my albino oscars are fighting

[wtfoo]

i have 4 oscars in a tank, 3 albino and 1 black. 2 of the albino oscars are "fighting". they are locking jaws. is taht fighting or just playing around?

[Lexus]

They are probably fighting, what other fish are in the tank and how big is the tank?

[wtfoo]

2 plecos. some tetras that they havent eatened yet. the tank is small and i know that. its a 29 gallon but im moving them to a 55 which is still small. just wondering if i should be worried or if they were just playing. at this moment, they are getting along.

[Drift_King]

In a smaller tank they will probly fight they need space especially if u have 4 in the same tank.
They are territorial especially when breeding or when they become more mature. And as u probably know youll soon be saying goodbye to those tetras.
Oscars are really cool though i have 3 ....they do tend to react bep together.

[MbunaMargy]

Drift King:

You didn't say how big the fish are. Oscars and other SA cichlids use jawlocking as a means to test each other. Fish of the same sex do it to determine who is going to be the dominant male (or female) and establish the tank's pecking order. Fish of the opposite sex use it to determine if a potential mate has what it takes to be an acceptable choice. This may be a sign that they are reaching fishy puberty.
If two of them get together and start driving off all the rest, then you have a pair, and you should get the other fish that you don't want to lose out of their tank.

Good luck.

[oscar_lover2005]

29g and 4 oscar's you gotta be kidding me right? they will out grow that tank in two weeks or less and they will stunt thier growth. oscar's required a minimum of a 70g tank becasue they reach a size of 12-16inces and are messy eater's. if you don't update that tank to a 125g tank they won't have a good life and will be stuck and stressed out. they are fighting becasue they are crowded. normally oscar's will fight but in a group of 4 there shoulnt be as much agression as if it was two oscar''s. im going to be straight to you. your 29g is very very overstocked and you need to do something about it quick. in your condition you should be making daily water changes about 25% daily. the oscar's will eat the tetras when they reach 3inces. was you ever aware that they can reach a large size in less then a year. when my oscar was 6months old he was 7inces.

[Jordan01]

Oscars don't need 70 but I reccomend it, the minimum is 55 gallon. If the tank is not already on its way I suggest taking them all back and starting over with a big tank.

1=55
2=75-90
3=100-150
4=150-200
5=200-275
6=275-350

Do you want to keep going?

Oscars grow one inch a month on average until they get about 10 inches, so unless you are cycling the tank right now, I reccomend taking them back.

Don't worry I made the same mistake, I tried to put 2 oscars in a 10 gallon tank!

Think about this.
Good luck!

[wtfoo]

actually, i did take them back to the petstore. i actually sold one to someone right in front of the petstore. its going to a bigger home which is nice. i just couldnt keep them in my tank anymore. they were at least 6 inches each when i took them back. i miss them tho.

[Damon]

You did the right thing. Good for you. You have learned and rectified the situation before any fish is loss. Kudos!

[wtfoo]

yea, hopefully theyll be in a better home. im in the works of maybe being able to get a 180 gallon so we'll see where this will take me if i do get it. btw, how much would it cost to set up a tank this big(ie. filters, heaters, rocks, that kind of stuff)? thanks

[Jordan01]

In a nut shell I would say anywhere from $700-1000 range, but I guess It could be lower if you found a good deal? You could maybe do it for $600, but not likly.

[atltk]

Kudos for not having the "Well I know it's not right, but lets jsut see if it works anyways" attitude a lot of keepers do. Just keep your eyes peeled for a deal, you'll find one eventually. The best palces (IMO) are eBay, the local paper and freecycle.

