i have a albino oscar...about 10"inches

one day, i introduced a slighty smaller tiger oscar into the tank..i wathced them as they swam around, i left them and a few hours later i saw my 5"inch parrot fish nugding the new oscar around, i didnt take notice, coz the new oscar was dishing out hidings to the parrot.

i then left the room for another couple of hours..when i got back, the bigger oscar fish had managed to push the new, 8" tiger oscar into the corner, where my filters are..and beat the smaller oscar, that i had to take him out and return it to the pet shop, it was just cruel to watch, really...look im a guy that watches lots of war and action movies, but honestly, i havnt seen anything like that before.

i then saw a malawi that caught my attention at the pet shop and decided to swap the 8" oscar out for the malawi, but i had to take the little ornament with the malawi, as it was a package deal..

i put the malawi in the tank and his little valcano ornament in the tank..all hell broke loose then..

the big 10" then over turned all the ornaments in the tank, moved the gravel and went mad...after a few hours he calmed down, he doesnt harm the malawi or the parrot, he grew up with the parrot, but the malawis speed, and agility is what puts the big oscar off from chasing him i think.

but why would the oscar go mad like that?? im now afraid to put another oscar in the tank...what now???

that is territorial dominance.... in case you want to re-introduce another
oscar in the future, try to rearrange the tank before doing so.... abrupt
changes could loss their territorial boundary, thus, may help to accept
new comer instead of treating it as intruder.

thanks....

would you recommend puting a red devil into the tank...im thinking about it, but i know a red devil has abit of a reputation. i would get rid of my parrot and malawi..and put a similiar size red devil in with my oscar..

i don't have much experience with red devil and oscar..but more on adding new
oscar.... i used to do that and have a lot of misjudgment too...there are times
i thought the new one wouldn't fit the the existing o's mouth... but end up
losing the new one

hahaha

i qoute "Its common name “red devil” pretty much describes the behavior of this fish. Unless kept in a very large aquarium such as a 1500 liters, the chances of it living peaceably with other fish is very slim. It will kill other fish relentlessly and without hesitation in a small tank, even bottom feeders which most other aggressive fish do not mind. So, if you want one of these fish, be prepared to keep one in a tank of its own. A minimum tank size that I would recommend for one is a 200 liter tank. Besides the down side to them, they are very beautiful and I consider them to have lots of personality because they can interact with their owners. It's quite funny how they try to attack you through the glass. "

now this is what the guy said about red devil.

but hen again....check what this guy says " I must have the only calm, vegetarian red devil alive. He is about 7 years old, 35 cm long and thinks he is a dog. He loves to be petted (yes, petted) follows me around the room at every move I make, splashes the water when hungry or upset and hides in the corner when scared. He will NOT eat anything live, I once gave him goldfish feeders and he swam with them as if he thought they were his little buddies. He only eats Hikari Cichlid Gold food, spits ANYTHING else right out. He currently lives with a smaller African Cichlid that is 1/10th his size yet picks on him constantly. So, not all Red Devils are truly devils, mine has decided to be a 'dog in the water'."

again...So WHAT now..haha

Pol red devils ain't the type of fish that you want to be mixing in with Oscars. In my tank my red devil was about 5 inches longand it would always fight my 6 inch Oscar. They ain't the friendliest fish out there.

Some oscars get very tank proud and will not allow another in. You can try rearanging the tank and even put a divider in (one each side for a week or so and then remove the divider) but this is not guaranteed.

As for red devils, ok all fish are different and that guy may of had a soft red devil, but that is the exception rather than the rule. They are not called red devils for nothing. If i were you i would forget the devil and get some more peaceful fish instead! otherwise you may find yourself with a beaten up oscar and rehoming the red devil

okay....so ive got a red devil now, his about 6" compared to the oscar his tiny...the tanks has been re-arranged, they seem pretty happy, althought there was abit of a quarel at one stage, seems like the oscar is still king of the tank. im sure the red devil isnt going to challenge the oscar and his size again. just a matter of time, ill keep the guys updated.

thanks for the help chaps.

ashvr6 wrote:

Good luck, and keep a watchfull eye on the devil, iv'e heard of oscars having considerably smaller devils than them put into there tank and the devil nipped off all the O's fins [side and tail and top except for spines] with the O' found unable to swim lying on the tank bottom.
dont know the outcome, but I would assume the O' died.
I like red devils, my friend had a big one when working at a petshop, on more than one occasion he turned up in the morning to find what looked like string hanging out the devils mouth and after pulling on it, found out it was a mouse that had fallen into the tank at night. but as much as I like em', id only keep a devil in its own tank, and definately wouldn't mix them with any other fish you value like your oscar.

it wont be long before the devil hand the oscar his ass so to speak. devils are far more aggressive than oscars and will be the dominate fish in your tank before long. just keep an eye out for the aggression when it comes and have a back up plan in place to rectify the problem.

so far its been a week...

and no complaints thus far...they seem to not mind each other in the tank, but i will keep montoring what happens in the tank.

thanks

thats wierd wen i got my other oscar he was 4 inches and the other was 12 and they didnt fight