My partner & I was given 2 oscars of my partners friend along with 2 plecos and a red finned shark all are basically fully grown, but since we put them in the big tank one of the oscars seems to bully the other one. They stared of just by jaw locking but now the one being bullied lays on its side like it's playing dead, I don't really know much about them and was wondering if this is going to be a problem for us.

Please can you help with my question.

Welcome to the forum Tracy

Yes, you could have a big problem. Firstly, how big is your tank? You say you've got two plecos. How big are these? Some of these fish can grow to gargantuan size, they are also extremely messy as well. They really aren't suitable for most aquariums, unless you get the smaller sized ones. Jaw locking can be a sign of aggression, it is actually two Oscars testing each other's strength. Difficult to say, you may well have two males. However, a breeding pair will often be quite rough with each other. Keep an eye on them for any injuries. You may have to split them up if things don't get better.

So, if you can tell us how big your tank is, and how big all the fish are.

The tank is 120cm x 30cm x 30cm. The plecos are about 10inchs each but the oscars are about 11 inches. is the tank too small for them. We are thinking of trading one in but will the other one become lonely. The bullied one has gone wounds but from a while ago.

Thanks

tracy wrote:


Yes, your tank is way too small, it is around 25 UK gallons. In fact, it is more about half the size it should be for one Oscar alone, let alone anything else you've got in the tank. You pleco's are obviously the ones that can grow very large.

I'm afraid your situation can only go downhill from here. I would be very surprised if you've got good water conditions. You need to think very carefully about what you're going to do. My advice would be to lose the plecs, and get a larger tank for the Oscar. Don't attempt to try and keep any of the fish in the tank you have at the moment, it will not work, I can guarantee you that. If you try and keep them, you will be fighting water quality problems all the time, it will be a nightmare, for you, and especially the fish.

I'm sorry got the tank size wrong it holds 36 uk gallons, the person who had the tank before us had it for about 2 years and didn't have this problem, apart from the jaw locking process that they do. I was wondering if the bullied oscar will dye from not moving as I was always told that if a fish don't move for a long time it would die from lack of oxygen. I might not keep them due to the fact the tank being too small just stick to smaller fish.

Anyway thanks for the advice going to see a fish person at the weekend to see if we can trade them in.

tracy wrote:


You are looking at a several hundred gallon tank for all these fish. Two Oscars alone require at least 100 gallons all by themselves. Grown Plecos are the equivelent of two more adult Oscars. One Oscar needs approximately 50 gallons unto itself and since two will argue and fight, you need another 50 gallons minimum for a second Oscar.

You are grossly overstocked for the size tank currently and water conditions can't possibly be healthy.....
You need to upgrade to a bigger tank, no matter what you do.

Tracy,

We have a NEW Rescue / Adoption forum now and you might consider adding a topic there to offer any unwanted fish for adoption. Please be sure to include a location in the thread title if you do. (Just a thought)..

J.J.

(And don't feel too badly as you're not the first person with an overcrowded tank nor will you be the last.)