middle of the night turmoil

[aquasam]

the other night - in the middle of the night - inside the 55 gal tank in my bedroom ... my 6" Oscar (maybe other fish to - I dont know) went crazy and thrashed around in a horrible frenzy ..... I woke up with a jolt as it was still going on ... I switched on the light to see the fish all there ... but not knowing how odd they should look since I just snapped the light on in the middle of the night ..... the Oscar had then stopped his thrashing .. looking at my parrot .. he seemed dazed and lowered to the bottom in a weird position ...but that could be normal... later in the night it all happened again ............. that is the only time anything like that has happened and it hasn't happened since .. its been a few nights ....Oscar has some bruises on his head and body he is recovering from now..... I had suspicions that Oscar had a nightmare? .. or my heater somehow shocked them through some freak electrical surge ... .. who knows?

 

[Christmasfish]

If you truly suspect your heater..it is time for a new one.... :?

How big is the parrot..mayhaps they are having some issues at lights out because it attacks when the oscar goes into sleep mode?
or maybe the pleco is buggin em if they sleep near the bottom. Maybe the gourami are fighting at nite and they bumped him to a startle.

Time to have a nitey light and spy!

 

[aquasam]

parrot is maybe half the size as Oscar ... the parrot always stays out of Oscars way .. except maybe during feeding but oscar doesn't seem to mind .... so I dont believe its that. The gourami's ceratinly stay out of the way to .. when I turned on the light they were hiding ... so I dont believe its those things .. I dont suspect the heater actually .. I really dont have any idea ... I was just wondering if these things just happen from time to time ... I think the nightmare theory is funny though

 

[smallfry]

Maybe he was DREAMING that he got electrocuted by the heater!

 

[cdawson]

My guess is that the tank is too small for those fish and aggression problems are causing the havoc. More often than not aggression happens in the middle of the night when you won't often see it. That would be the reason for the cowering in the corner. The Oscar is beginning to get territorial and aggressive at 6" and not very tolerant of other tankmates.
If you can't provide the oscar with it's own 100g it may be time to think about finding it a new home. trust me, it's not your heater, it's aggression. A problem that needs to be solved before someone is killed. As it stands your tank is very overstocked, and water quality can't exactly be good with 4 high waste producing fish in there.


Oh and post your water parameters, those can help us solve the problem.

 

[Menagerie]

Water parameters could be a factor, but I would suspect on going problems. As your fish mature, the aggression comes out and that's probably the biggest problem. Many people will suggest a 55 gal for an Oscar. They can and will get quite big, IMHO, it's time for a bigger tank.

 

[illuminum]

From what I remember, fish don't dream, lol

 

[aquasam]

I'm planning on taking the 2 small gouramies and the angel out soon ... you think that is enough .... one oscar, one parrot, and 2 bottom dwellers ?????.. or should I take the parrot out as well?

 

[aquasam]

oh yes .. and there is a photo of that 55 gal. in my gallery to see the size, space relationship as it appears now

 

[cdawson]

I'm planning on taking the 2 small gouramies and the angel out soon ... you think that is enough .... one oscar, one parrot, and 2 bottom dwellers ?????.. or should I take the parrot out as well?

Everything can stay, but the oscar and pleco need at least 100 gallons.

Maybe plan to get a 100g for the oscar and the pleco, I know it sounds like alot of work and money but believe me. If you love your fish it's worth it. Otherwise, I'm afraid you're going to have to find the oscar a new home. It's much too aggressive to keep in any community or even a 55g tank.

 

[Endgame319]

I agree with cdawson. The only possible way you can keep a full grown oscar in a 55 is if he's in there by himself.

 

[aquasam]

ok thanks ... this is going to be a major tank weekend