oscar attempted suicide?

Question
My oscar, Tigger, is about six months old, and currently in a 35 gal. tank.  (I am going to upgrade to a 55 gal when he gets a bit bigger.)  This morning, I came in to the living room where his tank is, turned on the room light, and sat down to eat my breakfast.  As I did so, I heard a strange gurgle/splashing sound from the tank.  Upon close inspection, I could see nothing wrong, so I figured that my filter was the culprit.  

Moments later, I heard the same noise, but saw Tigger rush to the top of the tank, leaping out right at the space between the filter and the heater!  (I had to cut the tank hood to acomodate an extra-large filter.)  The poor fish just laid on the ground quietly, not even flopping as I carefully picked him up with a net and put him back in the tank.

Now he's just sitting at the bottom, which usually means he's asleep, but now I am not sure.  I just did a 40% water change yesterday, but that is normal.  

Am I doing something wrong, or is he just tired of life?  He is the only fish in his tank, but seems to enjoy watching myself and my husband hang out in the room, as well as the cats and dog.

Answer
Hi Lauren,
  He isn't trying to kill himself and he isn't tired of life -- he just doesn't know that there isn't water on the outside of the tank.  Many fish jump alot in the wild but when they do so, they expect that they will land in water.  It is an unfortunate surprise to them to land out of water.   This is why it is so important to cover the top of the tank.  If you can, get a little piece of plastic/wood/glass to cover the gap.  

 He will likely be a little out-of-sorts for a few days but should recover just fine.  Unfortunately the fact that it ended badly does not mean that he won't try it again.  

-- Ron
  rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
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