Oscar help again...please.

[Tx Oscar Lover]

My oscars laid eggs yesterday. I came to check on them today.

& both of my oscars are beat up! The smaller one has scales missing, scratches on it's head it looks like, & it's side is kind of pushed on on one side :/.
My bigger one has some tore scales or skin right underneath the jaw line. They are staying far apart from each other right now. I've never seen them act this way before.

They are in a 175 gallon aquarium.

Is it just because of the eggs? Will it stop when the eggs are gone? This had to have happened in the last two hours. I saw them earlier just fine.

 

[mikem691]

What's with them besides the severum

 

[Tx Oscar Lover]

What's with them besides the severum

Two bala sharks, a rainbow shark, & a bristlenose pleco.

 

[mikem691]

Ok. Sounds like they were fighting each other. Hopefully someone will have some answers for you. The only thing I can think of is he wants to mate again already and the female wants no part of it. Only a guess.

 

[bshenanagins]

I'm pretty sure this is quite normal after dropping eggs. Sorry they are so beat up though that stinks

 

[Tx Oscar Lover]

Well last time they spawned about a month ago, both of them guarded the eggs. & this time they were currently doing the same thing until about 4 hours ago.
This morning both were guarding the eggs. This afternoon only the female is, won't let the male even move.
I'm hoping once the eggs hatch, & I move the fry that they will stop this. It's really only the female. The male is backing away. I just hope she doesn't kill him

 

[Tx Oscar Lover]

I took the eggs out...I was getting too nervous with all the fighting. I couldn't watch any of them get hurt. :/.

I put the eggs in my 20 gallon with some Severum fry, I put an airline so the oxygen is brushing up against the eggs. Let's see what happens. My oscars are now swimming together again, which makes me way happier. Even though they are both pretty beat up..

 

[jwh0818]

Ohhh wow thats horrible. Its very natural to be honest. The female haf to state her dominance in the relationship basically. They will heal up just fine too! Can wait to see more babys!

 

[Tx Oscar Lover]

Ohhh wow thats horrible. Its very natural to be honest. The female haf to state her dominance in the relationship basically. They will heal up just fine too! Can wait to see more babys!

That's understandable. But I care way more about my two Oscars then I do their future fry. So I'd rather them be okay & not have babies. Then be bad & have babies. Lol. Pros & cons to both I suppose.

 

[HUKIT]

Ohhh wow thats horrible. Its very natural to be honest. The female haf to state her dominance in the relationship basically. They will heal up just fine too! Can wait to see more babys!

It's only common in a aquarium setting( which is far from natural), this behavior does NOT happen in the wild. In the wild the fish being abused will simply swim away and the aggressor will not pursue more than a few yards, in a aquarium the fish can't get away which is why so many cichlids die prior to spawning. So no this not a natural behavior...