Hey all im new to this site but was reccomended to it by a friend. Sooooo hi . My albinos and tigers have recently had a big punchup after 2 years of being completely friendly to eachother.
I have seperated them through the middle giving them 3 foot each to do watever they want together. I just thought that this was very strange because they all used to be such great mates!!!! I was wondering if this is permanant or temporary.


Cheers

Welcome to the site. How big is your tank and how many Oscars have you got? You say you've had them for two years, any sign of breeding? Sometimes fish do turn nasty with each other for reasons that are unknown. Try and determine how bad the fighting is, are there any bad injuries being caused? Have the fish separated completely or do they still hang around with each other? I'm afraid it's up to your discretion to decide whether they need splitting up, we can't really tell you just from your descriptions of what is going on. If injuries are being caused on a regular basis and it's not getting any better, then I think the only alternative is to split them up. However, it's not really my call, I can only advise on past experience.

yes, understanding how bad they beat each other up would help. Pictures?

Have you tested your water recently?

Sometimes contamination, trace readings in ammonia and nitrite, high readings in nitrate can cause aggression. Think about how pleasant you would be if you walked into a putrid place

Do they still stay by each other most of the time besides an occasional flare up?

Was it lip locking? Tail slapping? Is there a clear spot on the bottom of the tank? (signs of breeding)

Any changes in or around their tank lately? (your room is their room too)

6 ft tank, so I assume it is at least 120 gallons, which is not bad at all, especially if they are the only residents


I would keep a close eye on them. If there is somewhat bad damage, extra water changes and possible add some aquarium salt, melafix, pimafix to prevent secondary infections, about a week and it should be just about healed up completely.

I have watched Os hide in plants from an aggressive O that was usually friendly, so if you don't have any, check out some fake ones ... since some Os attack plants and push them around, so a live plant doesn't always survive

Hope for the best. If you can provide more info, it may help assess the situation better. Take care

Oscars will occasionally get agro with each other. The time to separate is when either is getting injured (missing scale and lots of white marks on the side) or one is miserable (hiding all the time). If you have no injuries and they both swim around normally most of the time then leave them together (they may even be breeding)