I recently purchased 2 baby red tiger oscars from my lfs. i introduced both to my 55 gal tank about 3 days ago. i know a 55 gal
is not enough space for both but im getting ready to move in a month so by that time there will be a 120 gal ready for them.
I have 4 clown loaches in the tank for about a year and a half, along with 5 tetras. After i introduced the oscars now i have 1
tetra left and all the loaches are scared to come out of hiding! what can i do with these oscars aggression? i've been thinking about returning one back to the lfs. what do you guys suggest?

I'm going to cut to the chase,I would seriously think about re-homing your loach if the Oscars are showing aggression towards them. These fish don't deserve to be terrorised, they are very social and are one of my favourite fish. They can be susceptible to disease so you don't want to put them on too much stress.

However, you could try getting rid of one of the Oscars, this may reduce the aggression, worth a try I suppose, I would be reluctant to get rid of the clown Loach if I was in your position.

i really love my clown loach, i cant see myself getting rid of them. i think i just gonna return one of the oscars. i put one in my 10 gal quarantine tank for now. i was wondering, what if i just get a different type of oscar? maybe an albino one instead? just so i can keep a pair.

Each O has a unique personality and they're all different.

My two O's get along quite well with my clown loaches. The O's even let the loaches hang out by their faces to eat up the food they puke out of their gills. They swim around together with no aggression or problems. I hope they remain friends - I wouldn't be able to give up either.

What size are the loach? if they are under 4 inch they are considered food by oscars. all oscars.

They are all under 4 inches, that's why there bullying them. Damn I think I'm gonna have to return them. It's a shame though I really like the oscars I can't imaging what will happen to them if I return them!

Yep sorry mate time to choose. (

how big are your baby oscars and how big are your loaches?

If your oscars are a decent size then return the oscars and get 1 or 2 baby oscar (about 1 inch) long

If your oscars are very small then leave things to settle down for a week

delboybully wrote:


The clowns and the oscars are all about the same size, two and a half to three inches. It's funny you said that becuse I returned the Oscar that I had put in my 10 gal quarentine tank back the next day in the 55 gal with the rest of the fish. It's been two days and all the bullying stopped and everything is back to normal ! I'm pretty relieved all the drama is over lol.

I have 2 oscars and 3 clown loach.. the oscars are now about 6", the clown loaches are about 2-3"... the oscars dont bully them really, but the loaches do stay out the way and dont swim what i would call freely.. they hide away in a hollow half log I bought for them.. thing is the oscars sometime turn on a side and swim intothe log, while the other one waits at the end for them lol.. I dont think they will last as the oscars get bigger, but i do hope they are ok as i do like them..

all the best

Tony

I have noticed the same with my loach. now the oscars are gone the loach seem much happier, the arow don't bother them at all and all the fish are out swimming around. even my largest loach that used to hide all day is now out and they are comming up to take food from my hand.

If the oscar and loaches are the same size you are going to have a problem. Oscars grow quick and clown loach grow slow so there will probably come a time when the oscar might try to eat the loaches. Sometimes and I mean only sometimes oscars dont eat fish they could fit in their mouths if they were babies together.

An oscar could be in trouble if they try to eat clown loaches. Clown loaches have some gristle like spikes that poke out when they are threatened, they come out around the gill area. This is why you should never support a net with clown loaches in or you might get a cut hand (i know this from experience). If your oscar tries to eat a clown loach these spikes will stick in its mouth/throat. If you even suspect the oscar to be thinking of trying to eat the CL then remove them!!!!!