tiger oscar is acting funny!!!!!!!!

[machoburrito]

hello guys im back with more questions my oscar is acting funny he is super aggressive he act my green terror and is attacking the sides of my tank and by doing that he exposes the undergravel filter. whats going on with him? any one have any ideas thanks guy!

 

[severum mama]

Hi, can you tell us about your tank in more detail? What size tank are they in, and do they have any other tank mates?

 

[machoburrito]

Yeah it's a 80 gal tank with a jack Dempsey, magaenese, and a pleco

 

[HUKIT]

With that stock list and tank size your only seeing the tip of the iceberg as far as aggression goes. What size are these fish? That Jag is going to get huge, and my money will on him when he reaches maturity. The Oscar is showing aggression in my opinion due to the small tank with other aggressive fish. My advice is start looking for a big tank or a LFS to trade in some fish. If you keep that tank your going to have to choose between the jag and the oscar, if your lucky you could try the one of the big boys with the other two but my gut says it wont work long term. It's just two small of a tank for these type of fish.

 

[thuffman03]

As for attacking the side of the tank don't worry about that. He sees his reflection.

 

[severum mama]

With that stock list and tank size your only seeing the tip of the iceberg as far as aggression goes. What size are these fish? That Jag is going to get huge, and my money will on him when he reaches maturity. The Oscar is showing aggression in my opinion due to the small tank with other aggressive fish. My advice is start looking for a big tank or a LFS to trade in some fish. If you keep that tank your going to have to choose between the jag and the oscar, if your lucky you could try the one of the big boys with the other two but my gut says it wont work long term. It's just two small of a tank for these type of fish.

Great advice here. ^

I would consider 75-90 gallons to be a minimum tank size for just one oscar. There are some folks that say you can keep one in a 55, but for a fish that has the potential to grow larger than the width of a 55, I disagree.

I was under the impression that the Managuense would also need a minimum of 75-90 gallons just by itself. Maybe HUKIT can clear that up for us.

I do not have personal experience with the Managuense but everything I have read about it and heard from owners would indicate that your other fish are in for real trouble when the Managuense hits sexual maturity.

 

[HUKIT]

I've kept Jags for a few years and in general they are real glass bangers, but Mama is right he/she will need a 75-90g by itself. I had males grow to 16"+ and even when smaller would attack and kill smaller fish. Now we all know each and every fish has their own different personality but long term it just wont work. Even if by some miracle they got along you have to consider water quallity and the health of the fish. These fish are prone to HLLE which is due to poor water conditions and diet. If you google HLLE it would break your heart to see your fish go through that.

 

[machoburrito]

Hmmm wow thanks for the insite everyone yeah the jag is the smallest one of all and the jack doesnt even go for feeder fish or pellets they have grow up pretty much all together the jag is the youngest one of all the Oscar is about 8 in long an the jack is only like 4 or 5 inches long and the jag is only 3 inches long. But I guess I'll start looking for a new tank too.

 

[HUKIT]

Good decision, I hate getting rid of fish which is probably the reason I have 8-12 tanks running at all times.

But let's move on to your fish's diet of feeders. They contain no nutritional value, they can carry disease and parasites, and could kill your fish due to fatty liver disease which is major cause of death in sa/ca fish fed live feeders due to Thiaminase. It also causes further aggresion when they must chase down their meal and compete for food. Stick with a quality pellet like New Life Spectrum which will give them all the nutnients they need.

Here is a great article from MFK
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12521

 

[machoburrito]

Ok sounds good it's just neither the jag or jack go after the pellets only when I throw bloodworms in there they eat should I try sinking type? Or are they just two spoiled

 

[HUKIT]

Just spoiled, starve them for a couple of days by not feeding anything. My oscars will not take sinking but my other fish like Red Terror's will, so you will need to experiment to see which they prefer but I promise after a few days without eating those pellets will look like filet minon.

 

[machoburrito]

Ok sounds good thank you for all your help!!!!!

 

[HUKIT]

Let us know how it turns out, and nothing is more exciting than having four people carry in your new monster tank. I now have a 150g, 180g and as of this week a 220g sitting empty(did'nt need it but it was the deal of a lifetime).