Stunted Oscar

[RamMac]

It's many variables but what the important question is did you test your water parameters in the aquariums during the Oscar's growth. Some species fish will grow but others may not in let say for example high Nitrate or harder water. The Oscar is from SA but Vieja and JD CA species different water requirements.

Great theory, however the way here was never a question as he is clearly already stunted. I am curious as to how much growth is expected now that it's stunted.
But thank you for at least addressing one of my actual questions I did ask. The vieja, JD and oscar were not in the same tank either, and they are all captive bred so I imagine where they geographically are from is irrelevant. They don't even k now the water systems they "are from".

 

[RamMac]

25% weekly doesn't mean much if your nitrates are way above 20ppm. It's not about the percentage, it's about the nitrate levels and total dissolved solid levels. So in a 20 long for 6-7 months, it's only getting 5 gallons of water changed every week. Now if the oscar had been in a 40 or 60g, then I would think of it being a runt a possibility.

Oscars are a soft water fish, meaning that the total dissolved solid levels are way down compared to hard water fish like Vieja and JD. That 200-300ppm difference will cause the oscar's body to work harder at osmotic regulation. More work, means more food, and less energy for growth.

I've had an albino/lutino oscar a couple of times at the same size, the last one being a petsmart oscar, and in 8 months they were both 6-8" total length (including the fin). The larger the tank you start out with and more water changes, the faster the growth do to dilution of pollution

Great theory, however the way here was never a question as he is clearly already stunted. I am curious as to how much growth is expected now that it's stunted.
As to the water change, You are assuming the nitrates were above 20ppm. I wont lie and say I check them every week, but I do check them often. Never had nitrates above 20 ppm.

 

[Deadeye]

These fish are still evolved for very specific conditions. A few generations of tank life may make them more tolerant, but won’t erase the thousands of years of evolution that came to be.
It isn’t too late to help the Oscar, tailoring your care to its needs and drastically increasing water changes will hopefully kickstart its growth a bit. My Dempsey was a runt, and likely stunted from poor care from me. Once I increased my w/c level, it has started growing at a normal rate. It may never reach full adult size, but I can tell he will still continue to grow to about 7-8 inches at least.
The reason why everyone’s theories are so important is that they give an underlying cause to the stunting. The only way to help the Oscar to grow is to reverse those causes.

 

[RD.]

Stunted fish can bounce back, as can runts from a group of siblings. Expected growth cannot be determined without further info, such as water quality, diet, tank mates, etc-etc. No one here owns a crystal ball amigo.

 

[RamMac]

In agreement with the others. IMO nitrate toxicity is a misnomer. But in a glass box, when one sees higher nitrate levels, they typically also see higher levels of overall pollution, including dissolved organic compounds, along with elevated levels of bacteria. The latter is what weakens the fishes immune system, not the nitrates. In this case it may have also caused a reduction in growth, whether the fish started out as a runt, or not.

Also, what exactly are you feeding this juvenile fish, besides guppies?

Great theory, however the way here was never a question as he is clearly already stunted. I am curious as to how much growth is expected now that it's stunted.
I am not feeding it just guppies, he was in a tank with guppies. Never once saw him eat a guppy unless I prekilled one to feed and that was very recent when I moved him to the 40b. I think I need to clarify things as it seems by reading people make up their own story. Let's see, I fed him a variety of foods; hikari, bug bites, wheat germ, tilapia, beef heart although he doesnt like the beef heart much.

 

[RD.]

Great theory, however

See above ..... and yes, clarification would help. As I said, no one here owns a crystal ball, so what will become of your now stunted fish is anyones guess, considering the amount of info that you supplied. You're welcome.

 

[RamMac]

These fish are still evolved for very specific conditions. A few generations of tank life may make them more tolerant, but won’t erase the thousands of years of evolution that came to be.
It isn’t too late to help the Oscar, tailoring your care to its needs and drastically increasing water changes will hopefully kickstart its growth a bit. My Dempsey was a runt, and likely stunted from poor care from me. Once I increased my w/c level, it has started growing at a normal rate. It may never reach full adult size, but I can tell he will still continue to grow to about 7-8 inches at least.
The reason why everyone’s theories are so important is that they give an underlying cause to the stunting. The only way to help the Oscar to grow is to reverse those causes.

Im not against the theories, Im just wondering why the only question I did ask apparently invisible LOL... I appreciate everyone's input, I really do but I know it's all speculation as I can only tell you what I do by memory. I never knew 25% weekly water change was not sufficient, if anything I have heard too much is bad. Also this isn't my first Oscar and the previous one was growing fine with my same maintenance. Ive never had a stunted fish and was just concerned with any health effects.

 

[RamMac]

See above ..... and yes, clarification would help. As I said, no one here owns a crystal ball, so what will become of your now stunted fish is anyones guess, considering the amount of info that you supplied. You're welcome.

Well i suppose your guess on how much he grows will be no more accurate than every other guess you typed, but you still typed it. Indeed, thank you for your input.

 

[jjohnwm]

I don't really see people making up stories; possibly some assumptions, likely as a result of the information not being presented originally. The more info you give, the better the answers you get...but you are asking for specific growth potentials, etc. that will simply not be possible to provide, regardless of how much info we have. There's no way all the variables can be weighed properly at this point. Best you can hope for is educated guesses.

Edit: RD, like everybody else, types faster than I do.

 

[RamMac]

I don't really see people making up stories; possibly some assumptions, likely as a result of the information not being presented originally. The more info you give, the better the answers you get...but you are asking for specific growth potentials, etc. that will simply not be possible to provide, regardless of how much info we have. There's no way all the variables can be weighed properly at this point. Best you can hope for is educated guesses.

I under stand stories, assumptions, a simple matter of semantics. I apologize... making assumptions. Sure I agree, the more information I give the better. However, I didn't provide any of the information because I simply didn't ask the question that everyone was scratching their heads trying to answer. No one can answer any question by information given through a forum... that much is obvious. I suppose I was hoping someone with a similar experience would give an idea.