My oscar loves to "redecorate" his tank.

www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1009133&a...3e&id=1451256746

The photo shows that he has uprooted several plants, moved gravel, and pushed the heater. He also knocked off part of the filter and put it on one side of the tank. I have no idea why he does this, and every time I fix something, he just puts it back the way he had it.

Honestly, I think it's kind of funny but at the same time I think there could be something wrong.

I cleaned his tank right after I took this photo. It's a 55 gallon and he has no tankmates. (Probably for the best! ) The water is good. It's 77 degrees Fahrenheit, has 0 ppm of nitrates and nitrites. Only a little ammonia. (About 0.3) pH is 6.6.

Whoa, that was a quick edit.
Faster than i could reroute the pics
Welcome anyways
Nothings wrong, if your waterparameters are in check.
It's normal oscar behaviour.
Well, it's his tank, right!



edit: nitrates should be present, ) is quite impossible if your filter is working correctly.
Please retest!

Alright good. I guess.

How long has your filter been running?
Ammonia and nitrites should be (Close to) 0, Nitrates can vary to 40ppm, than a waterchange is advisable.

hellofromtara wrote:

it only shows that your o is at home already...but your water
parameters seems to be you have a new set up tank...no nitrate yet...

Noddy wrote:


He's been in this tank with this filter (75 Marineland Biowheel) since January. But yeah, nitrates AND nitrates are 0 ppm. When I edited, I included all of my water parameters.

PAUL wrote:


What should my nitrate levels be? I always thought it was supposed to be 0 ppm... I clean his tank once a week. Maybe this is why his nitrates and nitrites are both 0 ppm.

nitrate shows you have an establish tank where good bacteria take care of
the toxic nitrites and ammonia from the fish waste. having no nitrate means
you don't have good bacteria yet...and you tank is prone to ammonia spike.

how do you clean your filter????

If your filter cycles properly nitrites will be turned into nitrates.
They build up, and the only way to get those nitrate levels down is frequent waterchanges.
Do you use the Liquid test kit, for the strips may not be reliable.
Anyways, low nitrates are a pro for healthy fish, but you should get at least a little reading when testing if the filter is doing it's job.
How long has the filter been running?
Note to self:Since Januari, Noddy.
Please read the thread before asking questions

Haha no worries, Noddy!
So the water should have nitrates and nitrites but not too much and not 0?
I have API water testing strips that test pH, nitrate and nitrites, but I test ammonia using a kit. (Add drops to sample of water from tank.)

As of the filter, I don't clean it... Some guy that worked at the petstore told me not to.

If not clogged and flowrate is OK, cleaning it can be postponed quite long, especially if you got a BIG filter.
If you clean it ,use old tankwater to rince in and no tapwater!

Noddy wrote:


Oh okay thanks so much! Chomp Chomp says thanks too!