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I'm not new to oscars but i never had one act like this for so long, I know they have thier own personality and thier scared when first introduced to the tank but all it does is run and hide. it's eating and is healthy but is frustrating that all it does is hide. had it about a month now. it's in a tank (20) with just a pleco, both around 4 in.
I would appreciate any suggestions.        thanks

You never know, that could just be his personality. Hopefully he comes out of it soon. When you say "tank(20)" is that a 20 gallon tank? I don't know if you know, since you say you are not new to Oscars, but that is much much too small. He needs minimum 55 gallons just for himself, 75 gallons to be comfortable.

He is still in young adolescence.  Since they don't reach their full size (12" SL which is more like 15" total length).  Was the pleco in there first? 

How are your water parameters?  How often are you changing the water?  This can make them act like that as well.  Ammonia should be 0 ppm, Nitrite 0 ppm, Nitrate less than 20 and better off if less than 10 ppm, in its natural setting it is less than 3 ppm.  They come from very clean waters.

I take it you mean by not new, that you have owned them before.  I don't know if you have been told proper husbandry though.  Pet stores are horrible about giving proper/sound advice in return for more sales of fish, continued upgrading of  tanks, filters, and water treatments.  Remember you control all aspects of the quality of their life.

55 gallons bare minimum for one Oscar, 75 is a nice place.  Having him in the 20 with another fish would be like you and I sharing a jail cell.  We would be alive, but not living comfortably.  The 55 is like having a studio/one bedroom apartment.  75 like having a nice house.  Not only the natural territory issues, but it is waste dilution that the bigger the better rule benefits the fish and you.  With two fish in a 55, you will need to do two changes (30-50%) a week at even 6".  When full grown, it is a handfull.  I have saw what happens with overstocked tanks ...  that 20 is going to drive you crazy with maintenance, or your fish will be basically swimming in a toilet.  Discolored water is usually a bad thing, unless it is tanins from driftwood or an algae bloom.

Wal-Mart has a 55 for a good price, and you can get a stand with it for about $200 total, and you will have everything.  You could reuse your gravel, don't let it dry out, and you will have your good bacteria established easy.  You only NEED about 5-10 lbs of gravel, to barely cover the bottom, or it is a chore to clean, because the nasties build up.  You could also stick in the filter of the 20 on it as well as the new one.  It is recommended that you have 10x filtering for an Oscar.  The filter from Wal-Mart is a Penguin 330, so it does 330 gph when clean.  I do a 5 gallon gravel clean daily with the siphon, and it reduces the big changes, along with not over-feeding and taking out uneaten food. 

I personally, when I can afford it am going to give my one Oscar a 120 to himself ...  a bit overkill, but I may get away with once a month major water changes or longer with my daily gravel clean keeping it under control and he should LOVE the extra swimming space.  I like less work and more time for appreciation of my friend.  I had a friend that was changing 30% of the water every other day with two around 7" Oscars.

Mine was hiding the first couple days behind the filter pickup, but now he is not so shy ...  I couldn't imagine a month.  It could be his particular personality, but, I hope it is not so you get to enjoy your friend more.  If you do get a 50 gal, keep the amount of decor to a minimum.  He/she can't hide if there is no place to go, and they are swimmers, so more room will be a benefit too.  Best wishes and good luck!

oscar6cich wrote:I'm not new to oscars but i never had one act like this for so long, I know they have thier own personality and thier scared when first introduced to the tank but all it does is run and hide. it's eating and is healthy but is frustrating that all it does is hide. had it about a month now. it's in a tank (20) with just a pleco, both around 4 in.
I would appreciate any suggestions.         thanks

Hello oscar6cich!! Welcome to the forums!

