 👍
Click to expand...
i run a drip system too.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom