new oscar

psychadelicdrea

psychadelicdrea

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Oct 6, 2004
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i got a oscar from petsmart......i asked them how long they have had it their and they said about two weeks....but i accalamated him into my 125 and now hes all just laying on the gravel he likes to lay under the heater......and im not to sure hes eating.......you think it will snap out of it after the new tank shock goes away? ...and i also picked up some snow whites....is it general behavior to hang towards the bottem of the tank for them?

the oscar is pissin me off....hes got a whole 125 gallon tank yet he choses to stay right where he will get picked on....
 
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How big is the oscar? little oscars can do that , especialy in big tanks with lots of swimming space ime that is. He should get used to the enviroment. Anything else in the tank?
 
Definetely don't panick. My oscar looked like he was going to die the first 2 or 3 days he was in the tank. He just laid listlessly at the bottom of the tank, often at an angle as if he were dieing. But he soon came around.

Get ready to buy lots of food!! These oscars are wicked eaters.
 
I forgot to add that no, they are not quiet little guys that hide at the bottom of the tank. Once he comes around he'll likely be the most outgoing and active fish in your tank. Many people are actually able to pet their oscars in the tank.
 
Oscars are the biggest "pouters" in the fish world, most likely thats all he's doing. He just needs to adjust, give him some time, don't be surprised if he doesn't eat for a while either.
 
well it looks like his fins are a lil frayed to......i think my green terror is pickin on him.....i put his cave in their that he claimed in the 55 and he already took to it...and the oscar just has to be around the gt..and the gt pushes it around cause their territoral ......so i dunno i'm hoping the oscar comes around.......cause hes not eating and is getting beat up......so im not quite sure what to do.... and yes their is the oscar and a green terror and a false red terror.....the red is a wimp fish but hes used to getting bullied the oscar is about the same size.....the gt just took to the tank real quick and is already showing alpha fish signs... ..but like u said the oscar is pouting i guess but he is getting a lil beat up...but i thought he would have the sence to stay away...hes got 125 gallons
 
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Aggresion can be a little different. If he dosen't show any signs of comming to the surface for food within a week, I would say he is suffering from aggresion and you might consider moving him to a different tank and put some size on him before you put him back again. But if he is eating and then returning to his corner I would say that it will just take some time for the green terror to get used to the oscar, and vise versa.
 
green terror and red devil aggression can be hard on oscars. Oscars when adapting to new environments tend to "lay" in the corner (atleast in all MY experience with them) thats a natural way for them to adjust. However like everyones said once they become used to the environment they will be the most lively fish in the tank. My oscars always perk up and are ready when I come in the room and oddly enough they know the difference between a foodbag and my hand.

With that being said they arent very aggresive towards other fish. Curious? yes. Aggresive? no. GENERALLY with GTs and RDs they will lose the battle and the only way to resolve the problem is to get a little weight on the oscar before putting him in the tank with the GT. I had NUMEROUS problems with my RD and my 3 oscars to the point I traded in my RD.

best bet? move the oscar into another tank and feed him a mix of beefheart/feeders/cichlid pellets/prawns to get his weight up quick (beefheart is good for this in particular) then acclimate him back into the 125gal.

out of curiousity could you possibly list the sizes of the fish in the tank?
 
I dont have anouther tank to house a oscar....perhaps i jumped the gun a lil bit buy putting the gt and oscar in the tank at the same time....but when i bought the oscare i also bought 3 snow whites so i needed the gt out of the 55 so i could put my snow whites in the 55......i prolly should of waited but i didnt wanna miss out on the snow whites.......

the green terror is like 4 inches im guessing......i wanted to hurry up and get him out of the 55 cause i still want him to get to optiminal size......
The false red terror is small still like 3 inches maybe....but he got beat up buy the gt so...im not really sure how that fish is gonna turn out...but hes still alive and was put in the tank at the same time and recently showed a few battle scars but that was the first...but hes healthy and eats ......and the oscar is like 31/2 medium sized according to petsmart

Only option i can see is trying to build a barrior in the 125 ...till he gets bigger and is able to compete with the aggression from the gt.....
I was also wanting to buy a jack dempsey for the tank......now that fish should stand up with the gt.....

but i was thinking maybe like the gt and oscar maybe a pair....a jack dempsey...a catfish like a lace or somthing.....and maybe one outher fish, im not sure if that seems overstocked or what
 
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Something else you could do it go down to Home Depot or Lowes, and get some Vinyl coated hardware cloth 1/2". Its basically a metal mesh coated in Vinyl, the stuff works awesome for Dividers, egg screens, etc. Safe as well, Just about every discus person that does breeding and such uses it for their egg/wriggler screens. All you need is a way to cut it to the size you need and then a couple suction cups like the heater ones to secure it to the glass so they won't knock it over, or cut it an 1" or so too wide and bend it slightly so the pressure from it against the glass keeps it in place (you'll end up with a little bow in it this way but it works).
 
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