Don't understand my oscar

[desertsss]

My fish has been through a lot with the last summer heat wave and all. Had to keep dumping cold water in her tank so she wouldn't cook. Had to dump cold water over myself for the same reason. The torts didn't mind the heat thgouh. wierd.
Anyways, twice now, my Oscar has jumped out of her tank. Once in August I think, and once about a month ago. She just jumps so hard she knocks the glass off and flops out of the tank, we have tried reinforcements, and so far they have worked. She is a tough girl, no idea how long she was out of the water before we found her. Both times were in the middle of the night.
One of my dad's friends had an Oscar about a foot long and he did the same thing. Are they naturally just a depressed breed of fish, do they get bored by themselves, or is there something else that I could be doing wrong. She constantly jumps up at the glass like she wants attention. She actually stares at my husband and I while watching tv, kinda creepy. I don't want to get her a tank mate because she already killed her boyfriend. They were the same size and all but she laid eggs and we didn't recognize in time. I have tried to give her a ball to play with, all her other things she has eaten. She is a big enough girl to draw blood...to give you guys an idea. I actually have a small scar on my pinky from her jumping out of the water and biting me. I would say, she's a good 8 or 9 inches. A lot of fish with sharp little teeth.
Just wondering if anyone has any secrets for Oscar treats, or toys or anything to make her happy. She is so big now, that she could actually take off one of my cats paws. She is like a pirahna.
Joking, but kinda serious. Any opinions?

 

[Yvonne G]

My Oscar used to do that too. I guess its just something they do. Think of it as exuberance! She's just so happy that she jumps for joy. Whales do it too, however their "tank" is large enough that they fall back into the water. Put a brick on the glass. See if that doesn't keep her in there.

 

[egyptiandan]

My Oscar used to do that all the time. She'd only do it at night, so it woke me up and I got her back in the tank fairly quick. The only time she did it during the day it killed her
They jump either because something has scared them (they are prey in the Amazon no matter how big they are) or they are jumping because they see something that might be edible and are trying to catch it.
The only thing you can do is keep the cover secure.

Danny

 

[dmmj]

My sucker fish (I don't know the correct name) The long ones that clean the tank used to jump out all the time until I got a cover for the tank, I can't tell you how many dead sucker fish I found dead on the floor, weird if you ask me.

 

[Traveller]

Ah yes the puppy dogs of the fish world.
We had a few over the years and they do like to interact.
As far as jumping out of the tank keep a secure lid on and we even had to place
plexiglass between the lid and the tank to keep the lights from being smashed .

Another reason for jumping fish as well as what has been already mentioned
is poor water quality.
Ammonia is deadly and burns tender gill tissue.

As far as giving Oscars something to do, I've heard of people giving them pingpong
balls to play with. I've never done this but maybe someone else will chime
in with other ideas.

 

[Yvonne G]

My sucker fish (I don't know the correct name) The long ones that clean the tank used to jump out all the time until I got a cover for the tank, I can't tell you how many dead sucker fish I found dead on the floor, weird if you ask me.

Plecostomus?

 

[dmmj]

My sucker fish (I don't know the correct name) The long ones that clean the tank used to jump out all the time until I got a cover for the tank, I can't tell you how many dead sucker fish I found dead on the floor, weird if you ask me.

Plecostomus?

I did a google image search for Plecostomus and sure enough it looked just like mine. Those guys loved to jump out of their tank till I got a lid for it, I did have one live to be like 10 years old, I am so looking into getting as fish tank again.

 

[Tom]

A lot of fish will do this. Oscars, most other cichlids, arowanas, goldfish, even salt water fish. How big is your tank? I've seen a reduction in this behavior with larger tanks.

 

[desertsss]

I have a 55 gallon.

 

[Tom]

I think that's too small of a tank for such a big fish. I'd move her to a 100 or 135.

Here's a couple of general fish tips.

The size of the tank has nothing to do with how big a fish is genetically programed to get, so the whole "grow to the size of the tank thing" is a total myth.

The old inch of fish per gallon guideline is no good either. Its all about mass and oxygen consumption. A ten inch Oscar does not produce the same amount of waste that ten one inch neon tetras do. It also uses up a heck-of-a-lot more oxygen too. If you were to weigh the ten inch oscar and the ten one inch neons you'd see a huge difference.