Blood parrot won’t leave Oscar alone

HI all! So if you saw my last post you know I won’t be on much for a while however I will still come on if I need help! This is a long post so if you want the simple version go to the bottom. So my 130 gallon aquarium is fairly heavily stocked, the fish get along pretty well and water parameters are perfect. HI his issue however is addressing my blood parrot cichlid Captain. He is 7.5 inches long and wants to be the boss of the tank. As with most blood parrots he has a deformed youth which means he can’t really defend himself to much against other aggressive fish. I have two Oscars in this tank that I watch for aggression spikes, both Oscars are peaceful and don’t attack captain however captain likes to be the boss and likes to think he has to flare and ram the Oscars to get this point across. Captain is the oldest fish in the tank be just over two years old, one of the Oscars is almost two, and one of them just passed a year. The one that just passed a year is actually the biggest but he is super kind and kind of just takes captains bulling however the other Oscar has recently had enough of it. He still doesn’t actively attack captain but he isn’t just taking it either, he is starting to bite back and Captain is getting fairly beat up because of this. His mouth and head area is shredded and he has lost some scales. Nothing is getting infected but I am worried it will if it stays like this. The Oscars have actually been showing breeding behavior which is why I believe delta is starting to fight back. Captain is just a bully who can defend himself, lol.

Simple version: My BP is getting beat up because he won’t leave my Oscar alone. The Oscar is not the aggressor, he is just defending himself.

They are all well fed and I have rescapes the tank multiple times.

EDIT: here is a photo:

 

It’s funny how Oscar get this rep for being bullies when really if it doesn’t fit in their mouth they generally leave it alone.
As to captain and his behaviour not sure what you can do I have 2 bloods and 2 oscars and the bloods are definitely more aggressive but my oscars don’t bite them back too hard even when they have breed they are pretty chill maybe it’s having a bit of extra space. If there is no infection maybe see if he learns his lesson if not maybe separate in a quarantine tank for a few weeks then reintroduce him. Not sure what else you can do some Cichlids just have to cause trouble.

 

It’s funny how Oscar get this rep for being bullies when really if it doesn’t fit in their mouth they generally leave it alone.
As to captain and his behaviour not sure what you can do I have 2 bloods and 2 oscars and the bloods are definitely more aggressive but my oscars don’t bite them back too hard even when they have breed they are pretty chill maybe it’s having a bit of extra space. If there is no infection maybe see if he learns his lesson if not maybe separate in a quarantine tank for a few weeks then reintroduce him. Not sure what else you can do some Cichlids just have to cause trouble.

Thank you! I have considered getting him his own tank but the only tank I would reasonably be able to maybe squeeze in is a 40 gallon breeder and I would have to get rid of other fish for it. I also don’t think Captain would super love the idea of being downgraded, lol

 

While I’m sure you are attached to him, there is still the option of giving him away to a good home if he won’t knock it off (which I hope he does). Some fish are just stubborn though, and re-homing him is better than letting him essentially kill himself

 

While I’m sure you are attached to him, there is still the option of giving him away to a good home if he won’t knock it off (which I hope he does). Some fish are just stubborn though, and re-homing him is better than letting him essentially kill himself

If it ever came to that I would either give him a 40 or my 55. I don’t think I would ever sell him unless there was no other option. If I could have one fish from my fishroom it would be Captain.

 

I totally understand, at least you have some options. Keep us updated

 

I totally understand, at least you have some options. Keep us updated

Will do!