Did my Oscar do this? (Not for the squeamish)

[follicle]

I had quite a lot of open space in my tank, so I added a Tiger Oscar a few months ago. He's grown about a half inch or so since we got him. I have a few other fish in the tank (African Knife Fish, Pleco, and a few Rosy Barbs). One of the Rosy Barbs has had a condition for quite some time involving its stomach. At first, I thought it was pregnant, but its stomach remained extremely bloated for several months. A few nights ago, my wife noted how large the fish's stomach had become.

Just a warning, this is a bit gross...

Tonight I came home to a horrific sight: The Rosy Barb mentioned above was found dead. The fish's entire outer body was still intact; however, its stomach had been ripped open (almost perfectly) and the insides completely cleared out, as clean and hollow as could be. Again, the outside of the fish remained untouched.

What on earth happened!? It almost looked as if something had burst out of the fish's stomach (in the style of the film "Alien"). My first suspicions immediately went to the Tiger Oscar, a fish known to feed on smaller fish, but I was under the impression that they could only eat what could fit in their mouths. I'm not sure if they're known to outright attack and kill other fish.

Can anyone shed any light on this? I just thought it was extremely odd.

Thanks in advance for any replies!

 

[jackwagon]

You didn't post the picture I don't think. Haha. That might help if you do

 

[follicle]

You didn't post the picture I don't think. Haha. That might help if you do

Lol. Actually, there's no picture. I just wanted to give a heads up because the story is a tad gross. My wife nearly got sick looking at it!

 

[Freshwater fish guy]

On that's odd but yes that's it I think before the Oscar gets big you need to get that fish ot of your tank because they are VERY VERY agresive how many gallons is your tank

 

[Ljk09]

The fish might have died and then he ate the stomach.

 

[tarpon]

What's your tank size? Is the tank cycled?
The fish probably just died for some other reason and then the other fish ate the stomach out after it was dead. If you think about it that's where all the good stuff is. All of the meat and soft guts. I've had this happen a few times. That's normally where they go for first.

 

[bettaowner]

I strongly believe that the oscar did not kill the barb. Unless there are multiple injuries the bloat probably is why your barb died.

 

[Borderlesscott]

I strongly believe that the oscar did not kill the barb. Unless there are multiple injuries the bloat probably is why your barb died.

I agree, killed probably by bloat, stomach burst, and fish cleaned up the mess - the Oscar will probably clear the rest of the Barbs soon enough.
Boiled deshelled garden peas probably would have sorted the Barb out weeks ago,