dont know what to do?

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adalas226

Candiru
MFK Member
Mar 2, 2007
171
0
46
Western Ny
i have a 72 gal. tank... with 2 oscars and a hampala shark..they have been content now for some time... and they seemed to be happy.. but a few days ago my hampala had a huge cut.. or missing scales between his eyes... its starting to heal... and now its just badly scared.. which is unfortunate because he was a really good looking fish.. well i blamed it on the other fish..but today i was down in the dark and heard a bang/splash sound and turned the light on and he was going crazy and had more missing scales ... then i saw him again go up and hit the top knocked off the food above it.. and got another huge gash near his eye...

so now what? is this telling me bigger tank? or suicidal? what should i do i feel bad for him he looks like he's all beat up :(
 
and please dont lecture me on saying that each oscar needs "this many" gallons and the hampala needs ""... if you think its due to tank size just tell me with out the lecture ;)
 
thinking it might be water parameters?

perhaps the oscars are nipping at him and causing him to freak out? But I'm sure you'd notice missing finnage or something to suggest bullying.

any "sharp" decorations like lava rock?

That's all I can really think of at the moment.
 
adalas,

can you identify anything that has changed recently in the tank? have you added a decoration? or changed the food, or temp? If nothing has changed you might be right, it might just be time for a bigger tank..
 
How big are the fish? When oscars are in a confined space, they become irritable and agressive.

It actually sounds line the hampala is freaking out about being in the dark. In nature, it is very rare for the night to be totally dark. On nights of a new moon with an overcast sky, the fish are also not in close proximity to psychotic oscars. Get a moon light system for your fish and the freaking out will lessen greatly.
 
he is bigger than the oscars.. and theyve been together for like 4 months now with no problem.. i tried adding another fish but it only lasted a few hours because he was bullying the hampala... so i put him in his own tank... ever since that he;s been going crazy.. Theres nothing sharp in the tank as soon as he swoops up and hits the top i notice more gashes... its like the same thing he does when i feed him (krill) i throw it at the water to make a splash and he goes straight up and hits it hard.. but at that time the top part is opened so he doesnt get hurt...

do you think it would be fair to keep him? i hate to see this keep happening... or should i try to find him a new home?
 
adalas226;868935; said:
he is bigger than the oscars.. and theyve been together for like 4 months now with no problem.. i tried adding another fish but it only lasted a few hours because he was bullying the hampala... so i put him in his own tank... ever since that he;s been going crazy.. Theres nothing sharp in the tank as soon as he swoops up and hits the top i notice more gashes... its like the same thing he does when i feed him (krill) i throw it at the water to make a splash and he goes straight up and hits it hard.. but at that time the top part is opened so he doesnt get hurt...

do you think it would be fair to keep him? i hate to see this keep happening... or should i try to find him a new home?
Click to expand...


can the shark see the other fish that was bullying him from his tank? my baby peacock bass dudes are constantly trying to start stuff with my big peacock bass in the other tank.. but there are 2 pieces of glass and about 4 inches between them.. lol. or maybe by putting that other fish in and taking it out again you showed your hampala the way out of the tank.. just because they don't have facial expressions doesn't mean they can't think and learn..
 
Get a night light and plug it into an extension cord. Put the light near the tank for a few nights and see if the behavior of the fish change.
 
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