skittish baby oscars

[kaianuanu]

hi i am new here this is my 1st thread

i just got 2 baby tiger oscars 2 days ago.
they are 2 - 2 1/2 inces long.

the problem is that they are really scared of me and i don't know why.

in the store i put my finger up to the glass and picked the 2 most curious/friendly fish.

all they do is hide in their plant.

what sould i do to help them warm up to me? should i just give them time?

should i turn off the light at night (i already do)?

[cocoa_pleco]

it just takes time. my oscar was the most skittish thing when i first got him late august. he would freak out around tank lights, and was scared of me. but mid september he got used to me, and now he follows me allover the tank and dances for food. The pacu even learnt from the oscar how to dance for food.

[kaianuanu]

but now can someone tell me about lighting schedules and about sexing them

thanxthumbs2:

[cocoa_pleco]

i cant remember sexing, but lighting is 6-10 hours/day

[Arkie]

please someone correct me if im wrong but i think the most reliable way to sex them is to wait untill they are actually spawning and see who lays eggs and who fertilizes them.
ive heard that some people may be able to feel a large, mature, oscars vent area and tell that way but ive heard its very hard to do and is a bit unrealiable.
i am often wrong though lol, so maybe someone else can help you out.
oh and oscars are a bit skittish when first bought, mine all were but they have all settled in well.... ,my biggest often jumps out at feeding time and bites :ezpi_wink1:

[Fishguy2727]

They are very hard to sex, even when fully mature.

Lights should be on 12-14 hours per day.

They need places to feel secure (clay pots, PVC pipe T-connectors, rock caves, etc.). They are also in a new home that they need time to adjust to. Nature makes it so that little animals are scared easily (they are food for everything). So they should just need time.

[Ocellatus]

sometimes the male breeding tube is visible when he is mature. specially if he has a female mate or some other oscars in his tank or other viewable tanks, the tube can be seen almost all the time.
its not big, if you look carefully its sloping and pointed backward.
female tube usually can't be seen till some hours before spawning. its thicker and bigger than male and its not pointed.

altogether its not easy to determine they sex before breeding.
some pics for more help! :11:
red one is male and yellow is female.