View Full Version : Help....Just bought an oscar.....
daytonaguy1111
08-10-2003, 2:14 PM
hey all i just got an oscar for my new cycled tank #2 ...and well i did all the right stuff and put him in slow and all but hes just sittin on the bottom like barely movin is this normal? i even put a little feeder fish in their and he doesnt even care at all ? what should i do ....the water is fine everytest is normal is he just gettin use to his new home ? thanx Jon
PumaWard
08-10-2003, 4:16 PM
How long has he been in the tank. Oscars are known to 'sulk' when they are not happy. They often lean on the side of the tank at around a 45 degree angle. Give him time, it shouldn't take long for him to straighten out. If he doesn't then it will be cause for concern. Good luck :D.
I also heard that Oscar sleeps like that too.
If he is still new in the tank, turn off the light. Let him get used to his new environment before feeding him.
daytonaguy1111
08-10-2003, 4:35 PM
well hes been in there for about 4 hours now.....yeah hes just leaning agaist the tank on the bottom ....he looks around but just sits there....i turned off the light and i guess ill just leave the feeder fish in their.....will he eat the small feeder fish or only pellets...? thanx
what was the ph and hardness of the water at the store you bought it and what is your ph and hardness?
daytonaguy1111
08-10-2003, 4:54 PM
p.h was 7.2 at the store and mine runs about 8.0 but i did the slow water drip into the bad before i put him in .....and im workin on gettin the water down to atleast 7.2 but with water changes and all it keeps going up somtimes....the tap is 8.4 here...so what should i do anything ? to help him adjust?
Drift wood helps bringing the ph down. My tap water here has ph of 7.0. After I put the wood in there, the ph has brought down to 6.5
with that much of a difference you should aclimate new fish very very slow. id say it would take at leaste 2-3 hours. i use air line hose. i place the fish in a 5-gallon bucket and let water from the tank drip into the bucket untill i have filled the bucket up 2-3 times. i also tie a knot in the airline to get a slow drip. your o should be ok in the next few hours how is he doing?
Originally posted by peifc
Drift wood helps bringing the ph down. My tap water here has ph of 7.0. After I put the wood in there, the ph has brought down to 6.5
i have a 55 with 3 large pices of drift wood in it. enough that is stains the water almost a tea color. but that tank stays the same ph as the other tanks i have that have no drift wood n them. i dont think drift wood is a reliable way to lower your ph. peific your ph could be dropping due to the nitrogen cycle useing up all of your Kh. when you say the ph is 7 is that right out of the tap? let your tap water sit in a clean container for 24 hours then test it to find out your final ph.
daytonaguy1111
08-10-2003, 6:05 PM
hes still the same just stayin in one spot .....im worried....hes barealy movin but im not use to oscars they are slow fish i guess somtimes right? i guess ll see tomm....hes stayin real close to the filter tube...he was stayin real close to the bubbles from a air stone i have in their like his mouth was on the bubbles...??? i dont know
daytonaguy1111
08-10-2003, 8:27 PM
anybody else got any advice at all/......everytime he moves he moves backwards like hes scared or somthin ??? help people i dont want him to die
PeteSC
08-10-2003, 10:49 PM
Is it a Baby???
I just bought another Oscar after my last one died at 4 years old.....plus.
Mine is very timid........but I remember my other two being the same way when they were small.
Give it a couple of days to get used to the surroundings, and also, give it a hiding place so it feels 'secure' when threatened.
(A rock to hide behind....or something.)
Mine is in a big tank......and has a lot of places to hide.....which it does when I first walk into the room.......but inches out after all movement in the room has stopped. They get over this as they get bigger......and consider the room their 'territory'.
Tackle the ph! You can also use peat in your filters...... Driftwood helps......but it isn't a quick fix! Be careful, even with 'safe' store bought driftwood, you can get worms!
Oscars are cool. I haven't had a baby in a long time, so it's taking me a while to get used to the different 'juvenile' personality.
Daytonaguy,
Get used to it. Oscars have lots of different personalities. Mine are like yours, very shy. I've had mine for two years now and they still do that on occasion. When I first got them I thought there was something wrong also. The would never come out while I was around, they would hide when I walked into the room, etc.
At feeding time, I have to shake the food bag in front of the tank. They wag themselves like puppies. If I don't shake the food bag before feeding time, they sulk and won't eat while I'm there.
When I clean the tank - BOOM - into the corner they go. Last time I did a major clean, they sulked for 3 or 4 days. S/He'll come around...... eventually. Remember, when you own Oscars - It's their world we just live in it.
Deltonaguy
Again your oscar is probably just adjusting. I would try RO water, it is the easiest way to bring down the ph. Try a 70/30 mix with tap.
Driftwood will have little to no effect in a pH that high as I assume your KH is high too and will buffer out any effects the tannins might have. (Tannic acid is what turns the water brown and lowers the ph but in time it will all leach out and your ph would return anyway).
That being said I wouldn't really worry about changing the ph, stable is better than perfect. If he isn't wild he was probably bred in water conditions around 7-7.5 so what doest it matter what the idal ph for a wild oscar is?
Give him two or three days to asdjust, and do not feed feeders without first quarantining! They are horrible nasty animals that carry all sorts of disease.
daytonaguy1111
08-12-2003, 8:12 PM
thanx for al the advice hes doing great now.....eats and get all excited and then hides most of the day but comes out when the lighs out for a swim maybe i should make the light a different color wouldhe like that better ?
Some people use lights from Lowes etc. I prefer the higher priced aquarium bulbs (higher priced at about ten bucks) because the spectrum shows off the color of the fish better. I don't think the fish really care though. Try the trichromatic, I like them, I think they are like twelve bucks at big al's. By the way what size tank is it? Good luck!
dave76
08-13-2003, 8:33 AM
Glad to hear your guy is acting normal. I got a couple of new fish this weekend, and I try to watch them but my green terror always gets in my way when he trys to get me through the glass he is quite the character heh!