joshthefisherman

just got my oscar home he isnt moving much and he sits on the bottom is this just stress

angelfish220

I would wait and see how he is tommarrow. Sounds like he just needs to get used to the tank.

joshthefisherman

its still swiming slow im getting worried if he is ill it is like he is lathargic id do a water change but dont want to stress him even more

joshthefisherman

should i put some amonu lock in the tank

COBettaCouple

How did you acclimate him to the tank? I would check to see if you're ammonia and nitrites are 0, then if your nitrates are 10 or less. What's the water temp?

MissMTS

Did you leave the lights off for the first 24 hours? Darkness usually helps the fish get acclimated and keeps their stress level low.

joshthefisherman

I floated the bag for a half hour then put him inill keep the lights off

MissMTS

When you add a fish you should float the bag, but about every 10 minutes, you need to dump some of the bag water out and replace it with some of the tank water. The change in temp or water quality may shocked him a little bit.

angelfish220

I like drip acclimation better. that float the baggie I get impatient and then put the fish in before it is acclimated. What I do is I have a little 2 gallon tank ( All the fish in my aquarium can fit in that 2 gal for a short period of time, you have an oscar and he might need a bigger "acclimation tank" than that) I gently pour the fish and the petstore water in the tank. I set it by my big tank then put a knot in some skinny tubing so that water coming out is just dripping, and start a siphon with it. When my 2 gal is full I net the fish and put them in the tank.

capekate

That sounds like a great idea Angelfish.. Does the water stay warm in the 2g bucket with that slow a drip tho?

~ kate

angelfish220

Yeah it is a little tank and I keep the light over it and it keeps the water good and warm, and there is always fresh warm water coming from the tank.

COBettaCouple

Are his gills red or purple? What are the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate readings on the tank?

I'd agree that he probably got shocked some at the sudden change in water conditions but should bounce back from that.

joshthefisherman

hes lookin alot better although i looked up diseases and it said nitrite poisining causes fish to become lathargic then checked my nitritees and are much to high i am doing a water change tonight

COBettaCouple

Good.. water changes should do the trick. If you're using Prime for the tap water conditioner that will do super for him and protect him more from the nitrites while the tank has any.

darkwolf29a

Honestly, Oscars are prone to sulking. It's what you're seeing now. I have one as well, and he did that. If he's small...he should snap out of it fairly quickly.

I just moved mine, and myself, from an upstairs apartment to a down stairs. My Oscar has sulking for a week. I swear, at one point, I thought he was dead. But, they are tough fish, and just don't handle changes well...they get whiny and crybaby-like. Of course...watching them will tear your heart out. He'll be fine, I'm sure. Just do regular maintainence, make sure he gets some attention...Yeah, I pet my Oscar. LOL And he should be fine in a few days.

joshthefisherman

i hope idid a water change yesterday and the nitrite levle didnt move i might pick up some prime he is starting to let me tap him on the head but not pet for long time