i just got a new oscar and put him in my tank, all procedures for putting him in was done it shouldave been fine, but now i can tell hes very hungry because of the unrounded stomach and he is just laying at the bottom leaning next to a decoration, i checked water conditions with the testers and water if fine... i also put in some food because of how hungry he seemed, he ate like 3 super small granules of food but then stopped... is he ok?? what should i do??

It can be a little distressing when you see Oscars leaning to one side. However, this is very common, I've never owned an Oscar that doesn't do this occasionally. As long as your water is in good condition, I should just be a little patient and hopefully everything will be okay and your Oscar will be swimming around happily in no time at all.

tanks soo much, it really helps i got worried for a sec thier

its still hard to look at him like that and still think he's just fine

Oscars often act odd when first introduced to a new home (tank). Sometimes they sulk and dont eat for several days. i would guess he needs to get used to his new home. give him a few days and he will hopefully get used to his new home and start acting like a typical pig of an oscar. Keep trying to feed him and see how things go- remember to remove any uneaten food!!!

he still hasn't moved from the same spot, except for like only 2wice which was about 4 inches... and i put him in over 4 and a half hours ago, he is ignoring all food attempts obviously too

It can take a couple days for him to settle in.. Best advice I can give you is turn the lights off on the tank, and ignore him until tomorrow... Then try again.

This is the 20 gallon right? You cycled it first? I'm sure he's just adjusting to a new environment, but you can leave the lights off and give him a hiding place and it'll help him get comfortable. Many times if they don't have anywhere to retreat to they will simply sink to the bottom and lay there.

With new oscar owners it can be really distressing early on if you don't know it's a common thing, especially because the way they display stress pretty much mimics 'dying' or being really 'sick' behaviors i.e. laying on the tank floor, slightly to one side. As you get more used to each other you'll find you can tell fairly easily if he's acting strangely or when he's just 'sulking.'

delboybully wrote:


It can take a few DAYS for an oscar to get used to his new home

delboybully wrote:


...to go along with that, mine actually took a few weeks before they became truly 'comfortable.' First they hid all the time, sulked, and refused food; then gradually they would eat when I left and they came out more often, but then they'd go back to hiding when I came in the room. The light spooked them as well. If yours are like mine I would drop some food in occasionally, and if they haven't eaten it remove it after a couple hours and try again the next day. They won't starve or anything if they don't eat for a day or two.

Finally, after those few weeks they fully got used to me, the lights, and the new environment. So don't be surprised if this goes on for a bit. The most important thing is your tank is cycled, you have a test kit to make sure the water paramters are good, and you don't 'fuss' with them and agitate them too much, like flicking the lights on full blast, putting on a 'scream' mask, lunging at them and pounding the tank. That would be a good example of not 'easing the transition.'

yea it is, im looking for a cheap 55 on the internet.. no luck, and yea i cycled it and ok, i guess i icked the shy on of the litter haha

reendragon wrote:


Well, a good rule of thumb is to always try and pick the most 'lively' of the bunch (I picked the one I did b/c he was the biggest, was harassing everyone else in the tank and was swimming around like crazy), but again this whole behavior is very, very common so I wouldn't worry too much about it.