Another suggestion is to check around the aquarium for stressors. Is the tank in a high traffic area? Is there a slamming door or loud stereo in the vicinity? Oscars (and other species) are sensitive to the room the tank is in. Another thought is aquarium temperature -- in a small tank it's more difficult to regulate a constant temp. The size of the aquarium is probably not a factor in this specific issue (cuz he's only 4 inches) but will be soon if he's not moved into larger aquaria. Anyway, your Oscar is showing a classic response to stress, and something in or around the tank is causing it. Good luck, keep us updated!  --Mark

Thanks for you'r replies. I know a 20 gal. is small but i just raised a tiger oscar to 13 inches in it, sold it because it needed more room. it would'nt stop growing.
There is'nt anything in the tank but gravel, heater and the pump intake. plus a small pleco. they get along fine.
The tank is in a bedroom in the corner, it's quiet. All water conditions are good.
I'm starting to think it's just his personality. I never saw one with it's color before, it's all dark green. I heard some wild ones are that color, does anybody know if thats true?
Again thanks for all you'r suggestions.                                                Oscar6cich

Oh ya another thing i noticed is if i'm not in the room it'll be out swimming but the minute it knows i'm there it hides.

Funny I have a Convict in a 20 gal and every time I am in the room he hides behind the rock. But when he is hungry he swimming around trying to get my attention. Funny I thought. Whats with that?

You raised a tiger oscar to 13 inches in a 20 gallon? Now that's just cruel.

I have 2 7-8ish Oscar's in a 55 gallon and I feel cruel(getting a 180G in about a month). He wouldn't even have had room to turn in that thing! 

amy5335 wrote:You raised a tiger oscar to 13 inches in a 20 gallon? Now that's just cruel.

I have 2 7-8ish Oscar's in a 55 gallon and I feel cruel(getting a 180G in about a month). He wouldn't even have had room to turn in that thing! 

It is amazing how small a 55 starts to look when you have two Os that size in it compared to having a baby O in the same 55 it seems huge.



[quote="oscar6cich"]sold it because it needed more room. it would'nt stop growing.[/quote]

You do know that Oscars are supposed to grow up to 14" standard length (not including tail), and some have grown bigger than that.  Anyone who has told you they grow to their tank size is for the most part lying.  The only part about it that is true is they will stunt, which is not good for the O and shortens its lifespan.  Also, a small tank like a 20 gallon with a large O will need nearly all of its water changed every day to keep the toxicity down. 

Not picking on you but trying to let you know the reality of keeping a healthy O vs. one that is breathing.  under 20 ppm nitrates is needed, 40 absolute max.  Their natural environment is 3 ppm Max.  No ammonia, no nitrite.  With another fish in there adding to the waste, I don't see it being possible to maintain a healthy tank, plecos put out a lot of wastes themselves, and some grow to 18".  I would recommend at least a 75 gallon for those two, if not a 125, again because you will have about 32" of fish with girth to them.

If you cannot afford or want to maintain a larger tank than a 20 gallon, then you could switch to another variety.  If you love the personality and attentiveness of an Oscar, you could get about 5-6 dwarf puffers and then have more fish that can survive well in a smaller tank.  They will look at you, follow you around, and if you are the type that like to watch predatory fish, throw in a few snails, or small feeder crayfish, crickets, shrimp, even feeder fish and watch them hunt.

Now that you have said that he is in a 20 Gallon, part of his personality could be the small tank and having a tankmate, plus water parameters.  You say they are good, so you tested them.  What are the readings in ppm?  The water should also be clear.  If it has a tint and you don't have driftwood leaching tanins, then the water is dirty ...  unless you have algae bloom.  Not that I don't believe you, or think your water is bad, it is just a lot of people will say their water checks out/water is good, but end up had never tested it or have 160 ppm+ nitrates.  Some people think nitrates are harmless because in the past they were considered so, but now it is common to see diseases, especially HITH/LLE in tanks with high nitrates.  HITH/LLE is not a pretty disease by any means.

