Oscar Aggression Question

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BellycrawlerJaws

BellycrawlerJaws

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Sep 25, 2010
1,902
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38
Long Island, New York
My oscar has just hit around 6" (moving him to the 75 in a month or so - still waiting for the stand to get stained), and has started hunting my tiger barbs at night (has killed 3), I've witnessed this so I know it's him. He's been cutting himself up weekly on the driftwood in the tank, and I'd rather not remove the wood.

Should I remove the tiger barbs? Thoughts?
 
MTBjake said:
Just don't put anymore barbs in. Maybe you could try some different kind of driftwood?


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I initially had 11, down to 8. He never used to hunt them (I've had them since he was 3") and they've gotten bigger (just shy of 3" each). I'm getting the idea that because he's bigger now, they seem to be more of a food item to him.

I've also changed the driftwood around and taken a couple pieces out to give him more swimming room.
 
I had an Oscar stalk 10 Tiger Barbs until there were none. Took a while. Darn shame. T barbs are cool. Oscars are not the most graceful creatures and tend to get banged up when chasing prey. If you want to save your barbs you should yank them, or make the tank as uncluttered as possible for the Oscar and let Nature take it's course.
 
Oscars will eat whatever they can fit in their mouths, simple enough. As or the wood I don't know.. My dads oscar hates any decorations in his tank, fake plants he'll tear out and a big cave he flips over.. The only thing he tolerates is the substrate. As for the bars though, they're gonners unless you move them. Oscars aren't aggressive, they just eat whatever fits I theme or mouth. I'd recommend one Oscar and one syndontis lace catfish.. They're perfect companions... And maybe some large none aggressive fish depending on tan size.

Lol I used to have a jaguar with 6 tiger barbs and the same thing happened.. At fist they just died, then I started waking up to find them in my jags mouth because he was finally be enough to swallow them.


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Oscars get bored, especially if the tank they're in is too small. They will move logs, pile gravel on one side and then move it to the other side, and yes, will eat all your tiger barbs now that it knows they will fit in its mouth. If you have a glass heater, it may smash it and electrocute itself.
 
Yeah, that was what I feared about him just eating whatever fits. Sadly they are nowhere near small enough to fit. And my heater is a submersible heater that isn't glass.

He'll be in the 75 soon that I can promise, just waiting on the stand to be stained.
 
Michel& Duane hit it on the head.
They eat whatever they can& get bored

Try throwing some ping pong balls in it's tank, as long as it can't swallow them.

It may help with the boredom& take attention away from the barbs

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