Hello,

I think my oscar may be sick. I have read the website (great by the way) and I am still a little baffled. I did a water change over 24 grs ago. He did not have a sudden reactiion. I treated my water, and kept a close eye on the temp. He has recently ate, and it was a feeder fish. He is now lethargic, and there is not a lot of movement. He almost gets carried away with the current in my tank (20g) He is one of two fish in the tank, There is also a plecostomus (spelling?). He is normally very interactive. He is turning to his side, staying close to the glass, and swimming backwards. Is this him pouting or something more serious?

Thank You soooo much!

How big is your oscar and your plec? These two fish will outgrow a 20g very quickly!

Okay, AP is correct, your tank is grossly undersized for the fish you have got. Or I should say it will be one of the fish get any bigger than three or 4 inches. Oscars are very messy, plecos are even worse if you happen to have the ones that get big.

Without knowing a few details, we can't help you. The first thing you need to do is a water test. We need to know the following readings, ammonia, nitrite, nitrates and pH. If you can provide us of these, we may be able to help a bit more. The problem is, Paul water conditions can have a serious effect on Fisher's health. So since your fish is acting strangely, you have to address the water quality first. And since your tank is very small, this could well be the problem. If you want to keep your fish, you need to think about upgrading to a much larger tank. With just one Oscar, I would recommend between 55 and 75 UK gallons. Depending on what sort of pleco you've got, you might have to go over 100 gallons

tHANKS! It is morning here in Atlanta, GA and my Oscar is lively again. Who knows? I have had my oscar for a little over two months (as well as my pleco). My pleco is a little longer than my finger and Bainis prob. 6". I am planning to get a 55g (US) tank for the two of them. I am currently shopping around for quality and price. Do you have any suggestions.

Oh yeah.. I am going to do a water test anyway.


THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH.

This is my first OSCAR and I am hooked!

Well, I am in the United Kingdom so can't really help you when it comes to pricing. What is your budget for your tank and filtration lighting and heating? You honestly want a decent tank, if you buy second hand, try and find out how old it is. Tanks do actually weaken over time so buying one that is 20 years would probably be unadvisable. Your filtration is so important. You want to have lots of biological filtration to deal with the amounts of waste that these fish produce. When shopping for a filter, I would advise you to go for an external canister filter. These ones that fit inside the tank are just not up to dealing with a large messy fish. They are made for community tanks. I know people might disagree with me on this but I stand by what I say. I have tried keeping Oscars in tanks that have these internal filters and they get filthy so quickly. Once you get yourself a half decent canister filter, you will never look at anything else, unless you go down the large wet dry sump filters that fit under your tank (the real bees knees) that's on my new tank. Your lighting doesn't have to be anything special and just get a robust heater.

You are so helpful.. Thank You! Bain was very playful this morning and seemed like a different fish. I do believe that he was pouting!

Be sure to post some photos and the members Gallery, we always like to see members fish and tanks