Are Oscars really aggressive?

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May 13, 2010
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I'm confused cuz I always read about how aggressive these fish are, but my 3 juvenile Oscars couldn't be more peaceful. they swim together around the tank and constantly rub their fins... almost like they were caressing each other, I haven't seen any lip-locking or charging or anything.

They also ignore my ghost shrimps, snails, small plecos and a little school of really small catfish that I introduced today to clean the leftover food.

My old Jack Dempsey used to eat everything small enough almost immediately.... they even ate snails and left empty shells everywhere within hours...:eek:

Could this be due to the fact that they're not mature? Maybe they become more territorial once they start growing?
 
My Oscars are both 7-8in now and they've only been aggressive during feeding from time time. Also aggression varies from fish to fish so it's just a wait and see thing sometimes.
 
If you supply enough tank room you may be ok when they grow up. But when they are young they don't bother one another
 
The people who claim that oscars in general are aggressive are usually people who have only kept them once and in a less than ideal situation. Most oscars do fine with anything larger than their mouths, but certain individuals are more aggressive than the others. I have kept two of them, myself, and they were kept with a blue gourami for their entire lives without any problems (and one of them got to about 12-13", the other maybe 11").
 
drgnfrc13;4778064; said:
The people who claim that oscars in general are aggressive are usually people who have only kept them once and in a less than ideal situation. Most oscars do fine with anything larger than their mouths, but certain individuals are more aggressive than the others. I have kept two of them, myself, and they were kept with a blue gourami for their entire lives without any problems (and one of them got to about 12-13", the other maybe 11").
Click to expand...

Agreed. Mine are pretty peaceful as well. It's sort of like keeping a dog I guess...take care of it the right way and most likely you'll end up with a calm, trusting, non-aggressive pet.
 
I raised my albino red oscar in a 300 gallon tank his entire life and he is very peaceful. He has never attacked or gotten into a scuffle with anybody. My rescued oscar, on the other hand, who grew up in a 35 gallon is mean as hell and attacks everybody. He wont let anybody near his corner of the tank. They are both about 12 inches now and I definitely think the situation they grew up in has a huge effect.
 
ive seen mix reviews and stories but im gonna go with there peaceful until they get bigger..
 
i'd say as long as your taking good care of them they're pretty peaceful. As they grow bigger they will assert their dominenec more and more. they're big boisterous fish, but i actually think that they're really friendly fish. Two males together tend to fight more than a male and female or 2 females. Do you know the sex of your fish?

What size tank are they in now?
 
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