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Hello. I am very new to the raising of Oscars. I have had my Oscar now for about 1 month. After reading many of the messages on this forum, I must say, I have learned quite a bit of useful information! Thanks for that. Now to my question. I noticed that all day yesterday my Oscar did not move from one corner of its tank. Last night I noticed a long strand of white coming from around the center of its bottom side. It is still there this morning and he/she is still not active. What could this be?

what!?

Hi, Lissad, and welcome to the forum! Can I ask a couple of questions? First of all, how big is your tank, and how big is your Oscar? What sort of filtration are you using? Do you have a water test kit? If you do, what are the readings for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate? Are there any other fish in there with your O? What is the water temperature? How long has the tank been set up?

A lot of questions, I know, but it's all information we can use to steer you in the right direction.

I have a 25 gal tank. My O is about 3" long. I had the tank set up for about 2 weeks prior to putting in any fish. The temp is at 78. I have not idea about the chemical levels. I will get a kit today to check that information. I have 2 other fish in the tank. They are both a shark type breed. When I purchaced my O the gentleman who helped me gave me 4 different fish I could place in the tank with the O. I picked 3 other fish. One of the fish has just died. I did notice that the O was being aggresive with that one. One of the others doesn't look like he has much longer. The littlest of the 3 is doing fine.
The filtration system is a Cascade Power filter for a 25 gl tank.

While at the store getting my water tested, I spoke with someone in that department and was informed that maybe it was waste. I called the house to see if it was still there and I was informed it was not. At first they thought it could be worms! My PHP was good but the ammonia level was very high. Of course that had to do with the flake food I was using for the other fish which are not eating at all. SO...I got the solution for the ammonia level, changed 20% of the water and it was suggested that turn the temperature up from 78 to 80. He is still at the bottom, but after reading a thread, I have learned that O's tend to do this for a number of reasons.
Now, regarding the light....I understand that they prefer the dark. Is it best to leave the light out al all times?

Thanks for the info. The light is pretty much up to you. If you have live plants you need it -- if you don't it's just for viewing. They do seem to prefer rather dim light, but it usually isn't a huge issue. Your main concern right now is your ammonia levels. This isn't just from flake food. Your tank is working its way through the "nitrogen cycle". Check out this link for more complete info: http://faq.thekrib.com/begin-cycling.html
Once you have the cycle under control, your next issue is going to be the size of your tank. Oscars grow large (mine are about a foot long), and they do it very quickly! That 20-gallon will only be useful for about 2-3 months, if that. Minimum for one Oscar is about 55 gallons, with heavy duty filtration and frequent rather large water changes. Check out "Tank setups for Oscars" in our FAQ section. Good luck! Keep us posted on how you're doing.

I am sorry to say that my O past away this afternoon. I am not sure what happened to him. He was so energetic and active prior to Monday.

I will wait a few days and clean out the tank and prepare it again for another O to come home.

Thanks for all you help earlier.

Sorry to hear about Oscar. I agree with Fuzzy's post in the Greetings forum -- O's would not normally succumb that easily.