HELP! Juvenile Oscar spends his time hiding/sitting on bottom of tank.

[Mitchell Wittern]

I have had this little guy for more than a week now and all he does is hide. He will come out when he notices food and will eat hardaly, but will they just return to either hiding, sitting on the bottom, sitting on a plant, or wedging himself in something to just sit still. I have not seen him swim around the tank once. I have checked the water parameters and they are fantastic. I have feed him a staple food of Hikari Cichlid Gold with a snack of peas, mealworms, and blood worms. He is alone in a 20-gallon quarantine tank. He will be moving to a 100 gallon after a month of quarantine. WHY IS HE JUST HIDING AND SITTING ON THE BOTTOM? Is this oscar just shy? Is he scared? Am I doing something wrong?

 

[itiwhetu]

Have you got a substrate base in the QT tank, some plants, rocks, and drift wood. What is the pH of the water. He looks scared to me.

 

[Colin_T]

picture of the tank?

 

[Palemon]

He looks scared to me too. Try to put some throwaway plants and/or stuff you can sterilise afterward if needed, if that's not enough cover 1-3 faces of the tank with a dark fabric/plastic.

 

[Mitchell Wittern]

Have you got a substrate base in the QT tank, some plants, rocks, and drift wood. What is the pH of the water. He looks scared to me.

Yeah, I have made places for him to hide. The PH is at 7.2

 

[Mitchell Wittern]

He looks scared to me too. Try to put some throwaway plants and/or stuff you can sterilise afterward if needed, if that's not enough cover 1-3 faces of the tank with a dark fabric/plast

Scare uh? maybe I will try that! Thanks

 

[Mitchell Wittern]

picture of the tank?

I will get one.