CichlidFish.com - Fish That Think.

i have two albino O's and the only time they really swim around is when i feed them, the rest of the time they lay at the bottom of the tank basically on top of each other as if they are huddling for warmth. can some one please tell me why my O's are not lively and fun to have like O's usually are.

thanks,
Wemery12

Well, you know funny thing is my albino wasn't as active as my tiger oscars but it did seem more intelligent, I guess its the 'introverted' self-introspective contemplating philosopher type versus the big bully red tiger
On a serious note, you may have problem with fungus, mold, or some kind of bacteria or parasites if the water is perfect along with temperature etc...could try some salt and/or meds...maybe even vary food..what's the temp of the tank and other parameters and what have you been feeding them ?

i think it might have been due to the temperature because i changed out the heaters and now have a better one and they seem more active.

Yep, if the heater wasn't working and the water got a bit on the cold side that would slow them down. They can actually acclimate to pretty wide temperature range so some people keep their tanks at 70F while others heat theirs to 80F, as long as its pretty stable its ok. And of course, some fluctuation is fine since even in nature the river temperature does go up and down during the day, ie night time lower temperatures versus daytime highs.