Hi all,
I'm totally new to the whole Oscar scene other thank talking to my dad about the ones he had when he was a kid. I have 2 Oscars in a 10 gallon tank right now with a catfish. They will be moving into a 40 gallon tank within the next few days once I get the seam patched up so it stops leaking. They are both about 4 inches long right now. Anyways, onto my concern - The one fish is becoming more brown and losing its' black sheen.I feed them Hikari brand Cichlid Gold pellets, freeze-dried shrimp, frozen shrimp cubes, and they have had feeder guppies once just yesterday. At first they would not have anything to do with the pellets, so i fed them frozen shrimp cubes - but they made a mess of the filter and tank. They eat the shrimp sometimes but are now eatiing the pellets again.

Here is a picture that shows the difference between them well:




They are both eating and swimming around a lot I was reading up on color change is Oscars and got results for cancer and internal infestations. Anyone have any ideas or had similar issues?

Thanks so much
-Joe

Welcome to our community

Okay, first the bad news, even a 40 gallon tank is no way big enough for two Oscars, it isn't even big enough for one Oscar so that is something for you to think about.

As for the coloration of your Oscars, I shouldn't worry too much because your Oscars are still juvenile and will change color gradually as they get older.

In some circumstances fish often lose their color when they become ill, I suppose it's the same as us becoming very pale.

If your fish is ill then it will probably stop eating completely and probably become very inactive.

Keep us posted on your situation and please bear in mind that in no time at all to 40 gallon tank is going to be far too small and you may well be asking us why you cannot maintain good water quality. Unfortunately, these type of fish cannot be kept in small aquariums with little filters, they need plenty of space and loads of filtration

I am by no means an expert but your 40g tank is far too small for them both, oscars can grow to 12" and a 40g is not gonna hold them.

My big tiger O has patches of lighter black almost brown on him and hes perfectly healthy, i guess some of them just have unstable black.

oops cross posting OFL! lol

Ambars_Os wrote:


no worries, this means that everyone is thinking the same way

Great minds ay??

Oscars get massive, see if you can see a full sized one and you will realise why 40g is not big enough for one oscar, let alone 2.

Thank you all for the quick responses. I do plan on getting a bigger tank, they are just a little pricey right now and most of my paycheck is feeding college. What would an adequate size be for them so I can start looking

whereabouts are you located? I know a few of the Koi keepers in the US use rubbermaid tubs of 150g plus as a temporary option, you will need to cover the top of it securly tho

like the other have said a 40 is way small for 2 oscars. you should be looking for something in the 100+ range and larger if you plan on having tankmates with them.
also filtration is another big requrement for keeping oscars and you should have enough filtration to do twice the volume of your tank(so when you get a 100 gallon tank you will need filtration for 200 gallons). this will not only make keeping your oscars manageble but it will reduce the amount of maintenance that is required.

New York, about 30 miles south of the capital.

Don't forget about Craigslist... people are dumping great stuff for cheap on there. I got a 120 gal, with oak stand and sump filter for $200. My 2 oscars love their new big home... they looked squished in the 30 gal I had.