Oscar acting weird

I have 2 oscars in a 125g, both about 9 inches long. the tiger oscar
has been acting strangly. hanging out by himself behind a rock wall i
made, rarely coming to the top for food. sometimes hangs out in the
plants vertically with his head faceing down. seems very lathargic.
he recently cut himself on a rock a week ago, but has been healing. I
see no signs of HITH or anything else. I did a water change, clean out
the tank, filters, added some salt, raised the temp. Any other
suggestions?

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I have 2 oscars in a 125g, both about 9 inches long. the tiger oscar
has been acting strangly. hanging out by himself behind a rock wall i
made, rarely coming to the top for food. sometimes hangs out in the
plants vertically with his head faceing down. seems very lathargic.
he recently cut himself on a rock a week ago, but has been healing. I
see no signs of HITH or anything else. I did a water change, clean out
the tank, filters, added some salt, raised the temp. Any other
suggestions?

It sounds like something has scared him. Has there been any changes in his
world at all recently? New stereo, or furniture in the room moved? Have you
had any guests in your home recently that could have tapped on the tank or
acted aggressively? Aquarium decorations changed or moved around? I think
something has given him a reason to feel insecure, or has scared him.

Watch for 3 things; instability in the water (unable to hold position,
drifting, etc.); fraying of the fins; and redness around the gills. If none
of this occurs, I think he will come out of it in less than a couple of
weeks. GL!

--Mark Stone
The ".Edu" meens i are smart.
Oscar lovers!! http://www.geocities.com/cichlidiot_2000/oscar.html

UPDATE:
i have noticed the 2 oscars mouth fighting. the albino is mainly
unscaved and my guess has been picking on the tiger previously. the
tiger is healing and is swimming around now. i have built 2 caves on
opposite sides of my 125g tank, so i dont think its too cramped for
them, plus they are less than a year old a piece. i also read about it
maybe some kind of mating ritual.

wrote in message
ups.com...
UPDATE:
i have noticed the 2 oscars mouth fighting. the albino is mainly
unscaved and my guess has been picking on the tiger previously. the
tiger is healing and is swimming around now. i have built 2 caves on
opposite sides of my 125g tank, so i dont think its too cramped for
them, plus they are less than a year old a piece. i also read about it
maybe some kind of mating ritual.

Yes, it might be. The thing to watch out for is dominance -- if, in the
times when they are lip-locking etc, one of the fish seems to be dominating
the other, then it is not mating play. If they seem about equal, then it
probably is. You know your Oscars -- when you vacuum the gravel or clean the
filter, the normal Oscar response is to hide and sulk. That's how they
respond to stress. If the "mouth fighting" is making one of them act like
that, then you may need to seperate them. Otherwise, I wouldn't be too
concerned. But, *do* keep an eye on things!

--Mark