Advice needed please 🙏🏼

[Jason01]

Hello,

We recently inherited a 75g from a neighbor when they moved two months ago. It has (had) 1-3” or so Lemon Oscar,
1-3” or so Green Terror and 1-5” or so Eclipse catfish. Yesterday I came downstairs to the Oscar laying dead on the floor. Must’ve jumped out the back by the filters during the night. I stopped by my LFS and replaced him with another of the same size, only to wake up this morning to him being dead.
I believe both may be spurred by the catfish. He hides all day (typical) and is super active when the lights go out at night. I believe he may be bullying. Any thoughts? Could the second Lemon Oscar death been a coincidence? My other neighbor across the street has a 180 in which I could home the Eclipse if he may be the culprit. Thank you for your advice and thoughts.

 

[SilverArowanaBoi]

Hello,

We recently inherited a 75g from a neighbor when they moved two months ago. It has (had) 1-3” or so Lemon Oscar,
1-3” or so Green Terror and 1-5” or so Eclipse catfish. Yesterday I came downstairs to the Oscar laying dead on the floor. Must’ve jumped out the back by the filters during the night. I stopped by my LFS and replaced him with another of the same size, only to wake up this morning to him being dead.
I believe both may be spurred by the catfish. He hides all day (typical) and is super active when the lights go out at night. I believe he may be bullying. Any thoughts? Could the second Lemon Oscar death been a coincidence? My other neighbor across the street has a 180 in which I could home the Eclipse if he may be the culprit. Thank you for your advice and thoughts.

First, welcome to the fun group!

Are there any signs of injury on the second death? (meaning spur from catfish) Also, I don't know if you have larger tanks, but that stocking will not last together. GTs easily get 12 in, Oscars 12-14, and Eclipse 10 in; eventually, it will be a nightmare for you; you'll need 4 times the tank size for all those together long term. I think you should rehome all of those fish and start fresh.

 

[Jason01]

First, welcome to the fun group!

Are there any signs of injury on the second death? (meaning spur from catfish) Also, I don't know if you have larger tanks, but that stocking will not last together. GTs easily get 12 in, Oscars 12-14, and Eclipse 10 in; eventually, it will be a nightmare for you; you'll need 4 times the tank size for all those together long term. I think you should rehome all of those fish and start fresh.

Thank you for the warm welcome.
The fins on the second Oscar look a little frayed if that makes sense. The first Oscar at one point had a chunk of his tail bit when we first received the tank/fish.
Im very familiar Oscars and Green Terrors as I’ve had both throughout the years along with various others, however I have no experience with Catfish at all. Honestly I thought it would be a bit before I got back into it, until the neighbor showed the kids the 75g tank setup and said they could have it. .
I caved, because well I guess I wanted it too lol.
We have a 180g in storage that I had planned on eventually setting up again, and will do so when needed etc.
Not a fan of the Catfish, so I won’t be upset to rehome him into the 125g across the street.

 

[Jason01]

Also, water test came out great if that helps regarding losing the second Oscar the first night etc.

 

[SilverArowanaBoi]

Thank you for the warm welcome.
The fins on the second Oscar look a little frayed if that makes sense. The first Oscar at one point had a chunk of his tail bit when we first received the tank/fish.
Im very familiar Oscars and Green Terrors as I’ve had both throughout the years along with various others, however I have no experience with Catfish at all. Honestly I thought it would be a bit before I got back into it, until the neighbor showed the kids the 75g tank setup and said they could have it. .
I caved, because well I guess I wanted it too lol.
We have a 180g in storage that I had planned on eventually setting up again, and will do so when needed etc.
Not a fan of the Catfish, so I won’t be upset to rehome him into the 125g across the street.

Lol. I see. If you aren't too discouraged by catfish, I have a recommendation that should work: Striped Raphael Catfish. They are from SA (where the other two cichlids come from). They are practical tanks but aren't aggressive. Not to mention how freakin' hardy they are, they can withstand anything. I have two of them, and they don't cause any problems.

The only catch is that they must be mostly full-grown or completely full-grown to be chucked in with an adult Oscar and GT, as they are smaller for medium-sized catfish (around 6-7 inch range average but can get larger in massive tanks). I would be nervous to put them with adult Oscars and GTs as juveniles. But I highly reccomend them; they look awesome and can withstand anything.

Side note: they got me into the hobby, so I'm biased. Lol. But a couple of other members here can elaborate on them, tlindsey , Deadeye

 

[tlindsey]

Lol. I see. If you aren't too discouraged by catfish, I have a recommendation that should work: Striped Raphael Catfish. They are from SA (where the other two cichlids come from). They are practical tanks but aren't aggressive. Not to mention how freakin' hardy they are, they can withstand anything. I have two of them, and they don't cause any problems.

The only catch is that they must be mostly full-grown or completely full-grown to be chucked in with an adult Oscar and GT, as they are smaller for medium-sized catfish (around 6-7 inch range average but can get larger in massive tanks). I would be nervous to put them with adult Oscars and GTs as juveniles. But I highly reccomend them; they look awesome and can withstand anything.

Side note: they got me into the hobby, so I'm biased. Lol. But a couple of other members here can elaborate on them, tlindsey , Deadeye

Thanks for tagging me. Only advice I can give is to sit and observe to make sure the catfish is the culprit. I also wouldn't replace the other Oscar because 75 gallon is tight for 1 Oscar.

 

[Jason01]

Thanks folks, much appreciated. With the GT and Oscar being only 3”, and the Eclipse Cat being 5 maybe a little less, it seemed like I had some time before we needed to go to storage and grab the 180. It’s tough to observe the cat, he literally only comes out when it’s feeding time or pitch black dark. I’ll see how he goes with just the GT. Perhaps it was a fluke that the lil Oscar that came with the setup jumped out. Watching the movements (from what I have seen from the Eclipse) , he moved pretty fast at the O previously and maybe that just spooked him into jumping.
And with the second dying the first night, perhaps just bad luck.
Appreciate the input, truly. Thank you.