Just got a new Oscar yesterday, When I opened the bag (after letting it sit in the tank for a while) The fish just sunk down to the bottom on its side and just sits there.

I thought it was dead this AM and went to scoop it out and he took off like a bat out of hell. Now it just sits there and I can see its eyes darting around following me around the tank.

I brought a sample of water into petsmart and they said it was good.

This is the first Oscar I've had and I'm not sure if it's in shock or what...

Assuming that the water is in good condition, i.e. no ammonia or nitrite present, then I don't see a problem apart from a little stress. You've got to remember that transporting fish from location to location can be very stressful for them. Sometimes they can take a few days to settle in. Just keep an eye on him for a couple of days and hopefully he should come out of the shell and settle down. I am assuming that you cycled the tank before putting him in?

What is your setup? Filtration, water temperature. Also, observe the Oscar and see if it is breathing heavily, as in opening and closing its mouth rapidly.

Good luck with your little friend, they are adorable fish

This isnt that unusual for an oscar when first put into a tank. He has been taken from the tank in the shop and put in a bag and then put into a new tank. You can understand why his behaviour might be different to when he was in the shop tank. Give it 2 or 3 days and hopefully he will be ok. Its funny how some do this yet others dont

Your little friend wont stay little for long. Oscars are great. Enjoy

delboybully wrote:


This is very true, I have never had an Oscar that has done this, they have always gone into the tank and been perfectly okay, literally begging for food straight away

This is my first Oscar so bear with me,

I have a 29 Gal tank, its been cycling for about 10 days now. I'm reading that Oscar's need a lot of room so I might have to upgrade the tank sooner than I thought.

I have a 60 gal filter on it. I'm going from a community fish tank, so I'm not used to larger fish yet.

Water temp is between 72 and 74 deg.

Hopefully the fish will pull through, Just by looking at it you can tell it is "smarter" than all of the previous fish. He will sit there and look at you. I really like him (or her)and I hope its OK.

I'm going to get some testing supplies and check on some larger tanks tonight.

You might want to raise the temp. a little a range of 76 to 80 is good.

Is he/she eating? Do you have any other fish in the tank? Your right about tank size it won't be long before your O outgrows that tank. Rule of thumb is 55gal for one O 25gal more for each additional O.

Just got a really good test kit and here's what I have so far:

PH- 7.2
High Range PH- 7.4
Ammonia- .15 mg/L ppm
Nitrate (NO2)- .10 mg/L ppm
Nitrate (NO3)- .05 mg/L ppm

Its the only fish in there. The store said that its probably acting this way because its the only fish in there and its not confident with its surroundings yet.

I think that there is no problem regarding your fish sometimes if the fish is over stress they lay at the botto like they were dead, just keep an eye on your fish,maybe you streed it or maybe it only act lazy.........

Sneaky little fish...

About 1AM I went in to check it, I have a timer on the light so it goes off at 12AM.

Fish was swimming around like normal. Soon as I turned the lights it "passed out" and sunk to the bottom again

At least I know its not dead.

They do that Being moody and sulking and all. Would think that is just normal behavior until he/she got used to you and the new surroundings.

Worrying a bit about the water quality though, looks like the tank hasn't been cycled properly before you put in the fish? Might be as well he's feeling unwell because of that additionally. Else ammonia and nitrite (NO2) should be zero, and the nitrate reading would be higher. So you should be careful not to feed the Oscar too much and really monitor your water parameters and keep the tank very clean by changing water often and vacuuming the gravel, else you might run into problems. Pay some attention to his breathing, eating and the look of the fins and skin. PH is fine.

There is an article on cycling a tank on here for some more info if you are not familiar with the chemical stuff and procedures.

hi,when i first got mine in the tank it done the same thing for about 3 days,,,all good after 3 days