Hello,
My wife bought me a Tiger Oscar for my birthday which is awesome; however, now I have a predicament. I already have 2 large adult Tiger Oscars in my tank and they are chasing and ramming the new Oscar to the point that he hides by wedging him/her self in the rocks. I'm pretty sure this is causing him to tear up his scales as well. The pair of Oscars I already had in there are "sorta" a mating pair...or at least they try to be. I say that because I'm pretty sure they are both female since the eggs never get fertilized (the eggs stay white). The pair constantly exhibit the usual mating behavior such as jaw locking, tail shaking, area prepping, etc. Once they lay eggs, which happens quite often, they will do it on the front side of the left overflow. Then, they both always guard and fan them.
Anyway, I need to figure out my best course of action regarding the new, third Oscar. This one , I would classify as a young adult as it is still large but not quite as large as the other two. As a temporary measure, I relocated him/her to the sump refugium compartment. However, this is obviously not a long term solution as the space is probably the equivalent of a 30 gallon tank.
I did read that sometimes Oscars sometimes do not do well in groups of three as a "pair" may turn against the third. That being said, one thought I had is to gut a forth Oscar in hopes it "pair" with the third fish.
I also tried to disrupt their territories by rearraigning the rocks and plants (fake plants). This put an end to the aggressive behavior for the better part of a day, then the aggressiveness started again.
Does anyone have any ideas?
Display tank: 220 Gallon (designed to be a reef tank with two overflows)
Sump tank: 100 Gallon
-Compartment 1: mechanical filtration (1x course sponge, 2x layers fine sponge, 2x layers filter floss pads)
-Compartment 2: fluid biological filtration (large amount of K2 media, 2 large air stones)
-Compartment 3: refugium/heaters
-Compartment 4: return pump (2400 gph)
Water parameters: Ph 7.8, 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, 20 ppm nitrates, 79 degrees F.
Maintenance schedule: automated pre-heated water changes equivalent to the sump water volume twice a week.
Feeding: API pellets twice daily, crickets added in every other week, brine shrimp cubes, flakes
Tankmates: 2 plecos, 2 small cats, 2 blood parrots, 2 Bala sharks, Jack Dempsey
My wife bought me a Tiger Oscar for my birthday which is awesome; however, now I have a predicament. I already have 2 large adult Tiger Oscars in my tank and they are chasing and ramming the new Oscar to the point that he hides by wedging him/her self in the rocks. I'm pretty sure this is causing him to tear up his scales as well. The pair of Oscars I already had in there are "sorta" a mating pair...or at least they try to be. I say that because I'm pretty sure they are both female since the eggs never get fertilized (the eggs stay white). The pair constantly exhibit the usual mating behavior such as jaw locking, tail shaking, area prepping, etc. Once they lay eggs, which happens quite often, they will do it on the front side of the left overflow. Then, they both always guard and fan them.
Anyway, I need to figure out my best course of action regarding the new, third Oscar. This one , I would classify as a young adult as it is still large but not quite as large as the other two. As a temporary measure, I relocated him/her to the sump refugium compartment. However, this is obviously not a long term solution as the space is probably the equivalent of a 30 gallon tank.
I did read that sometimes Oscars sometimes do not do well in groups of three as a "pair" may turn against the third. That being said, one thought I had is to gut a forth Oscar in hopes it "pair" with the third fish.
I also tried to disrupt their territories by rearraigning the rocks and plants (fake plants). This put an end to the aggressive behavior for the better part of a day, then the aggressiveness started again.
Does anyone have any ideas?
Display tank: 220 Gallon (designed to be a reef tank with two overflows)
Sump tank: 100 Gallon
-Compartment 1: mechanical filtration (1x course sponge, 2x layers fine sponge, 2x layers filter floss pads)
-Compartment 2: fluid biological filtration (large amount of K2 media, 2 large air stones)
-Compartment 3: refugium/heaters
-Compartment 4: return pump (2400 gph)
Water parameters: Ph 7.8, 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, 20 ppm nitrates, 79 degrees F.
Maintenance schedule: automated pre-heated water changes equivalent to the sump water volume twice a week.
Feeding: API pellets twice daily, crickets added in every other week, brine shrimp cubes, flakes
Tankmates: 2 plecos, 2 small cats, 2 blood parrots, 2 Bala sharks, Jack Dempsey