Red Os can look all green in youth sometimes, also depending on stress and diet.  If you are not feeding food with the red enhancer (such as astaxanthin), then it won't have much red color, since red is supplied by diet.  I saw one that faded from a light olive color to almost black.  When it was older it started to develop a golden to red on the belly, also depending on mood.  If it doesn't have some sort of pattern, then it is not a wild/common.  They will have a pattern on them similar to a tiger.

I really hope you can get at least a 55 gallon, even for one O I would prefer a 75 because they are wider and gives the O more room to turn around (they get longer than a 55 is wide).  I am working on buying a bigger tank for my single O in a 55.  But for your little O, the 55 is 3x bigger and will appreciate that jump.  Unless you are in love with the pleco I would find a new home ...  and even if you are in love, it may be killed by the O in the future, almost definitely in the 20, and still most likely in a 55.  Remember that the minimum size is not only for waste management but also territorial issues.

I hope the best.

Crue indead. True about the lies. I had my two tigers in a 20 gal for 2months and they out grew it and kept it dirty. They were only a inch or inch and a half. Kept the tank dirty and smelly. It would be tough to keep full grown O and pleco???

Kenshin_Himura wrote:He is still in young adolescence.  Since they don't reach their full size (12" SL which is more like 15" total length).  Was the pleco in there first? 

How are your water parameters?  How often are you changing the water?  This can make them act like that as well.  Ammonia should be 0 ppm, Nitrite 0 ppm, Nitrate less than 20 and better off if less than 10 ppm, in its natural setting it is less than 3 ppm.  They come from very clean waters.

I take it you mean by not new, that you have owned them before.  I don't know if you have been told proper husbandry though.  Pet stores are horrible about giving proper/sound advice in return for more sales of fish, continued upgrading of  tanks, filters, and water treatments.  Remember you control all aspects of the quality of their life.

55 gallons bare minimum for one Oscar, 75 is a nice place.  Having him in the 20 with another fish would be like you and I sharing a jail cell.  We would be alive, but not living comfortably.  The 55 is like having a studio/one bedroom apartment.  75 like having a nice house.  Not only the natural territory issues, but it is waste dilution that the bigger the better rule benefits the fish and you.  With two fish in a 55, you will need to do two changes (30-50%) a week at even 6".  When full grown, it is a handfull.  I have saw what happens with overstocked tanks ...  that 20 is going to drive you crazy with maintenance, or your fish will be basically swimming in a toilet.  Discolored water is usually a bad thing, unless it is tanins from driftwood or an algae bloom.

Wal-Mart has a 55 for a good price, and you can get a stand with it for about $200 total, and you will have everything.  You could reuse your gravel, don't let it dry out, and you will have your good bacteria established easy.  You only NEED about 5-10 lbs of gravel, to barely cover the bottom, or it is a chore to clean, because the nasties build up.  You could also stick in the filter of the 20 on it as well as the new one.  It is recommended that you have 10x filtering for an Oscar.  The filter from Wal-Mart is a Penguin 330, so it does 330 gph when clean.  I do a 5 gallon gravel clean daily with the siphon, and it reduces the big changes, along with not over-feeding and taking out uneaten food. 

I personally, when I can afford it am going to give my one Oscar a 120 to himself ...  a bit overkill, but I may get away with once a month major water changes or longer with my daily gravel clean keeping it under control and he should LOVE the extra swimming space.  I like less work and more time for appreciation of my friend.  I had a friend that was changing 30% of the water every other day with two around 7" Oscars.

Mine was hiding the first couple days behind the filter pickup, but now he is not so shy ...  I couldn't imagine a month.  It could be his particular personality, but, I hope it is not so you get to enjoy your friend more.  If you do get a 50 gal, keep the amount of decor to a minimum.  He/she can't hide if there is no place to go, and they are swimmers, so more room will be a benefit too.  Best wishes and good luck!

what i have found for the verry little experince i have ( about 2 1/2 years) with a very sucsessful 50 gal adult tiger (named shadow) that if i gave him the opiton  to hide, after a week or so of hiding he would never leave the front of the tank, hope it helps for you if you try it