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i just purchased two albino oscars. i have a 20 gallon long aquarium. they are the only fish in the tank. i put the fish in the tank and they went to the bottom and just kinda laid there. so i turned the light off, and they got up and moved like nothing was wrong. i checked my water and my ph is about 7.8. what do you think is wrong and do you have any advice??

That might be normal... But you are grossly overstocked!!! A full grown oscar can be a foot in length. You need a minimum of a 75 gallon tank to keep those 2, better yet a 125 gallon tank. Bring them back immediatly!

-Vincent

Hi there,
if the tank is newly setup, it is probably cycling
and the fish are being affected by high ammonia levels.
20 g is not suitable for oscars except for a juvenile
grow out for a little while.
Oscars can grow to 16 inches and need at least 90g for
a pair, imo.


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i dont think the tank is still cycling. i have had it set up for about 2 weeks. i have had everything checked and everything was alright.the first week the ph went up, but then went back down and was is staying steady now.andim getting a bigger aquarium for christmas,i thought this would be something to get them started in.

When i first bought my oscars they went striaght to the bottom as well and after a day or two they were up moving around all the time. The oscars will be ok in the 20 gallon until x-mas, although it still depends on how big your going with the tank for x-mas.

Medium,
Cycling usually takes about 21-60 days,
and only starts when you put fish in the tank.
You should buy a master test kit, or at least tests
for Ammonia, NitrItes, and NitrAtes.
You need to test these nearly daily during a cycle,
to avoid killing your fish.
If you put the fish in the tank uncycled (sittin for
two weeks with nothing in it is not cycled),
then likely these fish, which produce a huge amount
of waste for their size, are just sitting in a big
pool of ammonia.

I would suggest daily water changes of 15%-20%, do not
suck the gravel.
Get test kits (not the strips they dont work), and
then please post back results here on Ammonia,
NitrItes, and NitrAtes.

Here is a link on the Nitrogen Cycle, so you can
get acquainted with it.

http://fins.actwin.com/mirror/begin-cycling.html

To Summarize for you, essentially the cycle is the
breakdown of fish waste (pee and poop), into first
Ammonia (lethal to fish in 2.0ppm or higher),
then into NitrItes (lethal to fish in 4.0ppm or higher),
due to the growth of nitrifying bacteria, then finally
into NitrAtes - the end product with is the least harmful.
It usually takes, unassisted, a minimum of 1 week to
14 days for the ammonia alone to peak.
If you want to cut cycling time drastically, You will
need a bottle of Biospira.
Oscars are hardy fish - but I do not know if they
will survive a cycle without daily water changes.
Id highly recommend getting a bottle of Biospira.

Yes, this is a good tank to start 2 oscars in, but they
will need at least 90G for a pair, and they grow fast.


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Hi,
Along with all the advice about the Nitrogen Cycle,
I might also add comments about that specific fish.

IF they are true albinos,(red eyes) then bright light
will affect their eyes possibly to the point of pain,
and in all probability, they were "shocked" in the
new tank.

You might consider reducing the watts per gallon by
removing one of the bulbs and running the tank at 1/2
light for a while. Or, add something that can shade the
light, large plants, a species of floating plant, or
some hard scape that provides caves or nooks that they
can hide under or in to get out of the light.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

i only have have one great big long light..i put a two story slate in there for them to hide under...but now, they are swimming around and always wanting something to eat...but i only feed them once a day...about 5 pellets each..i am using cichlid gold..in the mini pellet version...is this enough?...last night i feed them and they burped at the end lol

Hi,
You know I don't think I've ever met an Oscar that was not
hungry. I think, they think, they are always starving to
death!

I used to feed mine pellets, live crickets, grasshoppers,
moths, worms, you can practically name it and they would
eat it. When we moved from TN to FL, they had grown big
enuff to pan fry and it took a while to find someone with
a big enough tank to take the pair before we left.

Just remember that a fish's stomach is about the size of
their eye.

Frank



-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

where did u hear a fishes stomach is the size of their eye?? so, how do they eat minnows that are bigger than their eye. and catfish eat shad and what not?? srry that is pretty unbelievable tho

I've heard a human's stomach is the size of their fist. Have you seen how much some people put into their stomach's?

Its true, in size relation to their body,
a fishes stomach is indeed about the size of
their eye.
One key about stomachs to remember - they stretch.


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Oscars eat a lot and are very messy eaters as well. I bought mine not quite 7 months ago...at the time it was less than 2", today he's between 8-9".

~~~~~~~~~~~~
There is water at the bottom of the ocean