Why is one Oscar growing faster

[Alexandria52797]

I have 2 oscars and they both look about the same. One was a little bigger when I got it just over a week ago. Now its growing a lot and the other ones doesn't look like its grown at all. What's wrong with it? They both eat fine. Is it because one could be male and one could be female?

 

[pantherspawn]

Could be alot of things.. genetics, male female, one eating more than the other, ins swimming more and exerting more energy etc..

 

[Alexandria52797]

So you don't think there anything wrong with her/him?

 

[pantherspawn]

Its hard to tell.. as long as he/she is not showing any signs of being ill or malnourished I wouldn't worry about it too much. Are all of your water parameters in check?

 

[jetajockey]

it's not unusual for some fish to grow faster than others. I would make sure that one isn't bullying the other and hogging all the food, but that's about it.

 

[rich311k]

Could just be genetics. If they are both eating and acting normal, nothing to worry about and nothing that can be done. Frequent water changes will increase growth rates.

 

[Alexandria52797]

it's not unusual for some fish to grow faster than others. I would make sure that one isn't bullying the other and hogging all the food, but that's about it.

I'm pretty sure they get along for now. The bigger one gets eats a lot more but I always make sure they both get some.

 

[Alexandria52797]

Could just be genetics. If they are both eating and acting normal, nothing to worry about and nothing that can be done. Frequent water changes will increase growth rates.

Lol I don't want them to grow to fast. They are in a 30gal I still need a bigger one. Atleast a 55gal. They always have some on craiglist I just need to come up with the money

 

[HUKIT]

Lol I don't want them to grow to fast. They are in a 30gal I still need a bigger one. Atleast a 55gal. They always have some on craiglist I just need to come up with the money

Oscars have growth rate of around one inch per month, with two oscars in a 30g that makes your upgrade needed by tomorrow. If your set on keeping them nothing smaller than a 75g would be the bare minimum with two 50% water changes per week. These are big dirty fish that will foul your water quality quickly, be prepared you'll need a big tank and and lots of filtration to keep up with their bioload. When I kept my breeding pair in a 75g to lay eggs it took two Fluval 405's and two huge water changes to keep the nitrates below 20ppm, these fish are prone to certain diseases like HITH/HLLE from being kept in poor water conditions. So be prepared to grow quickly with them.

 

[Alexandria52797]

I know they grow fast and need a lot of cleaning. They are really small right now. I don't even know if I can keep both because I'm not sure if they are both males or what there gender is. Right now they get along but when they get older I will probably have to rehome one of them if there both males.

 

[HUKIT]

Oscars are monomophic which means there is no way to tell the sex, even with venting. The only true way to tell is watching the female lay eggs. I thought mine were both female since I kept seeing eggs that were never fertilized but after another year I've got thousands of fry. If they are both males then only one will leave the alive, but you have some time before the real fighting begins, they don't reach maturity until 12-18 months which at that time theyll be over 10".

 

[Alexandria52797]

They lay eggs even with no male? What do you do with the eggs? Yeah I will have to wait and see. When/if they do start fighting I will re-home one so nobody gets to injured.

 

[HUKIT]

They lay eggs even with no male? What do you do with the eggs? Yeah I will have to wait and see. When/if they do start fighting I will re-home one so nobody gets to injured.

Its not uncommon for female fish to lay eggs without the presence of a male. Oscars naughty time is like a not a treat to watch, they will continually test each other to see if they're a worthy mate and if they fail one can be killed. Even now they still lip lock, chase, flare, and heard each other. Everyday I come home there's water all over the floor from them with full glass lids, which is why I moved their tank from the carpet to hardwood floors.