Guilty of an impulse buy >_<

[NCStateFisher]

When I first set up my 75 gallon it was between a GT and a specific red oscar from the petsmart i work at, the oscar was the healthiest looking I had seen in any petstore, corporation or not. Well at the time I ended up buying the GT, but over the past week I have noticed the oscar had his dorsal fin ripped and also has a decent sized gash near his tail along with a small spot of hith on his cheek. Well, guess who came home with me today? He's in my 75 getting adjusted, i've accepted the fact that my giant danios will now be feeder fish and I moved my small turquoise sev and rainbow shark to my 45gal until they reach a good size. I'm gonna give him about 10 days to see if I can't get him starting to heal up, but if there's any legitimate aggression between him and my GT i'll have a difficult choice to make.

Wasn't my brightest move but i've gotten a pretty good relationship with this fish workin with him and i'd hate to see him die or go to somebodies undersized tank when I wasn't working. If you fed the small oscars before him he would get mad and splash water from the top tank down at you lol, and hey, if it works out over the next week or so i know what to ask for christmas - LOTS of filtration

 

[Plec123]

hey, it could work... or one could kill the other.
but if it works out, itll take time for them to hit full size anyways and if they become friends youll have quite an impressive tank.

 

[gazelle]

I think it may be fine with the right driftwood to escape each other ( I know you probably hear this a lot)

 

[NCStateFisher]

The oscar is probably 2x the size as the GT and so far the oscar seems a bit off, i think he is really stressed from the move, he's been in that tank at petsmart for over a month, im hoping he makes it - he was definitely gonna die if he stayed in that petsmart tank :|

Anybody recommended a good product to deal with HITH assuming I get his fin and the gash fixed up with melafix and he survives?

 

[Gobrian44]

oscars are like wolverine from the X men in my experience lol. he'll bounce back and be fine

 

[creepyoldguy]

Personally, I would just use salt and keep the temp up. Torn fins and gashes aren't a fungus or parasite the use of the mela or pima, in my opinion, is not necessary. As far as aggression, who knows if it will work or not. I have 2 oscars (one of which is almost 8"), 4 green terrors, a breeding pair of jacks and 1 jag all about 3-6" in my 150g (72x18 footprint) and I have no aggression issues what so ever. They were all bought together in July and have been raised together since. I've tried a few barbs(which were the same size as the gt's) and loaches and the big O has eaten all of them. I never feed them live (except for the 4 tinfoil barbs and 3 clown loaches), which I believe keeps some aggression down.

 

[NCStateFisher]

Personally, I would just use salt and keep the temp up. Torn fins and gashes aren't a fungus or parasite the use of the mela or pima, in my opinion, is not necessary. As far as aggression, who knows if it will work or not. I have 2 oscars (one of which is almost 8"), 4 green terrors, a breeding pair of jacks and 1 jag all about 3-6" in my 150g (72x18 footprint) and I have no aggression issues what so ever. They were all bought together in July and have been raised together since. I've tried a few barbs(which were the same size as the gt's) and loaches and the big O has eaten all of them. I never feed them live (except for the 4 tinfoil barbs and 3 clown loaches), which I believe keeps some aggression down.

Mmk i'll definitely go with the salt that way i don't have to remove my carbon, i don't plan to feed them live (except for the inevitable loss of my giant danios one by one lol) - at the moment the O is probably close to 5" while the GT is around 3" - I guess at the end of the day if i come home tomorrow and one of them is dead that makes my decision for me.. lol

random side note - the O is terrified of my pleco

 

[Younglin]

Anybody recommended a good product to deal with HITH assuming I get his fin and the gash fixed up with melafix and he survives?

Gashes and everything will heal up on there own. HITH, or more accurately HLLE, is heavily debated. I recommend removing your carbon for two reasons. 1. Carbon is pretty much useless in an aquarium. 2. It is believed to be the cause of HLLE. Or at least a contributing factor. Best thing for it is a good diet and good water quality. My big O has it REALLY bad and it has been a battle for a few months. It can take a long time to get rid of it once it sets in. But since you caught it early you should be okay. As for aggression you might want to divide them if it gets bad. Or better yet buy another 75.

^ One of my longest posts ever lol.

 

[NCStateFisher]

Gashes and everything will heal up on there own. HITH, or more accurately HLLE, is heavily debated. I recommend removing your carbon for two reasons. 1. Carbon is pretty much useless in an aquarium. 2. It is believed to be the cause of HLLE. Or at least a contributing factor. Best thing for it is a good diet and good water quality. My big O has it REALLY bad and it has been a battle for a few months. It can take a long time to get rid of it once it sets in. But since you caught it early you should be okay. As for aggression you might want to divide them if it gets bad. Or better yet buy another 75.

^ One of my longest posts ever lol.

Haha, if aggression gets bad i'll just take the O back, I just hated seeing that fish with such a great personality suffering, he had the hole in the head when i brought him home, fortunately i don't think it's very deep yet

- and as far as getting rid of the carbon I run an AC110, should I just use the sponge and ceramic rings? or maybe even double up on one of those elements for best effect?

 

[Younglin]

- and as far as getting rid of the carbon I run an AC110, should I just use the sponge and ceramic rings? or maybe even double up on one of those elements for best effect?

Ceramic rings, course sponge/ filter pad, fine sponge/filter pad. Carbon is only used for removing chemicals from the water. Like medications and such. It does not remove ammonia like so many people think.