Hello, I had been having problems keeping my tank clean with the one oscar that I have so I went to the pet store and they said that I needed a bigger tank so i bought a 29 gallon tank and all the stuff that I needed with it. I simply do not have the room to ready the new tank and heat it for a few days before I put him in there so I just filled the tank and put him in. I gave him a little while to explore and then I put some feeder fish in there for him. All he does is sit in one corner. He doesn't go after the fish, he doesnt even move around. I'm worried. Is this a normal reaction to a new tank or is there something else wrong?

sorry for this can u take the tank back that u just got cause 29 gallons is too small u will have to upgrade so better do it now if u can return it and get your money back or exchange aand pay diffenece for bigger one. second oscars tend to pout i put mine in 100g for fist time and for bit he stayed in corner but after a bit he was back to his true self.

Welcome to the community

Okay, I'm afraid your situation is not really very good. 29 gallons is about half the size of the minimum recommended tank for one Oscar. If you have just put your fish in a tank before it is ready and I'm not surprised your fish is acting the way it is. Have you got some water testing kits? You need to test the water for ammonia, nitrite, nitrates and pH, and you need to do it quickly because I strongly suspect your water is probably in a poor condition. Also, how warm as the water?

Unfortunately if you really want to keep Oscar's, you are going to have to get a much bigger tank if not, I'm going to suggest you find a new home for your fish

I know that 29 gallons is not as big as i'm supposed to have but I live in a dorm. I simply do not have the room for a 55 gallon tank. The water is around 80 degrees but I also have an airator to keep oxygen in the water.

its not oxygen thing other correct me if wrong but oscars are messy you water will hardly ever be good you wont keep up on water changes and also it may cause them not to grow properly and cause problems for them and third once they bigger make it hard for them to move

I had that problem with my old tank. I thought it was a filter problem but I was told that the tank was too small. I would love to get a bigget tank for him but I dont have the room, not in a dorm, but maybe by the time that he's too big for the tank I'll be able to move off-base and then I can get a bigger tank.

Oscars are one of the fastest growing fish you will find so you will probably have less than six months before you can expect to have to upgrade to a larger tank. However, it is imperative that you test your water at the moment, the last thing you want to do is put the fish through a lot of stress if the water is not in good condition. Anyway, we are here to help you in any way we can so please don't hesitate to post questions.

what size is oscar now i was bad too i had my first tiger oscar in 20g for like 3 weeks and he was like an inch at the time he was ok then i went to 60g for the tiger then he went to my brothers 100g i sold the 60g and 20g then got a 40g and 100g the 40 was for feeders and the 100g homes my lutino oscar now all i have is a 100g my lutino is like 2 inches and growing fast now that he in big tank the what he was in LFS

Thank you very much. I have the stress coat conditioner that removes chlorine and other harmful stuff thats in tap water and I will be getting a water testing kit hopefully today. He's about 6 1/2 inches. I also noticed that he has some slight injuries by his back bottem fin.

6 1/2 inches wow not sure he be ok in that small of a tank for much longer

I know, but there's not much I can do.