Hi Guys & Girls

i have a problem and need the help of the very kind people of the oscar fish forum..
we have 2 oscar fish once named oscar and he is just over a year old.. all is fine with him very happy healthy fish
then we have ozmo he is about 7 months old new we have a few issues with him..


as you can see from the pics( sorry its not the best!! the poor fella is a little deformed and we have noticed as he had become older he has become worst.. he has devoloped a red lump under or its on his gills and his mouth has always been like that.. but he still eats and swims very happy around the tank.. our other oscar fish did pick on him a lot when he was little.. and we are not sure if he has caused this injurys or bad breeding questions are

1. would he be in pain
2. should we just put the poor little fella out of his misery or can he go on live a happy life..
any help would be great thanks

Welcome to the site. I think there may be a possibility that your fish has a thyroid tumor, if not a normal tumor, I really couldn't say. If it is a benign thyroid tumor then it can possibly be treated with iodine treatment. I would suggest that you give your vet a ring, tell him what I have said and see if he agrees, if so, he may be able to prescribe you with something.

sometimes, oscar had deformities...and i had seen one that could not close the mouth,
and seem shrinking the upper lip....as long as it is eating well and swimming actively,
i wouldn't worry much.....

From what I can see, there looks to be some kind of growth

yeah, i have notice that but i focused with the irregular shape of the head wherein
the nostril is somewhat distorted too. it looks like a puffer's head

It wouldn't be the first time that somebody has confused an Oscar with another fish. However, I think this is an Oscar

Hi, it really looks like a tumor of some sort to me. You have said that his behavior seems normal otherwise. Which would indicate that the tumor or growth is benign. However if this still troubles you or things change for the worse, I think I would agree with Penn and consult a vet.

thanks so much for the help guys here are a few better pics
he seams a bit sad today but he did eat when i put food in.. but i guess it dose not help that our other oscar pics on him i noticed the 2 of them locking mouths so i hope the other oscar has not caused damage.. as you can see one side of him is fin the other he has a indint under his eye poor little fella and YES I AM SURE HE IS A OSCAR!!

Hope its not serious or life threatening.. if its not then at least you got an oacar with character, i'd call him frankie lol.... I was tempted to get this Rescued O from the LFS who are building my big tank last week, he had his face and bottom jaw all flattened cause he was in a very small tank and was recovering from HITH... hope someone buys him cause if they are gona kill him he's mine.

yes..indeed it is oscar...and the first time i see oscar staying
in a hole cave...

yeah he is a bit ofa sook!