Hi everyone,

I recently got a little Albino Tiger Oscar.
First day I got it, it was all over the tank. Not a timid guy at all! I have a 60g tank which has a 12" pleco, about 7" Convict and 3 little 4" eels (tiny guys which may become the oscar's meal when he gets bigger).

Day 1: So as soon as I put my lil oscar into the tank, he was chasse by the convict, but he seemed faster than the convict so it seemed ok.

Day 2: Lil oscar is still doing fine and comes to the surface for food whenever I approach the tank. Still being chased but no harm seem to be on the little oscar.

Day 3: Lil oscar seemed fine, but when I got back from work and went to look at him, he was immobile and hiding behind some floating plants. Not coming towards me, not acting all excited, not even swimming. He's still alive, because I can see him breath, but no movement. Fins are all torn. My assumption is that he got caught be the convict and got beat up pretty bad :angry: . I put him into a strainer in the tank, since I couldn't think or didn't have anything else to seperate him from the convict. I tried to feed him but no luck. Now the convict just goes back to bother and chase off the pleco, which is about twice his size

Day 4: He was just at the bottom of the strainer and was still not coming up for food. Just being really still, but still breathing (good sign I guess?)

Any input or advice on this matter would be greatly appreciated! He's my first and I really don't want it to die after only a few days.

Thanks everyone!

Well, for a start, 60 gallons is not big enough for the fish you have got, not including the Oscar, so unfortunately things will only get downhill the longer you have the fish and the bigger they get. I suspect the convicts gave the Oscar a bit of a beating, they can be little bullies sometimes.

Like I have said, your tank isn't big enough so I haven't got anything to suggest apart from taking the Oscar back to where you got it from and rethinking your situation. If you want to keep all of these fish including an Oscar, you're going to need to get a much bigger tank.

Your fish can't live in the sink with no filter or air pump. He needs to go back into the tank where the water conditions are better, I hope.. What are your water test readings? You can rearange the tank, that will sometimes slow the agression, but the bottom line is that you may have to keep them seperated or rehome one of them.. sorry but that's they way they swim.
Good luck

Oh no, the albino oscar is not in the sink.
He's in a strainer which is in the tank.

i would love pics of a 7" convict, how long have you had that fish?? ive got dozens of convicts, and two that are over a year old, and are 3.5" at most.

I don't think the fish store will take back a beat up oscar.
It's one convict not convictS.

I guess I'll just have to take care of this matter myself somehow.

tytea wrote:



i knlow, you said convict not convicts, do you have a picture of it by chance?

tytea wrote:


I'm sure that the fish store will sympathize with your situation and take it back, I could understand if you were trying to offload a diseased fish, but the little chap should recover perfectly okay.

I appreciate that what we have told you is probably the last thing you want to hear, but unfortunately it's the only thing we can tell you, you haven't really got any other option apart from getting another tank

Sorry,

The "convict not convictS" comment was for OFL not you.

Here's a picture of the convict

http://www.oscarfishlover.com/social-network/photos/photo?userid=4508&albumid=140#photoid=574

agreed.. i just got a red oscar a week or so ago that was beat up bad that someone had took back... it happens more than u think

I have only ever had one convict Cichlid, that was about five years ago, he was only about 5 inches long but he would continuously pick on my clown loach so in the end I evicted him. He didn't have the balls to pick on the Oscars, the chicken

I had the convict since he was a fry.
He's about 5 years old now