Hi guys!

Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
NitrAte - <20ppm
pH - 7.5
Gh - ??
Dh - ??

Tank is 5 x 2.5 x 3ft. The water is stable, tank has been running for 2 years, sand substrate, Rock & bogwwod decor.

Inhabitants are Tiger O, Albino O, Vevet O, Synodontis, Sailfin plec, Salvini and a lobster.

Ok, so heres my prob/Q......
The tiger O and Albino O have been in the tank since day 1, they are a good 10" and have always got on fine, never seen them fight each other! Today i added a velevt O the same size as my exsisting O's and all hell has broken loose!!! Sharon (The albino O) has started attacking both the new O and her (loose term) friend. Shes already taken a good few scales off of Ozzy (Tiger) and will not chill! The lights have been off since i put the new O in, and i fed them hoping it may help form a bond, they all fed well!

How long should i give it before i separate them? How much damage can my O's take? Is there anything i can do to chill them out?? Ive never had this behaviour from them before and im totally confused! Im sure its just a matter of finding out whos boss but i dont like seeing them getting hurt

Thanks in advance, if ive missed anything let me know...think i have covered all parameters etc

3 is a bad number. looks like you have 2 males and a female or 2females and 1 male. either way your fish are now competing for the mate. I would remove the new o asap before any damage occurs.

if you do decide to try to keep them you can try moving any decor around inside the tank. things should settle down in a few days if not I don't think it ever will after that. when to separate is down to you really, but you may find that bites that look fine now may turn into worst damage in a day or 2. when nipping starts the damage isn't always clear and marks will show a few days later as small holes/white marks. a broken jaw can happen any time. I have had 2 fish die from this. a much larger tank may help too but I don't think that will be on your mind.)

OK thankyou, in that case do you think it may be worth adding in another O and removing the salvini? I did think my original O's were a breeding pair, but since they have never done anything other than moving plants and digging i cant be sure.

Ambars_Os wrote:


you will need 150g+ for 4 oscars. you could also end up with more problems. say you get 3 males competing for 1 female or even 2 mating pairs competing for the tank space. if almost impossible to know whats going to happen unless you try and are willing to remove or rehome the fish if it don't work.

ok, ill try changing the tank around tomorrow and see if that helps settle the arguments, is it worth taking them out while i do it? I have a holding tank big enough for them to be comfortable in....should only take an hour or so to do. If that doesnt work ill take the new oscar back to the shop i got him/her from. I havent named the new O yet....just in case! The shop assistant is pretty cool and has kept Os himself for years and said if they dont get on to take it back to him and hell refund me, so thats no issue.

Just seems so odd.....id have thought the tank was plenty big enough for them....oh well we'll see! Ill let you know how things go tomorrow! Thanks for your help! I should really know this stuff by now! lol

Yeah I would definitely rearrange the tank but if that doesn't work I would return the new O before any serious injury is inflicted on one of them. Also with the fish you have in there now I would wait on getting more or even keeping the new one. For the size tank you have you are at a high bioload to begin with considering how messy oscars and plecos are not to mention the others.

Keep us posted though and let us know what happens after you rearrange things...hope everything works out whatever route you end up going.

I don't think it will be worth taking the fish out while you move the tank around as stress and damage to the fish is more likely. if you are going to move them a large clear plastic bag is better way to get them out, as no damage occurs like with a net.

ok, tank has been rearanged, they weren't too happy about me moving thier house about and protested by sulking in the corner....all 3 together!! Sharron (albino) is now more concerned with attacking the giant rock as it has moved from one side to the other, and she is already trying to uproot the plants GRRRR!!!

They are still nudging each other about but so far no injurys have been inflicted, im going to leave the lihgt off until this evening and give them a feed...whole mussles might be a nice treat! Ill keep a close eye non them and if things dont settle down ill take the new O back tomorrow.

btw....i think we are running on different times so atm its 12.30 pm here just so we have some time scale lol

it may be working then. keep them well fed and if needed rearrange again in a day or 2. it may help to put something new into the tank too. kids toy, ping pong ball, etc. good luck

ok ill have a scout about the house and see if there is anything fish safe to drop in for them!

Thanks for the help, its really apprieciated!

oh before i forget, is it worth adding anything like salt to help with healing of the scale loss? i know i can do it with goldies and koi, but i dont know what O's and the others are like with it

Like marcus said, the most time and money efficient way is to remove the 3rd oscar. That could bring your tank back to the way it was.

Ambars_Os wrote:

pristine water and varied foods will heal your fish in no time...
even without medication