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September 15th, 2009
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| | Fish Keeper
| bullies
I have 4 oscars in my 75 gallon tank. I got them all at the same time/size about 4 months ago. There are 2 fire and 2 albino. All this time the 2 different kinds hang with each other, the albino's hang together and the fire's hang together. Until 3 days ago all was well in the tank but all of a sudden the 2 fire's started beating the out of the 2 albino's and I have no idea why. I know they are far too young to breed yet, only about 6-7 inches long, but I was wondering if they pair up this early. Could that be the cause of the sudden aggression? I am going to have to seperate them at least for a while to stop the beating and allow the albinos to heal because they are really beaten up with skin hanging and gouging on their sides. So is it possible I have a pair forming or is this just flat out bullying? Is there anything I can do other than seperate them? Any other reasons why the fires would just suddenly start whooping on the others? | 
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September 15th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| you are lucky its just started....they can breed at a range of 12-18 months and go full breeding mode prior to being able...2 oscars in a 75 gal is way too much...been there did that and its not fun for them  so you probably want to think of upgrading very soon befoer someone ends up dead ...if you keep all 4, 200 gals or more are going to needed.....good luck and share some pics sometime...love those big boys! | |
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September 15th, 2009
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| | Fish Keeper
| so they ARE pairing up  Or just being territorial?(i can't spell!) I am planning to upgrade and got all 4 because I do want a pair but wanted to make sure they were pairing before I get them seperate tanks. Could i really have gotten lucky enough to have a pair this early?? | |
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September 15th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| Quote:
Originally Posted by critter_fritter79  so they ARE pairing up Or just being territorial?(i can't spell!) I am planning to upgrade and got all 4 because I do want a pair but wanted to make sure they were pairing before I get them seperate tanks. Could i really have gotten lucky enough to have a pair this early?? | could be both ...2 males will pair and fight the others just as 2 fems will..as will m/f combo... either way, they have formed a bond 2 on 2 and you have to move the others out before something happens even if they arent a breeding pair, oscars will form bonds that last a lifetime and wont tolertate much more of their own in that small of a tank once they do pair ..... | |
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September 15th, 2009
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| | Fish Keeper
| my camera stinks but here are a few pics...as you can see, the dark pair are almost always side by side. There is a big difference in the size of the dark and the albino even though they were the same size when I bought them both. I did call and talk to a few people today and mainly they all said that if they are fighting all the others but not each other then I probably have a pair. I managed to catch one of the darks on camera going after one of the albinos. I hope I do have a pair!!! The albino set are going to a new home tomorrow where they will have a tank to themselves...i bet they will be much happier!! | |
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September 15th, 2009
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| | Fish Keeper
| here is one more...wow they look a lot bigger than 5-6 inches in these photos! | |
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September 16th, 2009
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| | Moderator
| Wow! Beautiful Oscars! Great information above.
Love is in the air! lol (or water in this case )
Best of luck!
Ken | |
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September 16th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| Oscars will spare and lip lock their entire lives  its just how they act ....Im so glad you decided to rehome 2 of them...that is such a great idea and it will definitely make it a little bit easier for you and them  They are truly beautiful and thanks for sharing ! | |
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September 16th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| Gorgeous Oscars! Look just like mine. | |
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September 16th, 2009
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| | Moderator
| Beautiful oscars! Good for you for rehoming two. That's a great thing to do for the well-being of your fish. | |
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September 16th, 2009
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| | Fish Keeper
| Thanks! I always thought they were beautiful but then again, mothers always think their kids are beautiful! As far as the sparring and lip locking, I could handle it when they were doing that cause they weren't really doing any harm, but this last episode the dark pair were really hurting the albinos. The were doing a lot damage to their sides and bellys. I am sure they are happier now that they are seperated, but I have to admit I am really going to miss the albino pair.  They would actually jump out of the water and eat from between my fingers! Hmmmmm, then again they did miss and bite me a few times...lol. | |
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September 16th, 2009
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| | Fish Keeper
| wow i just read on the oscar profile on here that they reach sexual maturity at about 4 inches...they are bigger than that, closer to 6 inches. Cool! | |
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September 16th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| sexual maturity doesnt mean they will breed...they start breeding anywhere from 12-18 months old | |
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September 16th, 2009
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| | Fish Keeper
| yeah i get the part about not breeding yet... I just kept telling myself since they dont actually breed until 12-18 months not to get my hopes up that I have a pair..lol Kinda sweet that they pair up and get to know each other fora while..  I can only hope it is a m/f pair and not m/m or f/f...guess time will tell! | |
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September 16th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| Quote:
Originally Posted by critter_fritter79 yeah i get the part about not breeding yet... I just kept telling myself since they dont actually breed until 12-18 months not to get my hopes up that I have a pair..lol Kinda sweet that they pair up and get to know each other fora while.. I can only hope it is a m/f pair and not m/m or f/f...guess time will tell! | they get along and they form an amazing bond...as they grow, their personalities and colors will change all the time...ill bet ya in no time at all, they will be eating out of your hand as the albinos were.....they are truely great fish...I had mine for 8 years...the last year I had them, they started spawning...it was truely something ill never forget...I had to give them to a better home (it broke my soul totally) as I couldnt ever upgrade their tank because of lack of house space....it was so so very hard to make that decision..so i respect you and applaud you for doing the best for your fish no matter what your feelings are...
heres a cool pic of mine so you can see just how amazing they are right before I gave them away ..I dont want to take away from your pics, as yours are awesome, but just think of what you might be able to enjoy because you were concerned enough to make the 2 happy and the other 2 able to continue with life as well... DSC07651.JPG | |
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September 16th, 2009
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| | Fish Keeper
| wow shawnie...they ARE beautiful! I am hoping to be able to sucessfully breed them some day...they already have a 150 gallon tank on lay-a-way! I can't wait til I find out if it is a true m/f pair!! Thanks for the advice also... I can guarantee the amount I still have to learn about my fish (all of them) is much more than I already know!! | |
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September 17th, 2009
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| | Fish Keeper
| Uh oh...more oscar trouble. My friend decided she didn't want them after all...great news for me. Well I did some juggling and got them into my breeder tank that has been set up and cycled for 6 weeks now, just didn't have anything in it yet. I was looking for a good proven angelfish pair but lucky for the albinos I hadn't bought one yet. The tank is too small for them to be happy permanently, but I have found a good store about an hour away that is willing to adopt them out to the right new parents. Now here is the big problem. I don't want to move them to the store for adoption until they are healthy again, cause I always worry about HEALTHY fish gettig diseases from store water . When I got them out of the other tank they had been beaten up..one of them much worse than the other. Yesterday and today I treated their tank with melafix but I think the worse one is just getting worse. When I moved it there were raw patches of skin, torn fins and missing scales. Now his entire side is really slimy/fuzzy looking. I admit i have never seen a large "scab" on a fish so I don't know if this is normal healing process or if I need to add something different for wound treatment. One side is better than the other and I tried my best to get good pics of both sides. HELP!!!
Last edited by critter_fritter79; September 17th, 2009 at 09:56 PM.
Reason: extra info | |
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September 18th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| when fish fight, medicine is not always the answer...he isnt going to do well with the melafix and needs a clean tank , and no fighting for 2 weeks...so if it were me, if the pet store is that good, id take them there where they have proper tank sizes and can seperate them....they know about fish fighting and such and have better size tanks to handle them....prestine water changes every day, stress coat, vita chem, and some fresh garilic juice (2 drops every other day) a cycled tank, and being apart will heal him up..also, remove ANY hard decorations that they can hurt themselves on ...oscars and decorations that arent soft, will result in more injuries... | |
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