I got my oscar, Lion (Lyy) in June'09.
He's now around 5". <3

Hi and welcome to OFL!!!

My 5" oscar, Lion hasn't eaten since ~12/20.
I got him in June'09.
Was in bad water, and I came home to him laying on the bottom.. flat.
He's now in a clean tank and he is upright.
He is a CRZYYYYY eater! and he now no interest in anything but staying in a dark corner.
Help Lyy?

thank you.!

KaitLovesLion wrote:


Can you please explain in detail what he is doing now? I am not understanding this post.

If there is a problem we will need to know several things in order to help.
What size tank?
What filter(s)?
Water Perameters? Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate?
Any tank mates?


This will get us started... Thanks Nicki

I'm told it's a 5 gallon tank, but i'm positive it's bigger.
For his size he wouldn't fit in a 5 gallon.
Regardless, he has a 10 gallon waiting for him.
He has a running filter but i dont know the brand or name.
His water was tested and it's normal, i didn't write it down.
And he's the only fish.

I go to college and he is coming with me when i return in january.
I have been gone for 3 weeks, and 2 weeks ago my mother cleaned his tank.
I knew they didn't know him as well as me, but i figured they knew what dirty water and clean was. And they mislead me and even told me not to come home to clean it.

Of course, i come in to it dirty and him in bad condition.
Being furious i cleaned it, risking stressing him to get him into live-able water.
He then stopped lying on the bottom and he is now swimming upright.
He does not go to the top of the tank.
Or have any interest in me or what i'm doing by in the tank.
He hasn't eaten, that I'm positive of, since 12.20.09.
My mother said he was acting normal before that, but i dont know how many days before.

He now stays in a dark corner. Floating and not noticing anything else around him.

I'm trying to figure out if it's the food, if the water damaged him,
if he'll recover or of i'm playing the waiting game. =(


I'm buying anti-parasite tablets asap incase he got something from the water before.


thank you,
kait.

First and foremost that tank is way to small!!! An oscar will grow extremely fast and a 55 gallon tank is the bare minimum for 1 oscar with no other tank mates...and even that is almost too small. They can grow to over 12" long and need a large tank so you are going to need to upgrade the tank very soon!

Also you are going to need to get a water test kit such as API's freshwater master test kit to test the water quality for pH, ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates. They also need a lot of filtration...usually double the capacity for the tanks size...for example if you had a 55 gallon tank you would need a filter rated for a 110 gallon tank.

The main things for a healthy fish are good tank size, good filtration, and pristine water conditions...its not uncommon to do water changes weekly or even twice a week with oscars.

But the first priority is getting a larger tank right away...a 5 or 10 gallon tank is extremely small for an oscar and its not healthy for the fish to be in it....i'm sure others will post with more advice to help you out but if you are unable to get a larger tank the best thing would be to bring your oscar back to the pet shop until you are able to get a larger tank.

UPDATE: my tank is a 10 gallon.
he's getting a 20 within days..
him eating would also be great.

Sorry to tell you but a 20 gallon is still way to small to keep an oscar...you are going to have to get at least a 55 gallon tank. They can grow about 1" a month so they get large and get large fast! If your oscar is already 5" long it will be almost 12" long by summer...it would be equivalent to you living in a room the size of your bathroom....can you get a larger tank soon? And remember it can take about 6 weeks to cycle a new tank to where you could put your oscar in it.

Just wanted to let you know to check craigslist in your area...might be able to find a large tank pretty cheap...just wanted to mention it to you.

Ouch that is way too small no wonder he isn't healthy, follow the posts above me and get a bigger tank like a 55gallon and thats the minimum wooo

Welcome to OFL.
Ikkie has got you covered .
Your tanksize is probably the origin of your problems.
Please try to get a bigger tank, for I'd hate to see you lose your precious fish, due to tanksize.