Hey guys I need some help:

I just bought an Albino Oscar. I put him in a 20 gallon tank (I know that's too small, but I'm moving him into a much bigger tank in a couple months) with a 4/5 inch goldfish. I'm knew to oscars and need some help. For some reason, the oscar is being very slow and lethargic. He/she just stays on the bottom of the tank and sort of follows the big goldfish. Anyone have any ideas about what's going on or how I can fix this (get him going, etc)?

Thanks

Hello and welcome.
The 20Gl volume of your tank may be the problem.
Goldfish are messy fish too and add up quite a bit to the bioload.
Do you have a testkit and could you please test your water for Ammonia-Nitrites-nitrates and pH.
What kind of filter do you use and what's the flowrate?
How long has the filter been running?
Mind you that Oscars can and should grow very fast.
He should outgrow that tank in less than a few months...

whats the temp of the tank water? most goldfish tanks dont have heaters, but oscar prefer around 80degrees

Last time I checked, my amonia level was a little high(because I've been keeping 4 goldfish in my tank for 2 weeks now). I took 3 of them out and now I only have this big(4-5 inch) goldfish left. I put the oscar in now. The filter and tank have been running fora little more than 2 weeks now.

That is your problem then.
Your filter is not cycled yet.
That will take 5-6 weeks.
Untill that time you will have high ammonia and nitrite levels, that can be hurtfull for your O.
Goldfish are hardier then Oscars and can stand far worst toxin levels.
You need to start doing daily waterchanges of 30%.
Add Prime/ dechlor the the new water.
Keep testing for the results i asked about,and keep up with the waterchanges until the ammonia and nitrites are 0.
Then you should start to see a nitrate reading.

How big is the filter you are using?
Oscars need oversized filters to keep up with their messyness.
I'm affraid your upgrade can't wait for some months.
Any chance of upgrading sooner?

How big is your oscar, and your tank is way too small. Oscars grow very rapidly and need 55 gallon minimum, if i where you i take the oscar back too the store, and wait till tou get that bigger tank your waiting for.
when i first had my two oscars i kept them in a 35 gallon tank and realised i had too upgrade tank size within a month thats how quick they grow.

How about 1 month of good care? I can probably get a 50 gallon by then...

You can go 1 more month but that no matter what, you can not take "good care" of the tank because it is so small. I say go for it but you may run into problems with disease and parasites. But overall it could be a learning lesson like it was for me putting a baby oscar in a 20g tank and having to deal with HITH maybe for another month or two in the new tank.

But I would suggest trying to get a tank asap with a filter that runs on a 100g tank if you plan on getting a 50g. Also I would recommend using a friends old filter for maybe a month while running your new filter to cycle the tank.

everybody is being a lil crazy.... do a decent water change, then dont feed for a couple days... i would get rid rid of the larger goldfish they r nasty... then u can wait for the upgrade in a FEW WEEKS

im not a pro.. but a 20 is ok for a small oscar for a very short time... but i know that i have 100 friends that can loan me a "dirty" filter to cycle my new tank... the users win, necrochick somthing, and ofl tend to have the brst advice....

oscars are sumwhat hardy... and im having kinda the same problems with one of my o's and not the other in the same 55 GAL TANK... clean water, and hope that its not a serious problem... oscars do tend to be sulky and temperamental... it might just be mad

Noddy wrote:


I agree 100% with Noddy. Your tank is not cycled, and it is way to small. even for a baby!