Albino Oscar Not Doing So Well....

9311dan

Hey,

I have a 46G Cichlid Tank with:

Tiger Oscar (3 1/2")
Albino Tiger Oscar (3")
Convict (3")
Jack Dempsey (2 1/2")
Blood Parrot (3")
Gold Gourami (2 1/2")
Green Terror (1 1/2")

For the most part, the last 3 months, all the fish have gotten along great. The only aggressive fish has been the Convict protecting his territory, but other than that all the fish have been great.

The last two days, however, the Tiger Oscar, Convict, and Jack Dempsey have started picking on the Albino Oscar. His fins were mildly torn and he has a few "bite" marks on his side. I put him in a small quarantine breeding tank within the 46G overnight to see if that would help. I fed the fish this morning and after he ate I let him go back into the tank. I went to the Camden Aquarium with my gf and when I got back about 6 hours later he was in the back of the tank kind of laying on his side.

I don't understand the sudden aggression towards one fish out of nowhere. Is there any explanation for this? Should I start cycling an empty 10G I have and put him in there alone?

I'm getting a 110G tank with 2 overflows, a sump, and everything else needed to set it up. That's the tank I want my Oscars to grow up in, just the 2 of them, but they need to get along!

HELP!

aunt kymmie

Yikes. Poor guy. How far off on the horizon is the 110?? I'm no cichlid expert but if you leave him in there it sounds like he won't make it for very long.

Not that I would know, but I wonder if the convict & JD were removed would the tiger still pick on the albino??

Lupin

You do not need to cycle the 10g. Place an established filter media in it in emergency cases like this and then put the oscar there. Consider reducing your number of fish. Your tank is severely overcrowded. I'd leave only either the convict or gourami for a 46g but you cannot have both and reconsider the overall stocking options. If I were you, I'd leave the gourami there and give away the convict. Their temperament leaves you a very slim selection of other fish to put in there and nowadays, convicts do not a great market value due to their high rate of reproduction. Sell or give away the rest unless you have more tanks to accommodate them. As for the 110g, I'd keep only one oscar. If you want tankmates for it, you may consider a bichir or two in it but be sure to maximize the filtration capacity to accommodate the bioload. If you don't like bichirs, most fancy plecos or catfish that grow no more than 8 inches will work.

Sucidemonkey

You your tank is way overcrowded . oscars need 75+ to even be remotley happy. as for the bite marks and stuff. My oscars Use to fight constantly with little flesh wounds on them and stuff. But they heal extremly fast. Just pour Anti-bacterial stuff to help the healing.

As for the sideways oscar. might be the stress between you moving him back and forth.

Oscars get along with each other very well In my own experience. They might chase each other or spar by ramming the open jars at each other. But at the end of the day i always see mine side by side as if they loved each other.
GL