So Ive only had this fish for about a month or so... growth was very slow due to its sickness when I rescued it. Currently my oscar is between 4-5 inches. Ever since the sickness disappeared and I changed the substrate to sand, there is one particular corner that he/she will go to and sweep completely clean of sand. When I vacuum out the tank I push all the sand back and then he/she will spend the rest of the day sweeping the sand(and the ball)out again...

is this something thats happening because he/she is just being an oscar, or is there a possibility my 'he' is really a 'she' and is going to lay eggs? Or is 'she' just practicing?

here is the corner area that will be swept clean by the end of the day:



can anyone tell if Fluffy is male or female?

Sorry only way I know of to sex O is to see the female lay egg`s.
Or to vent, and this should NOT be done by someone that hasn`t done it before.

All O dig it`s normal, he,she is just making it`s bed.

Nice looking O you have.

This is normal oscar behaviour. You will soon get fed up of moving the sand back

I personally like the 'sand dunes' effect oscars create. Leave it for a few weeks and see how the tank looks, you might be surprised with how good it will look. The substrate doesnt have to be level!!!

thanks! Im not trying to breed oscars... I have enough to worry about in life right now.. I just wanted to know if there is a specific age frame when they begin laying eggs. And if that indeed what he/she is getting ready to do...

btw, if there isnt another oscar to fertilize, then what happens to them?

delboybully wrote:


lol, I know right? like the orange golf ball.... everyday its on the other side of the tank!

as far as the sand dunes, thats kind of cool, actually.. its only in that one spot though.. maybe if I remove more rocks its will do it in other spots.. hmmm

Great looking oscar by the way

Oscars need to be at least a year old and pushing a foot long

If you have a female and no male and she lays eggs then the eggs wont be fertilized and they wont hatch.

Interestingly 2 females can lay eggs but obviously they dont get fertilized and therefore dont hatch

If it`s a female and dose lay egg`s without a male, the egg`s will rot. And best to remove.

delboybully wrote:


thank you... so I guess its just playing in the sand then.

I do sometimes wonder how much a fish's behaviour changes once it is enclosed in an aquarium. I suppose some of their behaviour is part of being the species and they may well perform the same behaviour in the wild. However, fish may well behaved differently if they are forced to live in an unnatural environment. I'm sure that in the wild, two female Oscars wouldn't form a pair and lay eggs together, after all fish are very primitive and they all they really do is live to eat and make babies.

Your Oscar is just doing what all Oscars do, I've never owned an Oscar that doesn't like excavating the substrate, even at a very young age.

great looking o you've got there. the way it looks like now,
he/she is fully recovered.... congrats!

no way to tell male or female unless you knew how to vent
but that is not recommended. very stressful to the fish.

yes, a far cry from when I first got him. And the change in substrate improved the water quality tremendously... marbles were great for goldfish, for the oscar it worsened an already existing problem.

hehe marbles that's pretty funny. He looks very healthy now tho you have the sand nice one!