Tehachapitom

Good Morning,
I'm new to this place and have some questions about Oscars. A friend just gave us two Oscars 7" 8". We have them in a 55 gal tank. No other fish with them. The larger fish seems to be picking on the smaller. The smaller one has marks on both sides that look like the big fish is biting. I've seen it open it's mouth and attack the smalll one, but it doesn't seem to bite. The small one can't get a chance to rest and looks like it needs it. What type of feeding schedule do you put these fish on. Right now we have Hikari Cichlid Staple. Do they eat live worms? We got these from a friend who got them from a friend, so we don't know their history. They were in a 25 gal tank and he seperated them because they were fighting. I tried to seperate them with a piece of glass in the middle of the tank, but this morning they were together again. Help!!!

Shawnie

Welcome to fishlore!!

please read about the nitrogen cycle which could be stressing them out...

http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm its alot to read but will save your fish for life


all of the fighting and actions you talk about are normal...almost like a kissing match...sometimes they even lock lips ...any decorations that they could cut themselves on should be removed....they are very much tank destroyers...going from a 25 gallon to a 55 is something they needed as well as they are probably staking territory...they will need bigger eventually 100 gallons at least...they eat just about anything and everything..mine get the hikari cichlid pellets, bloodworms , fresh raw shrimp, wax worms, meal worms & beef heart....they have tons of personality and are a hoot to raise....goodluck!

clinton1621

Yes they are definitely fighting, I had an oscar tank a few years back and unwisely bought several small ones without researching their size and agressiveness.... needless to say once they became "mature" the most dominant one harassed and bit the other ones until they died =(
You may not think they are really biting, but oscars, and almost all fish for that matter have very sharp and abrasive teeth even though they are small. You definitely need to seperate them or the smaller one is going to die, it will already most likely get a bacterial infection at the least from the injuries he has now.

As far as feeding, cichlids will eat almost anything you put in... bloodworms, pellets, cut earthworms(rinsed) and other various frozen foods or feeder fish

clinton1621

I only disagree with the "normal kissing match" part of this....if they are both males then this does not apply, especially if one is much larger it will KILL the smaller male for its territory

mathas

Shawnie pretty much hit the nail on the head with this one.

If you want to read a good article about feeding oscars, click here.

pepetj

Hi Tehachapitom, wellcome to fishlore.

I experienced exactly the same problem you are living now: I had two young 3.5 and 5 inches Oscars temporarely housed in a 29gal bow tank, that has the surface of a 20gal, they engaged in the same aggressive behavior yours are showing, it means only one thing: There's no room for more than one in such a small tank. Mines are now inseperable at their 145gal tank, so you can try pulling this one out.


I don't mean to patronize you in any way. A 55gal is the minimun size tank for a single Oscar. If you do not have other similar sized tanks, then this is what you can do in the short term. I don't know which Bio-filter you have, but to keep one Oscar (and you have two) you need at least 10 times GPH than 55gal, aim at 550GPH or more.

Dividing the tank:
I know it's Sunday, but if you have a hardware store available, get some plastic cover for fluorescent ceiling mounted lamps (the cheap, translucent, with irregular surface), a measure tape, and a blade cutter or mechanical scissors (those for use in garden might work), and some sand paper (to smooth the edges). Try dividing your tank in half with that material.

Filtration:
Now you need to do one of two options:
a) place as big as possible HOB filters on each side (e.g. one AquaClear 70 ) for 350GPH on each side of the tank
b) use only one filter (e.g. AquaClear 110) for 500GPH for the entire tank, but drill as many little holes as you can in the plastic divider.

Water changes and water parameters:
Oscars are really messy fish, they produce a bio-load that exceeds its length, the rule of one inch of adult fish size per gallon of water does not apply here. One Oscar needs at least 55gal. Two Oscars require, as minimun a 100+gal tank (six foot long). You need liquid reagent test kits for water parameters, don't trust test strips.

If your tank is cycled, check daily (I did twice a day or more) for water parameters, focus on ammonia and nitrites, you can disregard nitrates since you will be doing daily (or twice a day or more) partial water changes. Aim at close to 50% water changes, but not more (it's OK to do more than one 50% water change per day if you do it in long enough intervals, say every 6-8 hours).

If your tank is not cycled you need to add Tetra Safe-Start today. Remember to treat all incoming water (tap water, well water) with water conditioners for removal of chlorine/chloramines and heavy metals before you add the water in the tank (Prime, Stress-Coat, Aqua-Safe are some good brands). Now Prime has one advantage: it will keep your ammonia and nitrites levels locked for 24 hours, so your fish have a chance of not dying from a toxic spike.

Provide as much dissolved oxygen as possible. Add large airstones to each side of the tank, make your filter(s) work at full flow, keep the water height at least 1 inch from the output of the HOB(s) so the incoming water strikes the surface harder.

Substrate and decors:
At this point if you have sand you don't need to worry. If you have gravel be careful. Remove all ornaments with sharp edges, as well as small-medium size rocks they could smash to the glass. You could try keeping several bundles of floating plants (Anacharis, Hornwort) but let them do as they please with them. If possible, provide some large flat rocks. And Keep the lights off until they adapt to their new environment. Of course cover the rear wall with dark (navy-blue or black) material (from the outside) or just use the wallpaper you like (this makes them feel less exposed).

In the short term this should help. When is your next tank coming? Keep us posted!

For more info on Oscarfishkeeping, please visit this wonderful site (from UK, they use UKgals) www.oscarfishlovers.com they are very decent, dedicated people, almost as warm as in fishlore, but focused only on Oscars and Oscars Tankmates.

Pepe
Santo Domingo

Tehachapitom

Thanks everyone for your replys. I have another question. How often do these fish eat and how much? What we did was buy 20 small feeded fish and put them in the tank. That was at about 2pm. The next morning they were gone. The Oscar's were a lot calmer and the big guy was leaving the little one alone. We bought 20 more and put them in figuring they would be able to eat them when they got hungry again. In less than 2 hours they had eaten all 20 of them again. I believe that the reason they were so agressive is because they hadn't been fed for a while. Should I put in more feeders or wait a couple days?

Thanks

Amanda

I know some people on this forum have had problems with feeder fish, the feeders were sick and then passed that on to the larger fish. Just be careful where you buy the feeders from.

mathas

I strongly suggest reading the article linked to earlier in the thread, as it has entire sections on how much to feed and how often.

But I want to stress the point Amanda is making. Be careful with feeder fish, unless you breed them yourself.

Shawnie

feeders are a major cause of Hole in the Head Disease...I would stop feeding them feeders unless like others said, you raise them yourself.thats just my opinion ..HITH is painful and sometimes deadly...I would buy raw shrimp, blood worms, and deffinately wax worms as all those have enough protein and minerals to sustain them perfectly ....also, they need cichlid pellets to round off their diets...it also helps them keep nice coloring...I feed mine once in the am and once at nite...am they get pellets and night they get the fresh meat...goodluck!

Tehachapitom

Hi Mathas,
Do you know the title of the former post?