Started about two weeks ago; I have several years experience with oscars, and ~30 years with aquariums, and I know oscars can be moody and weird, but this one has me stumped.
I'd come home to a young (~80% full-grown) oscar happy to see me, because I come home, turn the lights on, and feed 'em. I leave the room to shower, and come back to find him on his side, with tail curled, barely respiring. Water test shows nitrates are a bit high, so I do a 70% water change and monitor. In the meantime, he spends 6 hours laying on his side, barely respiring. Later that night, once the lights are out, he's back to normal. Weird.
Next day- same thing: he's fine, up until I turn the lights on. No water change done, but he's still not hungry for pellets (Dainichi- which he's been fed for months, since the local pet store ran out of Hikari). Rolls on his side, stops moving.
So, for about the past week and a half, I've left the light off entirely, just ambient room light. Still not very hungry- sometimes just 1-2 pellets a day, unlike the 5 per day he used to eat- but none of the rolling over thing.
Ammonium zero, nitrites zero, nitrates in the 20 range, temps in the upper 70s, no other tankmates, all on his own in a 55-gallon tank until he grows up enough to move him.
Every time I turn on the lights- same light that has been used for *months*- he goes all weird; for now, it's not "stargazing," it's sitting in the corner opposite the lighted side, hating things.
The food thing and the lighting thing started pretty much the same time. He still gobbles live worms when offered, but they have always been an occasional treat so I don't think he's "holding out" for worms. I did try stuffing him full of worms to see if he would eat to satiety, and he did. No other live food provided, no other tankmates, no reason to suspect introduced pests or pathogens.
Just more oscar weirdness? I mean, I'll add it to the list of weird oscar stuff, but if there's something I should try, I'm wide open.
I'd come home to a young (~80% full-grown) oscar happy to see me, because I come home, turn the lights on, and feed 'em. I leave the room to shower, and come back to find him on his side, with tail curled, barely respiring. Water test shows nitrates are a bit high, so I do a 70% water change and monitor. In the meantime, he spends 6 hours laying on his side, barely respiring. Later that night, once the lights are out, he's back to normal. Weird.
Next day- same thing: he's fine, up until I turn the lights on. No water change done, but he's still not hungry for pellets (Dainichi- which he's been fed for months, since the local pet store ran out of Hikari). Rolls on his side, stops moving.
So, for about the past week and a half, I've left the light off entirely, just ambient room light. Still not very hungry- sometimes just 1-2 pellets a day, unlike the 5 per day he used to eat- but none of the rolling over thing.
Ammonium zero, nitrites zero, nitrates in the 20 range, temps in the upper 70s, no other tankmates, all on his own in a 55-gallon tank until he grows up enough to move him.
Every time I turn on the lights- same light that has been used for *months*- he goes all weird; for now, it's not "stargazing," it's sitting in the corner opposite the lighted side, hating things.
The food thing and the lighting thing started pretty much the same time. He still gobbles live worms when offered, but they have always been an occasional treat so I don't think he's "holding out" for worms. I did try stuffing him full of worms to see if he would eat to satiety, and he did. No other live food provided, no other tankmates, no reason to suspect introduced pests or pathogens.
Just more oscar weirdness? I mean, I'll add it to the list of weird oscar stuff, but if there's something I should try, I'm wide open.
