I need advice about my Tiger Oscar?

Question

I have a 6 inch Tiger Oscar who is about 1 year old. He had a catfish as a tank mate the entire span of his life, but recently he died. So i took my pet stores advice and got him a Tiger Oscar of the same size, weight and age, but Brudis (my Oscar) has done nothing but beat the new one up... he has riped scales off of him, i want to know if there is any way to keep them from fighting or if it is normal for them to do this and if it is, how long dose this usually continue. I would also like to add that the new Oscar has been being as submissive as he can be without being killed.

Answer 1

Yeah that's a pretty common problem. Brudis was probably too old to be able to accept a new oscar as a tank mate, Unfortunately, you'll have to get rid of your other oscar or put him in another tank, or even put a divider in the tank to separate them because Brudis will eventually kill him. If they don't get along from the start, odds are they never will. I think you're best bet would be to separate them ASAP, and get a large Plecostomus for Brudis. And let the poor newcomer recuperate. A Plecostomus is very docile and Brudis won't feel threatened by him and they are armored just in case he decided to nip at him every once in a while. Sorry it didn't work out, and I hope everything turns out ok!

Answer 2

If you have ended up with two males, they are going to fight, and the submissive one is likely to get killed.

A pair can live together, 2 females will usually be peacefull, but two males, unless they have grown up together or the tank is HUGE, then it's unlikely to work.

I suggest you take the new Oscar back before it's killed and get another large catfish or pleco, as you have already found, they are more likely to be able to live in peace.

Ian

Answer 3

Oscars can get along if put together early enough. Try putting a divider in the tank so that they can get use to each other. After some time you can take the divider out and see if that helps any. It may take a week or so for them to decide dominance even if the new oscar is acting submissive. It could be that they majority of their fighting is occuring when they are feeding. Is so try seperating them only when feeding them.

Answer 4

How big is their tank? It should be at least 90 gallons for a pair.

You need to determine Brudis's gender and then follow this:

Male and male pairs DO NOT work.

Female and female pairs can work but not always.

Male and female pairs can work but not ALWAYS. If they decide to not become mates it can turn quite ugly.

Your Oscar will be completely fine by itself. If you're really worried about him getting lonely then search around for another big catfish or armored Pleco.

Answer 5

Keep your nitrates down in your tank is one main thing to control some fighting. They will fight because they are establishing a pecking order sooner or later it will stop. You can read online about there body language and you can tell who is the boss. Also give them places to hide and get away from each other so that during this aggresiveness it doesnt lead to a dead fish.