hey guys im new to the forum and kinda new to oscars, friends and family have owned them but iv never had one myself.so i just bought one 3days ago, i had let my tank cycle for about 5 days and the amonia and ph levels are good but my new albino tiger oscar is just lying on the bottom of my 220l tank (i know its a litle small but im going upgrade when he gets bigger) and im unsure why iv got an air pump to put some oxegen in the water but it doesnt seem to have helped.he has little active burst were he'l swim aroubnd for a while but then just return to the bottom as if sleeping.my tank doesnt have gravel of any hiding places at the moment, could this be the cause?

any help or sugestions is apreciated

welcome to the site


ok it usually takes 40 days to cycle a tank from scratch. after only five days i would venture a guess and say your tank isnt finished cycling yet. when you say your water levels are good could you give the actual reading for ammonia nitrites and nitrates?

for a course of remedy i would suggest doing a 30% water change asap and follow that with more water changes every day or two until the cycling process has finished.

necromancer is right. Your tank isnt cycled, i am guessing you followed the advice from your tropical fish shop. Dont worry you wont be the first to be given this wrong information. We get similar questions like this all the time. All is not lost thought.

Check on the section on cycling on this site. You have 2 options. You can buy prime to add to your tank but you must follow the instructions. The other option is as necromancer says and that is to do daily water changes (20%) until your tank is cycled. You need to do this to keep ammonia and nitrite low or your oscar wil get sick and may die.

Buy yourself a test kit, the liquid bottle ones for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate (dont buy the test strips- they are not accurate). Test weekly and when ammonia and nitrite are zero and nitrate is above zero then your tank is cycled

wow thanks for the quick reply guys.well the amonia is at 0 and the ph is at 7 i dont have the nitrite and nitrate test kits but i asumed they would be ok since the amonia is so low.ok so you think regular regualar water changes are needed? im adding water conditioner and bacteria booster at the moment should i continue this?

Yes water changes are neccessary, without them your oscar could end up with long term problems or even short term death. Check out the section on filter cycling on the home page and good luck with your oscar

Get a tester for nitrite and nitrate, that way you can check on how your cycling is going. Also continue to use them- they will act as a early warning if things start to go wrong. I wish i had bought a test kit when i started keeping fish as it would have saved me a lot of money and heartache

Congratulations on your becoming the proud owner of an oscar Crack Jack. Welcome to the OLF family!

Oscars, believe it or not, will sulk and even pout when they are under stress (i.e a new tank). This behavior is common and can range anywhere from sulking on the bottom of the tank, to laying on their side. It will pass . . .

lol i swear thats like the #1 thing i read around here... is my oscar sick??? hes layin on his side at the bottom of the tank lol.

they are just moody!!!!