My Oscars (fish) aren't getting along...help!!?

Question

I've had one oscar for a while who ate all my other fish... and he has been able to get along with 1 small scavenger fish.... and I just bought another smaller oscar and put it in the tank... and the bigger oscar (the one i've had) is biting and chasing the new smaller oscar.... is there anything I can do?

Answer 1

There is really nothing you can do at this point. Oscars, like most cichlids (African and South American), are very territorial. The problem is that the older one has claimed the tank for himself as his territory. The addition of any new fish is almost impossible due to his dominance. You don't say how big your tank is or how big the old oscar is, but you really need a 55 gallon for one oscar.

The fact that the new one is smaller is even more of a problem. Oscars test each other all the time. That is how they determine who is a suitable mate. If the new fish was exactly the same size, in good health and condition and of the opposite sex, you might have had a chance.

In the wild, the smaller weaker oscars will leave the area and live somewhere else until they grow up. In an aquarium, there is nowhere for them to flee to. The more agressive one will bully the weaker one until it stops eating and starves to death or it will kill it outright.

The only way to get oscars to live together is to purchase 5-6 of them at a very young age (3-4 inches, 3-4 months) and let them grow up together. That way, agression is spread out among the group and you may end up with a pair that will find each other tough enough to mate.

Oscars will grow an inch a month if they are fed well and their water is kept at top quality with regular weekly 30-40% water changes. An adult oscar can reach 15-16 inches in the right conditions with the right food.

One oscar needs a 55 gallon tank all to himself as an adult and a pair should have no less than a 125 gallon if you expect them to spawn. They are dirtier than normal fish and will put an extra large bio-load on your aquarium.

Good luck.

Answer 2

That works sometimes for me but try caves and plants anything the fish can live or go threw. Walmart sells cheap ornaments and petsmart. If you do make a cave (use 2 rocks or something) see if the Oscar thrives in it and then when you get your second fish make sure the other fish has another place to be. If all else fails move stuff around. The fish expert at my Local fish store said the more ornaments you have the more fish you can put in because Oscars are territorial. Good Luck :)

Answer 3

Oscars are VERY aggressive fish. A friend of mine has an Oscar, and it has eaten at least three of their fish. They have decided to put it up for adoption. I suggest put on up for adoption, take it to a pet store, or let one eat the other.

Answer 4

What size is your tank? Oscars need 55 gallons PER FISH. So unless your aquarium is smaller than 110 gallons, they will be just fine.

Answer 5

I've found 2 Oscars don't get along very well and you might need to separate them.

Answer 6

Is your tank too small? 2 oscars will need 75-90 gallos to coexist. but even then they are quite agresive.

Answer 7

they are territorial, remove the larger fish to another tank for a day or two then put it back in its old tank, that may help
better keep an eye on them

Answer 8

OSCARS JUST DON'T GET ALONG ...ITS A MATTER OF TERRITORY,,,PUT A GLASS SEPARATOR IN OR START ANOTHER AQUARIUM

Answer 9

get the new fish out of there and give it its own home

Answer 10

That's normal behaviour....Separate them.