My Oscar

Question
I have had my Oscar for about 3 years and lately it is looking a little sad.  It will just sit in one spot and not move.  He is in a 75 gallon tank and he is about 10 inches long and is about 2 1/2 inches thick.  Is it normal for my Oscar to do this?  How do I know if my fish is male or female?  I tried to give my Oscar a mate but my Oscar ate them all.

Answer
Hi Laura,
The best first thing you can do is check his water quality and take note of the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate level. Oscars are big polluting fish as you know and water quality problems are always to be expected.

These levels should be as follows-

ammonia-0 nitrite-0 nitrate- under 20

Its best if you do lots of observing. Monitor his entire body for any spots, unusual marks, swellings, ect. Watch his poo also. Make sure it looks normal and not whitish or anything odd. Which might signal infections or internal parasites.

Cichlids are known for having odd 'mood swings' occasionally and behaving strangely at times and usually it means nothing. Also another thing to keep in mind is if you have changed anything at all in or around the aquarium sometimes oscars will 'pout' until they get use to the change--whatever it may be.

A 30-50% water change is always good regardless just as a precaution.

Its difficult to tell male and females apart. Really the only way to know for sure is when they spawn. Oh and unfortunately, since your oscar has been by himself for a long time, it will be difficult as you have found out to put any tankmates with him. Unless you find another oscar that is very close to the same size that he is and there is never that guarantee that territorial fights won't break out.

Best of luck with him and I hope this helps!

Here is an awesome site about oscars-
http://www.oscarfishlover.com/

Karen~