New Oscar Is Shy

[gizmo001i]

Hi,
I managed to get a love;ly Tiger Oscar who is about 3" long yesterday. Obviously he is shocked and stressed at the move and is spending his whole time at the bottom near a big piece of wood. he laso isn't eating yet. I was just wondering how long on avaerage it is before most Oscars become comfortable enough with their surroundings to start eating and exploring. Any help will be very appreciated.
Many thanks
Ian

[Crispy]

A few days should be a good time, but depending on his tankmates it could be a week. Is he eating? What size is the tank? What else is in the tank? Params? We need all the specs to give you a definite answer.

[gizmo001i]

Hi Crispy,
He is in a 55 gallon tank, on his own. Nitrites are 0 and nitrates are less than 10. The water temp is 80. There are 3 pieces of bogwood (one very largish) and 2 pieces of rock. I also only have one T8 tube running as he didn't seem to like the brightness of both T8's running. At the moment, he hasn't eaten anything. It has been about 18 hours since I got him, so I do know that it is early days yet. I just want to know roughly how long I can expect to wait, before he opens up abit lol.

[Crispy]

That's still a very new fish in the tank. If your tank is properly cycled, then he should be out and about after a couple days. New fish always have a tendency to hide out for awhile. Be patient and be careful not to overfeed... especially with one fish, any uneaten food at the moment will foul the tank quickly. Give us an update after 48 hours.

[gizmo001i]

Will do. I only ask as I am used to having a community tank where any new fish tends to be able to loose itself amongst the older fish and therefore dosn't tend to be so shy. Thanks for the advice.
Ian

[gizmo001i]

Just to let you know, Spike (as my wife has called him. Has eaten his first meal of Mysis. So that is a weight off my mind.

[jarjarbinks42981]

Ok this may help you. I have 6 tiger oscars in a 220g tank. When I first got oscars I had 2 tigers given to me with a 10g tank. The oscars were very shy and timid but, they became friendly and started eating after a week.
I knew the 10g was way too small for them so, I moved them into a 75g tank. They refused to eat for 3 days after I moved them. After 2 weeks of the oscars being in the 75g the same friend that gave me the oscars gave me a 180g tank. I moved them into that bigger tank and they again refused to eat for 2-3 days.

Just yesterday my friend gave me 4 more tiger oscars and I put them in the 180g tank. All 6 of the oscars are refusing to eat now. I figure in 2-3 days they will all be eating again.

I also found out yesterday from my friend that he bought all 6 of the oscars on the internet and they were shipped "same day airmail" a couple of months ago. I think they are still a little shaken up from being shipped that way cause when you walk up to the tank they hide and then slowly come out of hiding to see who's in front of the tank.

I hope this helps.

[Koogle]

I too just got 2 oscars a few days ago. One red tiger and one albino. They are small Oscars and seem to be getting along, but not eating much at all and hanging out without much swimming or exploring. Everyone I read about or talk to says this is normal. He says they will pick up and be real active and eat well. Good luck with yours and I will keep you posted on mine.

[Northernguy]

Oscars are known to sulk! They are very good at it!lol
Just give them time and be sure to keep up on your water changes.

[kaimarkhirst]

I keep 2 fire oscars, one of them a "king" breed, and they are moody. They will stay out of sight and as "little as possible" within the tank confines.

If they are happy, give them 1 day and theykll be al over the place. I moved mine from my 75g to my 150g and they were a bit offish for the first few hours, but as soon as they realised that they are in a palace, they were all over the place!!!

Happiest ive seen thenm in a while!!! (Apart from when I dropped baby guppies for them to play with )