Hello! I'm a first time Oscar owner and I'm very intrigued by the little guy!

A brought home the Oscar 2 days ago (had a community (55g) tank, separated the little community fish and sent home with a friend)

Rene has not been very active ie. hanging at the bottom, floating on side at top, hiding behind pump. I was REALLY worried about him and have been doing alot of research online until this morning when I came in before the lights came on and he saw me he was swimming all over the place. The little bugger's been playing opossum! Doing the same thing today- floating etc. Except at lunch I was sitting at my desk quietly and the room lights went out (motion) he was swimming all over. It's really funny, I have the tank in my classroom and all the kids keep telling me he's dead and I tell them he's just faking!

I know Rene will soon outgrow the 55g tank and am looking to buy a 75, 100, or 120 for at home. (I need to move him this summer anyway) I'm afraid the classroom may just be too high traffic and he's stressing out. Of course the pet store was high traffic and he was fine there. I saw on another post to not give a hiding place. I'm feeding pellets, dried shrimp, and frozen meal worms, I'm hoping if I keep giving him attention and hand feeding he'll come around. Water specs: temp 76, pH 7.9, Ammonia 0ppm, Nitrite 0ppm, Nitrate 5ppm. What do you all think?

well done!!!!!!!!!! and welcome to the facinating world of oscar keeping,you will soon be buying more and more tanks equipment and probably annother oscar !!!!!!!! your parameters are fine and feeding seems ok your doing ok in my honest opinion......just keep an eye on the floating thing,but in a week he should settle down..anything you want to ask feel free the guys here will be glad to answer ANY questions

welcome to the site.

by the sounds of things you have a solid grasp of what you are instore for with your new oscar. water chemistry and feeding sounds good and as for him playing possum with you i beleive that it will end and he will be a normal always begging for food oscar in no time

Oscars are not normally phased by people walking around outside their tank, as you say, they will see that all the time in the fish store. They are normally the most confidence of fish when you see them anyway. However, no fish likes being dragged out of its tank. So quite often, it takes a little while to settle into their new environment. As long as the children don't start tapping on the tank, I should imagine he'll be okay. I always think it's a good idea to give fish somewhere to hide. In the wild, these type of cichlid's will live amongst roots and trees where they will find hiding places away from larger predators.

If you can upgrade your tank to something bigger, I would definitely go for it. Remember that 55 gallons is the absolute minimum for one Oscar. What about school holidays, I suppose you will have to go into the school every day? That could be a little inconvenient, so a tank at home is definitely a good idea

Wow! Thanks for the quick response! Yeah, I figured he was just still a little stressed from the move.

I definately will be moving the fish home soon, maybe over spring break. I certainly need it moved out by summer a)I don't want to be coming in everyday just to feed him and not have him at home to watch and b) due to school budget cuts and me being only a 3rd year teacher I probably won't have a job next year.

I'm looking for a larger tank now, I'm hoping to find one on Craig's list a little less expensive than a new one. I started with a 10g from Wal-Mart a few years ago and then someone gave me the 55g. It's jsut like tattoos, you can't stop going bigger! Trying to decide whether to keep the 55 as a community and feeder fish tank.

Thanks! Sara

welcome to the site Sara!
seems your o is just familiarizing with the new
environment. it will be fine in no time.

Hi -- one of my Oscars was also floating on his side at the top. The pH was 7.9-8.0, so I tried lowering the pH. Now he doesn't do that. Try lowering the pH to 7.4-7.6 and let me know if he stops like mine did.

Lisa

oscars can tolerate a pH ranging from 6 to 8. as long as it is stable,
it wouldn't harm your fish. it is better to leave it as is than to alter
it with chemicals. sudden change of pH is more stressful to fishes than
hitting the range of 8 in a stable condition.

just my two cents ideas.

You know I did do a 30% water change on Friday and it did lower the ph from 7.9 to 7.4-6. After the water change and some food and me sitting still he did come out and play a bit. No he's even more and more active, haven't seen him do the oppossum float today. I think he was just adjusting to the environment like you all said. It's so fun to watch him eat and stuff, they really do seem to have a personality, I'm debating on a name still. I'm thinking Rene or Ansel.

I was about to test the water now and maybe do a water change. If all the parameters are good how often do I really need to do a 30% water change while he's little (4"?)? Last one was Friday afternoon. I know as he get's bigger and messier it will require more.

just two more questions:
I picked up a larger adjustable heater yesterday (my old one was for a smaller tank) What is the best temp in you experience to set it at?

I found a piece of driftwood a few days ago and am currently soaking it in a bucket to leech out some of the water staining color. If I add that to the tank will it affect the pH or anything?

Thanks!

range of 78 to 80 is the most ideal.


usually it affect the pH. just keep an eye for the erratic changes and remove if necessary.