Oscars and a Heater...?

Question

I live in Queensland and have just purchased some Oscars. I do not have a heater as yet as the temperature here gets up into the 30's. Today was 29C. Do you think that I should purchase a heater for them? Also their tank water was aged and at the appropriate pH but they are still just sitting around....i thought that as it is day 2, they should be swimming aroung by now????
Any answers will be greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

We always had a heater on our fresh water tank, but as warm as the temperature is there, I think you should be ok w/o for awhile. Purchase a heater and ask the experts down out the fish store to be certain. Once we raised our guy up real big, he would mooch for fruit loops. A lot of personality for a fish.

Answer 2

That is a good temp for the oscars, however, do you know what the temp falls to at night? You may want to think of this. If it is more than 3 degrees a heater might be needed. How big is the tank and what kind of filter do you have? Did you acclimate them properly when you bought them (ie. allow the temperature in the bag and tank to be the same, slowly add some water from the tank to the bag, etc.)? Fish often take up to a week to begin acting normally so this shouldn't be much to worry about. If you're still worried, test for ammonia. Although the tank is aged, it may not have been aged with as much ammonia as Oscars produce and may not have enough beneficial bacteria to keep up with what is being produced. Keep checking your Oscars for signs of illness. Maybe some stress coat will help.

Answer 3

As long as the temp stay that temp and does not fluctuate too much then you won't need a heater. They need a constant temp though, so even if you buy a heater that is a little bit too small it will help them just by keeping the temp from changing a whole bunch.

They should be getting more active by now. What size tank are they in? Did you cycle it before adding the oscars? If so how did you cycle it? and what are the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate readings now? This is all very important information, I need it in order to see what is wrong with the fish.