I have a 10 month old 8” long 3.5” wide mail painted Oscar. I just moved my Oscar into a new tank. I know that the breed of fish does not like change and it is typical for them to act sulky in a new environment but I want to know if I can do anything to make him feel better. He has been swimming around less than he did in the smaller tank and he lays sideways on the tank floor a lot. The Ph is 7.2 ammonia is a little less than 6.0 nitrate is a tad high but not enough to do any damage. The tank is a little cold for him at 72 degrees but I am getting a heater TODAY so I can adjust the temp. to 77 degrees and he has been in there for 3 days now. He is eating! A little less than normal but he his eating. He has been pulling the fake plants up with is typical and he has been hiding a lot he even managed to move a large rock at least 4” witch was surprising but I know this is to be expected. The new tank is 35 gal the old tank was only 20 gal and he has outgrown it that’s why I moved him. I let the water set in the tank with the filter on for 3 weeks than I put some starter fish in for a week (guppies and Mollies they now occupy the old tank with a puffer fish and another blue cichlid). I made damn sure the levels were rite before the move. The process went smoothly other than a patch of net burn that is healing nicely. Is there anything more I can Do?

Ammonia at 4 to 6 ppm will likely kill your fish. You should move the filter that is at your 20gal and add it to the 35gal and ASAP set up a 48" to 72" long tank for him or take him to someone who can take care of him while you set up, at least, a 55gal tank for him to live in.

In the mean time ( right now ) do as close as you can a 100% water change, and then a 50% every 4 to 6 hours. Your Oscar might survive these toxic conditions but his long term health -immune system- is likely to suffer if you don't control the situation. Use a water conditioner such as Seachem's Prime that will neutralize chlorine, chloramines, heavy metals and lock-up ammonia levels in a way that your beneficial bacteria will not starve and die.

It is impossible to house a 10" Oscar in a 35gal tank and be able to provide proper care to him. You are in a permanent state of emergency if you want your Oscar to survive.

It's Ok to make mistakes like this one, I have my own share, what matters is if we can learn from them or not. Get the heater, keep the water surface agitated and go for it.

We are with you, hope you can make it.

Pepe
Santo Domingo

i agree with pepe with the declorinator and ammo lock another thing you might think about is to increase the water temp to 78-80 farenheit for your oscar. also like was stated before you should get a MINIMUM 55 gallon tank for your oscar.(no mates with him) if you want to stock more fish with your oscar you will need a bigger tank. keep doing the water changes until both your ammonia and nitrite reading are at 0 no higher.

good luck to you


btw what is a painted oscar?

pepetj & necromancer4 had given you a very sound advices.
your ammonia level is critical. even your tank is no longer
ideal with the size of your oscar unless you want to give more
time in cleaning and changing your water.

i would rather not do the immediate 100% water change. you might
have sudden environmental change shock uness you are sure with your
tap water parameters.

well i took your advice no one i know has a tank that size already set up but i put him back into the smaller tank and he is doing much better i changed the water and conditioned it Im going to wait a few weeks before i move him again. I will defanetly save up for a new tank.I also got the heater. Do you think a 55 gal is ok? one of my friends wants to sell one to me.

• Thanks! I’m buying a 55gal from a friend and a painted Oscar is a tiger Oscar that had wider striping and less orange (looks Painted). Another weird thing the Oscar and my parrot are like Best buds! They have a weird bond last time i tried to move the parrot my Oscar was not thrilled (acted sad almoast). They were raised together so i don’t know if i want to separate them. I know it sounds weird but they are very close they cuddle together and the parrot follows him around wherever he goes and they have never tried to fight with one another.

Am I right in saying you intend to have a Oscar and a parrot in the 55g tank. If so its not the best size for 2 fish of that size but if you are willing to maintain it with the right water conditions you would get away with it. It all comes down to how much work you are willing to do and how much you know about water conditions and maintaining them. you would be changing around 30% of the water a wk but the only real way to know is buy a test kit and do a water change when nitrates reach 40%. you need to keep nitrates below 40% and around 20% is preferred.

I would recommend you read up on cycling your tank and the way you need to maintain it.