hello, i recently setup my 30 gallon tank. a few days ago i purchased 2 red tailed sharks an 1 albino oscar, i was informed to put in two sharks with one oscar. so far so good - what am i to look for if they are to get violent towards each other? and how am i to tell if i have a female oscar or shark?
2007-04-30 17:49:37 · 5 answers · asked by babygirlzhappy07 1 in Pets ➔ Fish
Unfortunately not only was the advice not great, but the fish shouldn't have even been sold to you. The sharks get really big, nearly a foot, and the Oscar, well kept properly they will reach at least a foot. In your tank they will never reach full size or life span, and you are looking a lot of aggression and probably fatalities if you don't change something - and forget what's working now, all of these fish get more aggressive as they grow more mature. And we haven't even touched on how messy Oscars are and how intolerant of poor water quality. They also grow, or should grow, really, really fast - fast enough to outgrow your tank in considerably less then a year.
It's not what you want to hear, but it's the truth. As a responsible fishkeeper you really have two options - take back the fish, or get a tank of at least 75 gallons.
The smaller the fish you get, the bigger your tank becomes. That tank can be a prison cell for those fish, or a paradise for something small and suitable. The choice is yours, hopefully you'll make the right one. Good luck.
2007-05-01 00:55:08 · answer #1 · answered by Ghapy 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
First, you won't be able to tell ever on the sharks about the sex of them or at least not for certain. Typical the females are a bit larger and heavier than males, but that's not always the case and really only works when you have a tank full to look at. Oscars are also hard to sex unless they are breeding. A young one like yours is impossible to sex.
Sorry to tell you you also got some pretty bad info. Red tailed sharks will start getting territorial with each other once they get a little bit of size on them and more than one in a tank usually leads to trouble. Also, a 30 gallon really isn't enough space for an Oscar to grow to adult size. he should be ok for a year or so, but after he will out grow the tank pretty fast. If the Oscar gets violent with the red tails, they will simply disappear when he eats them. That will most likely happen sooner or later. Once the red tails start to fight you will see them chasing each other a lot and probably start seeing some torn fins to.
MM
2007-04-30 18:00:12 · answer #2 · answered by magicman116 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
greatest approximately 6 inches. Cool little fish to! Edit, people they are not definitely sharks! they are on the aggressive edge and could be in semi aggressive tank set ups, now no longer community, does that lead them to a bad fish? i do no longer think of so! Rainbow sharks are unique from purple tail sharks, rainbows have all fins pink, pink tails in basic terms have a pink tail.
2016-12-28 06:01:00 · answer #3 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would recommend getting a tank divider just in case the oscar starts to get territorial. Split the tank in half so that the oscar doesn't take any chances.
2007-04-30 17:55:03 · answer #4 · answered by ZooTycoonMaster 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
2 red tail shark together is not a good idea, they will start fighting once they grow a little bigger, and neither its a good idea to keep the two with one Oscar.
You should give back 1 shark, and keep 1 Oscar and 1 Red Tail together...that would be allright.
2007-04-30 20:33:47 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