I have 3 tiger oscars about 3.5" and they been sorta pale for the past 2 days. The water temperature is 80 and they been eating normal, but seems like they're spooked by something.. any suggestions? I hope my fish aren't sick.

any changes in fish behaviour/colouration etc can be something or nothing. The first thing you need to do is test the water for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH. All these factors play a huge part in your fishes live and you must check them on a regular basis. unfortunately, we can't really help you until we know what the conditions of the water are. Try posting a photo on the forum so we can have a look

a water testing kit is a must for oscar owners like ofl said. test your water and post the results and someone will probably be able to help you. also how long have you had your oscars and how long have you had the tank set up for. have you rearranged the tank latetly. some oscar dont like to have their tank disturbed.

My water is perfect I already tested it 3 days ago.

when we ask for water test readings, we would prefer to actually see the results, rather than being told they are perfect. I'm sorry if that sounds a little pedantic I am sure that you are correct about your water, however we have had cases where people tell us their water is perfect when in fact it is not as perfect as they think.

also, if you could post a photo of your Oscar, that would be very helpful

I'm sorry, but It's a tank thats been running in my household for 4 years already. I just got rid of my tetra fish and switched over to cichlid tank. When i got my water tested and when I said perfect It means no ammonia/nitrate/chlorine.

okay, assuming that your water is okay then that isn't something you got to worry about. Is that fish staying the colour it is, or is it going back to its normal colour

Well this current tank they're in is a 90 gallon 4 year old tank (3 oscars) and I know the tank is small thanks, but I currently moved them from a 55 new tank setup which was a better idea. I mean i can try to snap a picture of them right now, but they're pretty lame sorry to say this..they are eating normal, but when i approach to the tank they get spooked and hide behind trees/flower pot I don't know why.. ususally oscars get happy when their owner approaches the tank and feeds them.. i have to pop their food in the tank and stand 10 feet back in order for them to eat.

Well seems like the fish aren't pale anymore.. but I'm just very sad that they're scared of me when i approach to the tank and I can't do much about it I guess.. they like to swim in the back of the tank behind the plants.

Oscar usually learn not to fear their owners. Have you moved them recently or done some major tank rearranging.

You really should get a test kit and test your water regularly, it will give you an early warning sign if things start to go wrong. I wish i had had a test kit when i first started keeping fish as it would of saved me a lot of heartache and money

Nice looking fish

it probably would be better to test the water yourself so you know for sure its done properly.not to say that it wasn't but a 0 reading for nitrate is virtually unheard of. even comming from the tap you should get some sort of reading on the nitrate test. if you have recently changed them form one tank to another or rearranged the tank oscar have been know to sulk sometimes for days.


nice o's btw