hi, i have two oscars but one doesnt seem to be growing. I brought them both at the same time, the same size and from the same place about 2 1/2 months ago. They are currently in a 6 x 2.5 x 2.5 with my two EBJD of similar size, obviously this may change as they reach maturity but for now it works. The Albino oscar has doubled in size, i would say he is around 9cm long but the other has seemingly stayed the same. He is eating very well, the water is as it should be, tested and changed regularly, and he is definately not being picked on as he has the biggest attitude of the bunch! I think this is called a napoleon complex.... Is it too soon to worry about his size?

Hi Malikai and welcome to the site - it is a great forum with great people, there are some amazing experts here. The experts will probably want to know what your water readings are. Your tank size does not sound like it is a factor in stunting growth and are you positive there is no bullying going on? No sign of intestinal parasites?

I have a lot of young Os at the moment and am amazed at the difference in size between babies who are from the same batch..some of my 6 week olds are only about 1.5 cm and others are pushing 10....I often wonder why. I know if I was not such an obsessive compulsive fishy mother that many of the little ones would not have survived this long.

Can you post pics?

The experts will give you their opinions soon.

Cheers ! Shazzzzzzzzzz

Some may scoff at what I am about to tell you, but... it is true.

My oscars hit a plateau for a while. They were around 6-7" in size. They stayed the same size for 1-2 months. I actually significantly UPPED the amount of food I fed them. After I started feeding them a lot more food, and also making it a variety of food, it was like it super charged their body. They grew 2.5" inside of 1-1.5 months. They are now 9 and 10" long.

Malikai wrote:

they may grow at different rate ... but as long as not gasping for air..
i wouldn't worry much....

another thing is ... i am having a hrd time to figure out coz you did not
indicate how far is the size disparity...one being at 9cm while no size for
the other..... you should worry if the smaller will fit to,the mouth of the
bigger one later on.....

...AND keep PAUL away from them at all costs.

He is well known to consume oscars on occasion, so he can be classified as a 'highest concern' threat to your oscar tank. If he offers to come over and 'help' with the tank---and brings foodstuffs such as lemon or green onions---be wary.

Spot on, Johnny!

And malikai, welcome to ofl!
Fish do grow at different rates.
One thing you could try is adding mealworms to his diet.
This may seem like an odd advice, but i've had fish in the past that seemingly stopped growing.
When i finally started a regular extra mealworm diet, the fish started to grow and became bigger in no time.
It looked like the live-food helped at that time.

But i think there's nothing to worry about, as long as he's eating enough.

Hello Malikai, I am glad you found the site.

As far as the Oscars growth: I have seen this happen many times before myself. I think it often times has more to do with dominance in the tank. One of the Oscars becomes more dominant and is more aggressive for the food.

So the 2 factors that may come into play are:
1. The less dominant Oscar is getting less food consumption overall.
2. The less dominant Oscar has a little more stress to deal with than the dominant one.

No matter what the specific causes are, I believe your Oscars will be fine like many others have mentioned. As long as they have fresh, filtered water and are eating and active... your Oscars will be fine; and eventually the smaller O will begin catching up in size to the larger one.

Good luck.

I wouldnt worry about it, this is normal and happens all the time. As long as both are eating then everything will be good. They will both get full sized, one will take a little longer thats all

Thank you all for your tips, and welcome, i shall try them all. Im almost certain he is not getting picked on, he is the first to investigate everything and the first to food. He lip locks with my EBJD who are a bit bigger, and wins, when they come near his food and even checks me out when i clean the tank! To answer another question he is about 5cm and eats mainly Hikari cichlid gold and staple supplemented by either Lance fish, prawns, mussels, cockles or bloodworms every third day. How could i check for internal parasites? I should maybe also mention that they all suffered, and were treated for, white spot about a month ago, dont know if that changes anything? I shall post some pic's when they stay still long enough for me to take some!

Does your fish show any symptons of illness or a concave stomach

White spot has no long term problems so dont worry about that. Its the most common and usually the first problem fish keepers will experience

I would agree with everyone who said "Don't worry, this is normal." I recently posted a thread ( oscarfishlover.com/oscar-fish-advice-for...148-oscars-grow-fast ) showing that one of my oscars had like quadrupled in size while the other had only grown a little bit. They grow at their own rates.

update: i have been feeding my fish mealworms as suggested. About 4 hours after breakfast today i saw the little oscar, metioned in the post before, have a mealworm 'pass-through' completely untouched part from a sort of sausage like casing. Could this be a sign of digestive problems and maybe a reason he is not growing? i realised i have fished a couple of mealworms from the tank like this before but just put it down to them going off a little as i feed them in the morning and im then out all day. i have grown very attached to him and would appreciate any advice that may help him.