Oscars fighting when the light is turned on

HI fish lovers

I have a 120 gallon tank with 3 Oscars ( Albino, Tiger, Copper). The albino Oscar is little less than a foot while the other two are about 12 inches long. The copper and albino don't gel well and sometimes they pick on each other. The tiger Oscar is pretty decent and takes side with the copper Oscar when it fights with the albino Oscar. It usually tries to protect the copper Oscar from getting hurt by showing aggression to the albino Oscar. But it never does any harm to either of them.

I did a partial (40%) water change today and noticed later in the day, that both the albino and the tiger Oscars were chasing the copper Oscar. The copper Oscar got a few scars because of it and the chasing stopped only when I turned off the aquarium light. Things seem to be calm when the light is put off but the aggression reoccurs as soon as the light is turned on. Can anyone shed a light on it please.

Thanks

 

HI fish lovers

I have a 120 gallon tank with 3 Oscars ( Albino, Tiger, Copper). The albino Oscar is little less than a foot while the other two are about 12 inches long. The copper and albino don't gel well and sometimes they pick on each other. The tiger Oscar is pretty decent and takes side with the copper Oscar when it fights with the albino Oscar. It usually tries to protect the copper Oscar from getting hurt by showing aggression to the albino Oscar. But it never does any harm to either of them.

I did a partial (40%) water change today and noticed later in the day, that both the albino and the tiger Oscars were chasing the copper Oscar. The copper Oscar got a few scars because of it and the chasing stopped only when I turned off the aquarium light. Things seem to be calm when the light is put off but the aggression reoccurs as soon as the light is turned on. Can anyone shed a light on it please.

Thanks

Sounds like the tiger and copper may be breeding. I will elaborate more later, I have to go right now.

 

Sounds like the tiger and copper may be breeding. I will elaborate more later, I have to go right now.

Thanks. I will be waiting.

 

I had this issue with much smaller fish. The better the bully could see the more aggression it showed. I put mopanI wood in the tank and wirh the darker water things were much better. I eventually rehomed them bc of the amount of babies from the females. Again though this happened with mollies where one male was disguised as a female and when that stopped the aggression began. So that’s a different cause as well as a very different fish. Sorry if that’s totally unhelpful I’m new at this but just wanted to share what helped me. I rehomed them but not because of the aggression which had been terrible.

 

Thanks. I will be waiting.

Hi, sorry about that! I had to run into town for a minute. Anyway what seems to be happening here is that the tiger Oscar are copper Oscar are pairing off and preparing to mate. I do have a couple questions though:
1. Are either the tiger or copper Digging a nest in the gravel?
2. Are the tiger and copper fighting at all
3. Do they seem to be guarding one side of the tank?
4. Have you done any extra water changes lately or made any changes to the tank?
5. What are your water parameters?

If you could let me know on these that would help me determine if this is in fact them beginning to breed. There is also the chance the albino Oscar is just being bullied by the other two more dominant fish. When Oscars breed both parents become very territorial and will guard their eggs with their life, Sometimes fighting fish larger than them.

 

Hi, sorry about that! I had to run into town for a minute. Anyway what seems to be happening here is that the tiger Oscar are copper Oscar are pairing off and preparing to mate. I do have a couple questions though:
1. Are either the tiger or copper Digging a nest in the gravel?
2. Are the tiger and copper fighting at all
3. Do they seem to be guarding one side of the tank?
4. Have you done any extra water changes lately or made any changes to the tank?
5. What are your water parameters?

If you could let me know on these that would help me determine if this is in fact them beginning to breed. There is also the chance the albino Oscar is just being bullied by the other two more dominant fish. When Oscars breed both parents become very territorial and will guard their eggs with their life, Sometimes fighting fish larger than them.

You seem to know a lot about them. The questions are bang on target. Glad that I have found you.

1. Are either the tiger or copper Digging a nest in the gravel?
Yes, the copper oscar.
2. Are the tiger and copper fighting at all.?
I wouldn't call it a fight. But there's occasional aggression shown. A recent development though.
3. Do they seem to be guarding one side of the tank?
Yes, they are.
4. Have you done any extra water changes lately or made any changes to the tank?
I usually do 40% water change every 10 days. That's what I did today as well. No changes at all as far as the tank setup is concerned.
5. What are your water parameters?
I don't have a kit. But I think the water parameters are okay.

When I introduced these 3 fishes to the tank, the Albino was much smaller in size and was always a victim. I wanted to separate it but didn't have a spare tank. Now that I have built a tank, the albino will have it all to itself. Presently, the tank is being cycled. The initial 5,6 months was more of a battle between the albino and the copper. The copper always won. But that changed as they both grew old and I think, now the albino is more of a bully. The albino sometimes picks on the tiger too but it backs off as the tiger seems to be the strongest of the lot. But it never misses a chance to bully the copper and the tiger seems to be the bodyguard of the copper almost always. I was quite surprised to see the tiger attacking the copper for the very first time.

 

I had this issue with much smaller fish. The better the bully could see the more aggression it showed. I put mopanI wood in the tank and wirh the darker water things were much better. I eventually rehomed them bc of the amount of babies from the females. Again though this happened with mollies where one male was disguised as a female and when that stopped the aggression began. So that’s a different cause as well as a very different fish. Sorry if that’s totally unhelpful I’m new at this but just wanted to share what helped me. I rehomed them but not because of the aggression which had been terrible.

Thanks. Welcome to the hobby