oscar laying on the tank bottom???

[Jason]

I have no Idea how to tell if something is wrong with a fresh water fish, so here goes:

one of my buddies has some oscars. he called me last night at like 11:00 and said one of them was laying on the bottom on his side. I have seen the fish do it before, but I didn't think anything about it because I've got fish in my tank that don't move for hours..... He said his other one swims around and doesn't ever go to the bottom really. He also said that the fish is lying around more and more every day. He did say that the fish was eating just fine though.

does he have anything to worry about or is this just normal behavior?

TIA!

 

[DeFeKt]

I was reading about this the other day, it can be a hunting instinct, because they're a slower sort of predator, they lay down and wait for a feed to swim by, then snap at the last minute.. One of mine out of two do it as well, she's actually dug a slight concave in the gravel where she sits.
I thought they were sick so I checked it out and it's perfectly normal.

 

[Jason]

thanks!

 

[oscarbreeder]

Oscars are known to sulk a good bit but I would keep a close eye on it Just in case.
Try to get the water perameters and tank size and post them here.

 

[Jason]

I know that the tank is a 30 gallon hex tank. as far a the water parameters go, it is a very good possibility that the guy doesn't know what they are.

 

[oscarbreeder]

Well I would bet money that it is the water perameters.
Oscars are VERY messy fish and ONE oscar needs to be kept in a 75 gallon tank.
An adult oscar will reach 12+ inches and needs a large tank to be able to turn around. Like I said oscars are very messy fish and you need alot of filtration. I like to filter my water 10x an hour so on a 75g tank you need a combo. of filters to filter 750gph. More then likely the waste is building up in that small tank and causing high ammonia that will eventually kill the fish. Also I would reccomend him getting a master test kit to keep an eye on the water. Bad water conditoins can also cause Hole In The Head disease in oscars. It is very important to keep the water in perfect condition and feed a balanced diet including a vitamin supplament like bio-vit.

 

[Jason]

I'll tell him all of that. I will probably just print this thread out and take it to him. Thanks a bunch for all the help!

 

[Toirtis]

Besides, with the right sized tank and good filtatration, he may be able to raise that rare of things, a properly grown oscar....16"-18" of oscar...a truly imposing predator.

 

[oscarbreeder]

Your welcome and let me know if he needs anything else.
Always willing to help.