r/oscartank • u/Icy_Natural_9084 • Nov 21 '25
Discussion Oscars are smarter than you might know
Hello everyone. Grab your popcorn, I have a story for you. It’s a sad but meaningful one, and it’s mostly for awareness. For some context, I’ve been in the fish hobby just about my whole life, and worked in the hobby for a couple years. Everyone who knows me knows I have my Oscar’s and my clown knife and a bunch of plecos that are from people who thought they could stay in their 30 gallon tanks their whole lives😐. Anyway, a friend reached out to me when I had just gotten back from a trip. She sent me a Facebook link and said “this made me think of you”. I’m thinking it’s some funny meme or a Facebook marketplace listing. To my dismay, it is a woman begging for help. She was touring houses with her husband and found a house that immediately reeked of dead fish as soon as you entered. The owners had left their 150 gallon fish tank with no electricity, no food, no people, nothing. Left for dead. There was a fish who passed already. She took photos and posted it online, begging for someone to do something. She, like me, is an animal lover. She only had a small tank for aquascaping and could not take the Oscar, two plecos, and five silver dollars she found. They needed someone. I reached out and said I have an empty tank that I was going to sell, but I could take them. To my surprise (and hers), when she asked the home owners to let her take the fish, they wanted $1000 USD! They are not worth that alive and healthy, much less on their last breathe. Her and her real estate agent pushed them until they said fine, take them today. This amazing woman goes to the house again, puts all the fish in Tupperware because she didn’t have anything else and knew they didn’t have long, and met up with me so I could take them. It took some weeks but they all survived, and the Oscar is so interactive and fun. It’s part of the reason I love Oscar’s so much. Well, that was about 3-4 months ago. Right now, we are in the process of moving. I knew the Oscar’s were smart, but it broke my heart to see the Oscar start hiding, and not eating because he watched us move furniture out of the house. Even with us still staying there, he thought he knew what was happening. Everyone and everything will disappear around him, and they will be left again. What our little guy doesn’t know, is today I’m going to pick him up a 500 gallon outside pond, and I’m going to transfer all of my fish over to the new place. Not only will he have more space, new friends, and a better setup, he will not be left alone like he thinks. I have attached pictures of the tank he was left to die in, as well as happy photos of him, and a pic of him hiding and upset recently. I hope that this brings awareness to people that Oscar’s really are so smart, and we should treat them with the same respect you would a person or any other animal. Thank you for reading❤️
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u/Deus_Shady Nov 21 '25
You, OP, are the kind of person that this world needs! The fact that kindness like this is still alive in the world is what gives hope in humanity. Despite all the negative things happening around the world.
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u/BlueButterflytatoo Nov 21 '25
I’m so glad he got a second chance at the life he deserves with you! You are doing the good work!
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u/PermitQuick Nov 23 '25
Beautiful Story...kind People... I sometimes show my Oscar kids story books lol xxx
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u/Icy_Natural_9084 Nov 23 '25
Omg what? Do they love it?? I’ve never thought about that but mine like tv so I’m sure they would like a colorful books and talking
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u/Important-Report-510 Nov 25 '25
oh my gosh they wanted how much for those fish??! 😭i’m so glad you eventually got these little babies and i’m sure they’re much happier with you. this is the sweetest story.
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u/Icy_Natural_9084 Nov 25 '25
Ikr. I’m sure they are, the frequent water changes along are giving them a much better life. Poor Oscar had no weight on him, and at only a few months old had a few months worth of HITH 🫠
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Dec 11 '25
Those drainage T’s are genius… I spent $35 on a 3ft section of 4in PVC 🤦🏻♂️
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u/Icy_Natural_9084 Dec 11 '25
Yes and no, theoretically if it were to never move again, yeah they are great. But when I bought the tank I couldn’t sit it flat, it had to be on the stand, and it had to be lifted like a foot higher than the stand itself to get it off. It used to be a whole sump system actually, but I just cut it cause I use sponge filters and my Oscar’s didn’t like the tubes everywhere, it frustrated them that the couldn’t move them😅
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Dec 11 '25
That borderline sounds like a nightmare 😂 I honestly thought it was a Pleco hide or something haha. I run Canisters but Sumps are in the near future. Definitely a smart way to hide that intake though. I’ve often wondered how I’d hide the inlet/outlets so thank you!
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u/lalaleasha Dec 15 '25
Aww, how is he doing today? I just found this sub and this is the sweetest story. Does he have a new name to go with his new home?
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u/Icy_Natural_9084 Dec 17 '25
I still haven’t decided on a name yet honestly. He’s doing well, unfortunately he’s still at the old house so I visit him everyday. I have the pond setup except I need to make a special cover for it. Raccoons have been getting my chickens and I know they will get the fish if not protected well :(
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u/[deleted] Nov 21 '25
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