My young 4" oscar never seems to leave his cave (plant pot).

is this normal for young oscars? He eats twice a day (small prawn or half a worm etc) looks healthy when i do se him. its just all the other oscars i have seen tend to be more active and confident.

he is on his own with a 6" plec in the tank. water parameters are 0 amm 0 nitrite 10ppm nitrate ph about 7.5-8

perhaps light is too bright? any ideas for dimming a light?

or maybe like i said he is just timid due to his age.

apologies for a newby question perhaps a needless one.

Cheers

Carl:)

Welcome to OFL carl.
first of all, your water levels seem fine.
second of all, yes alot of young oscars are very shy, mine was for weeks.
how long have you had him/her?
does he spook whenever he see's movement in the room? or is he always hidden away?
the lighting could play a part but is nothing to worry about, give it time and he'll be swimming to the front of the glass everytime he see's you.
What sort of lighting do you have above your tank?
when my oscars were 4inches they were more relaxed when i turned a few of my lights down.
but just give it time mate.
also, is the small prawn and half of worm all you feed him?
i believe the best diet for oscars are pellets. (hikari gold)
and use the prawns and worms as a treat once in a while.

thanks for the rapid reply pal much appreciated

i will get round to grabbing some pellet like you say hikari gold seems to be one of the most popular staple foods. had him about 3 weeks now.

i was just wondering about floating pellet and that, where he is so shy, it would take time to ween him onto the pellet i take it? . he seems to be in the hide away almost all the time gently pokiing his head out and then moving slowly back in to safety. also he tends to only eat ive found if i drop the feed infront of the pot.

i perform 25% water changes every 6-8 days.

lighting wise i cant for the love of me remember the bulb im afraid will look when i get the chance.

Many thanks for the warm welcome hope i can contribute to the forum in the future

Carl

P.S temp - 26 celcius

regarding the food, dont feed him for a day or 2, and then drop a few pellets in, obviously they float, so the ones he dont eat you can pick out. but i wouldnt worry because oscars are pigs, they will eat if hungry, dont worry about that.
but honest mate, give him time.
the only other thing it might be, is if he's getting spooked.
sudden movement can scare the fish,
where in your house do you have the tank? is there alot of people around it all day? if your tank had 2 lights turn 1 of them off and he might settle quicker.
how big is your tank and what pleco do you have? maybe your pleco has had a go at him and freaked him out abit.
i wouldn't worry at all though mate, give it time.
but yeah try him on the pellets after 2 days and he should come up for them.
good luck mate

also... turn your temp up to 27/28.

i would just start feeding him pellets if after 3-5 mins he doesnt eat them take them out and try again nest time. after one or two missed feedings he'll come around and take the food imediately like oscars do.

but the shyness things is a little concerning. since you have had for three weeks and he still is shying away my first thought is that your tank isnt properly cycled. but your readings contradict this. it is usual for oscar to pout for an exended period of time but that is usually only a day maybe 2 at the most. 21 days is a long time for this sort of behaviour. have you observed any other type of wierd behaviour from him. and has he always been like this or is it something that has progressed from his arival with you.

right will turn the temp up. tank is 4x2x2 (ex community tank moved community to another tank and decor etc. the plec is a sailfin leapord. very peaceful.

will be grabbing a bag of hikari in the next couple of days and wont feed him until i get them.

the tank is in my bed room at the foot of my bed not usually sees much movement.

only has one bulb (2 feet long situated in the middle of the tank)

cheers for you help kept fish for a while but this is my first cichlid

Carl

thats what i thought but the tank has been running about 10 months (ex community tank)

test my water every week and it seems ok. he is ok health wise from what i have seen like i say he eats fine when the food is dropped near him and i cant see any external signs of disease.

Will definetly get some pellets to try him on in the next day or so

Carl

Necro...
when i got my 2 little oscars, they were about 2-3 inches, and they hid away for about 9-10 days before they we're ok.
i just tempted them out with some mealworm, now they try chasing me whenever they see me

i beleive that your O doesnt have ENOUGH contact with humans if hes in your bedroom and you are out all day and only go there to sleep hes getting shy of humans !!!!!!!!! he needs to see more movement and you need to spend more time looking in the glass .......taking his cave away from him will encourage him to move about more also, he does not need a hiding place ....oscars dont hide as a rule so the behaviour should not be encouraged ...also i agree fully with hikari floating pellets ..get the small or medium size floaters..and dont feed him until you get them ..i give a 50/50 mix of hikari gold and hikari staple as i dont like the red dye in the gold pellets in great quantities ...have you ever seen salmon flesh thats been fed colour enhancing food compared to wild flesh !!!!!!!!!! please remove the cave and spend more hours with your O and he will soon be your butty

glen2009 wrote:


not saying your wrong only offering advice on what i have seen and experienced with my oscars. with all the ones i have had (9 oscars now) the only time they have stayed hidden longer than one day is if they were not well. oscars are professional beggars and in my experience a healthy oscar will always come out for food or even the remote possibility of food. mind you my experience might not be as extensive as your but this is what i have noticed.

take away the cave?? what about stress and that surely he needs somewhere he can feel safe? will spend more time watching and learning about him

Cheers for all the advice lads