small oscar

[skanky]

Hi I have an oscar that doesnt seem to be growing, I was wondering if it is possible for it to be a dwarf oscar. Is there such a fish??? I got him about 8 months ago and it hasnt grown at all.. He is approx 7cm.

[Rue]

Baby Oscars grow about 1" a month...

...is there such as thing as a dwarf Oscar...no...

...is it possible you have a very small fish? Yes, but highly unlikely...

The most probable reason is a too-small tank and poor water and/or food...

[crackatinny]

My Oscar of about the same age is 9inches, he grew to 8inch in a 2 ft tank, then was rehoused in a 120G.

[cocoa_pleco]

what size tank is he in? if hes in a tank under 33G, chances are he has stunted growth

[2manyfish]

Let's see, 7 cm = approx. 2.75 inches. The fish should have shown some growth that's for sure!! Like Rue said, no such thing as a dwarf oscar....stunted much more likely although I have never heard of one being so small!

What size tank? Tankmates?
What are the water parameters (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate)?
How often do you do water changes, and how much is changed out?
What do you feed him? How much, how often?

[gm72]

Have to agree with all of the above that something is wrong. The oscar is not getting what he needs to be healthy. Now, this may be a very dumb question, but are you sure he's an oscar? Not trying to insult you, but thought I would start with the painfully obvious question.

[skanky]

Hi to all that replied. yes it is an oscar. It is in a 6ft tank with two other oscars that where purchased at the same time. The other two have grown normally. I feed blood worms once a day. Water changes weekly. Thanks

[TracyUK]

I also have three oscars in a 6ft tank, but what height and depth is your tank? Mine is 155UK gallons. I have one which is growing slightly slower than the others but he has still gone from about 2in to about 5in in three months. The others are about 6-7in.

[cocoa_pleco]

155 UK gallons is about 185 US gallons

[2manyfish]

That's weird about the one being so small compared to the other two. It could be that the fish is just a runt and will never grow well. I would suggest that you change what you're feeding your oscars though. Pellets like Hikari Cichlid Gold and Cichlid Staple should make up the main portion of food with things like bloodworms, earthworms, crickets, shrimp, etc..as treats fed a couple of times per week.

Do the other oscars keep the runt from getting his fair share of food?