Do oscar fish mellow with age? Mine were fine but one has started being a bit of a butthead with my bichir. Not really aggressively attacking but occasionally pecking at him and my fire eel. I had a several who was bullying the oscar. Removed him. Now the oscar just took over as bully. Hes in the fish equivalent of his teenage years. My question is have your Oscar's mellowed with age? He can't hurt the bichir but I'd like the bichir to not hide all the time. Worried to rehome the one oscar as I expect the other would just start. Plus the two o's are bonded so I don't want to separate them. Do you think he will eventually get over it? Or should I rehome the Oscar's? The bichir is king of the tank so revoking him isn't an option. Since he is a bottom dweller I'd like a swimmer in there. If I did regime the Oscar's any suggestions for good peaceful bichir tank mates? Thanks!
Oscar fish teenage years
- Thread starter Joshua75
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What size tank?
I always find most aggression has to do with proper tank size.
And if the tank is too small for the oscar as a teen, imagine how tank size will affect it as an adult.
To me , any tank smaller than 6ft long, is too small for an oscar, and any tank mates in a too small tank will be thought of as something to be vanquished.
I always find most aggression has to do with proper tank size.
And if the tank is too small for the oscar as a teen, imagine how tank size will affect it as an adult.
To me , any tank smaller than 6ft long, is too small for an oscar, and any tank mates in a too small tank will be thought of as something to be vanquished.
Tank is 6 ft by 1.5. I will upgrade soon but everyone is smallish still. 125 gallons. What I dont understand is that this started after removing a fish. So there should be more territory. But in my experience most animals and humans are most ill behaved as young adults. I was just curious is Oscar's do. The big ones I see in stores always seem relaxed but the young ones go go go. I will upgrade to a 180 or 210 if that will solve it. But I don't wanna make that investment just to have the same thing occur.
When my O was 4-7 inches he was a screwball. Spazzing at nothing, running into the glass, getting himself scraped up. He fought nonstop with his tankmate bp. Now at 10 inches he's 'mellowing' a bit but still has his moments. Tank size 225.
Okay that's good to know. Perhaps he will mellow a bit with age. He can't really hurt the bichir. I just don't like my fish fighting.
Tank seems large enough, but you say you've been removing fish.
So each time you remove something, it changes the territorial dynamic and it is possible the oscar is reacting to the opening its getting to establish more dominance in the new, now up for grabs space.
One other thing, in nature, snakes and birds are some of the most common predators of cichlids.
Since the Bichir is not a normal part of oscar habitat, the shape of the bichir may create an instinctual fear that it is a predatory serpentine enemy.
So each time you remove something, it changes the territorial dynamic and it is possible the oscar is reacting to the opening its getting to establish more dominance in the new, now up for grabs space.
One other thing, in nature, snakes and birds are some of the most common predators of cichlids.
Since the Bichir is not a normal part of oscar habitat, the shape of the bichir may create an instinctual fear that it is a predatory serpentine enemy.
Thank you for your response. Very good information. I think I'm probably going to rehome the Oscar's. The bichir was here first. Lol
When I was in my late teens I kept an oscar in a 55, he mellowed out like you would not believe with age, I used to feed him minnows and eventually he refused to eat them or any live food for that matter because he was so mellow. Every fish is different though, but in my experience they were nasty as hell when they were young and mellow when they got older. Until he hit 8 inches, he went after every and everyone except me and my mom, he would flare his gills and bite the glass whenever people walked by, he'd move the gravel around, break the heaters and filter intakes, uproot plants, move decorations around, and kill everything I put in with him (including a pike cichlid, another oscar, a chocolate cichlid, an eel, a green terror, and a red devil). I think upgrading the tank and/or rearranging everything would break up their territory to diffuse aggression.
Thanks for the info! I'm glad to hear that they mellow out. I ended up rehoming them for the sake of my other fish who were being tormented. Too bad, I love oscars. But I think I need to find a super mellow already grown one if I'm going to get another.