# Oscars moving substrate



## SirOneEighty (Nov 20, 2004)

I have always read that Oscars like to dig and move substrate around, but I have never witnessed this. I am planning on moving the two Red O's out of my ten gallon grow-out tank into my 55 soon. I will not be keeping both, hopefully one will be happy for a long while, or until I can get a 125. Anyway, I currently have large river gravel in the bottom, but am thinking about removing it and putting smaller black gravel in the bottom.

Back to the point. Will my Red actually move the substrate around?


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## freakgasolinefightaccident (Jan 3, 2005)

i've always kept my oscar in a tank with a substrate bottom and i've never actually seen him move it. I read that they were prone to burrow in it as well but once again have never seen it. I'd say the bottom you have is fine.


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## Fido (May 21, 2003)

I watch my Red Devil do that. He does it all day long, putting sand in his mouth and spitting it out into a big pile. Eventually he reaches the floor of the tank, then starts over to cover the floor again lol. Cichlids do it all the time i hear.


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## freakgasolinefightaccident (Jan 3, 2005)

i've watched my red devil do that too but i've never seen my oscar do it.


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## SirOneEighty (Nov 20, 2004)

What about Green Terrors?


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## Innes (Jan 13, 2003)

my severums move everything they can, and the other things like rocks get moved about by either my fire eel by digging under them, or my crayfish who likes to dig to the bottom of the tank lol


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## User (May 31, 2004)

My male convict pushes a small clay pot around the tank sometimes, when gravel was in the tank he moved it around alot. My Jack dempsey plays with gravel alot, although my Oscar doesn't.


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## piranhasrule (May 31, 2004)

my oscar is always moving the driftwood, pulling the airstone off the airline and chews on plastic plants, but he only ever digs in the gravel after a waterchange, he moves all the substrate away from 1 specific spot everytime and then leaves it, i havnt a clue what thats about


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## freakgasolinefightaccident (Jan 3, 2005)

SirOneEighty said:


> What about Green Terrors?
> [snapback]874890[/snapback]​


 never seen my gt dig either


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## Gordeez (Sep 21, 2003)

Almost ALL cichlids dig.
At least all the cichlids I ever owned Dug.
Hell, Even my Oscars would Dig. They got a big mouth, they used to move alot of Gravel at a time.


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## janus (Oct 28, 2004)

Mine never did it.


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## beans (Dec 7, 2004)

yea they do it mine do the de root my plants and is always making it so u can see a big like ditch in the gravel but thats just mine


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