[Jason_S]

Originally Posted by wtfoo @ Wed Apr 20, 2005 11:18 am

yea, hopefully theyll be in a better home. im in the works of maybe being able to get a 180 gallon so we'll see where this will take me if i do get it. btw, how much would it cost to set up a tank this big(ie. filters, heaters, rocks, that kind of stuff)? thanks

if you go with www.bigalsonline.com then you can set the tank up for a pretty good price. If it were my 180 gallon, I would go with:

4 x Aquaclear 500 = $131.96
2 x Visitherm Stealth 250 watt = $35.98
1 x Seachem Prime 2 Liter = $32.99
Standard shipping (to me) = $11.95
---------------------
total $212.88

then rocks are free if you get them from local rivers or streams....scrub them with a wire brush and hot water, then boil them for an hour or bake them at around 400F for 1 hr. I'd get gravel from the cheapest place around which would probably be a Petsmart. I believe 25 lb. bags go for around $12 and I'd probably go with 6-7 bags which would come to $72-$84.

If you get the tank only, you can build the stand yourself. Detailed directions can be found here...http://www.fishandtips.com/index.php or here....http://www.garf.org/tank/buildstand.asp. The first site gives approx. prices that it would cost, and I put in the dimensions to build a stand for a 180 gallon tank and for the stand to be 30" tall the approx. cost is $115.36.

For lighting, the most cost efficient method would be to use common shoplights which you'll find at Wal-Mart, Lowes, Menard's or any other lighting or home-improvement type store. 4 foot shop lights usually run from $7-15 but I've never priced a 3 foot or 6 foot shop light.

So there you go, if you get the 180 gallon tank, you could set it up almost entirely (I didn't price hoods for you) for around $442.24.

[Lisachromis]

A cheap possible alternative to buying gravel at Petsmart or other pet store would be to check out local feedstores. If you have any, you can ask for hen grit (just make sure the rock they use is inert like granite). Often you can get a 50 pound bag for $5-10.

[Jason_S]

that's true Lisa, I forgot all about that. You can also get like 50 lb. bags of peasized gravel that would work fine at Wal-Mart for like $3-5. Or if you want to go with sand you can get playsand for around the same price. Only problem is you have to rinse, and rinse, and rinse, and rinse, and rinse, and rinse, and rinse, and rinse, and rinse some more. LOL

[Lisachromis]

Originally Posted by Jason_S @ Thu May 12, 2005 7:37 am

****Or if you want to go with sand you can get playsand for around the same price. ****Only problem is you have to rinse, and rinse, and rinse, and rinse, and rinse, and rinse, and rinse, and rinse, and rinse some more. LOL

That's the price of being cheap!

[Thunderkiss]

Originally Posted by oscar_lover2005

29g and 4 oscar's you gotta be kidding me right? they will out grow that tank in two weeks or less and they will stunt thier growth. oscar's required a minimum of a 70g tank becasue they reach a size of 12-16inces and are messy eater's. if you don't update that tank to a 125g tank they won't have a good life and will be stuck and stressed out. they are fighting becasue they are crowded. normally oscar's will fight but in a group of 4 there shoulnt be as much agression as if it was two oscar''s. im going to be straight to you. your 29g is very very overstocked and you need to do something about it quick. in your condition you should be making daily water changes about 25% daily. the oscar's will eat the tetras when they reach 3inces. was you ever aware that they can reach a large size in less then a year. when my oscar was 6months old he was 7inces.

Fish doon't stunt, they deform. They will continue to grow, just horribly. And they are fighting because thats what cichlids do. a bigger tank will certainly alleviate it for a bit, but cichlids like to tell each other who the boss really is.

[Lisachromis]

Fish can be stunted. I find it tends to happen while the fish are still quite young. I've yet to see many deformed fish as a result of poor care, but I have seen adult specimens that are no where near their typical size.

[BobGTP00]

A 180 gallon tank for under 1000? I got a 155 gallon overflow bow front with wet/dry filter. After getting everything (heater, gravel, wet/dry filter, tubing) it was about a little over two thousand and I got the cheap one (All Glass). The Oceanic brand would have cost between 4 and 5 thousand!! It was free delivery and they helped me set it up also which is worth a hundred or so.

[Lydia]

Originally Posted by Jason_S

that's true Lisa, I forgot all about that. You can also get like 50 lb. bags of peasized gravel that would work fine at Wal-Mart for like $3-5. Or if you want to go with sand you can get playsand for around the same price. Only problem is you have to rinse, and rinse, and rinse, and rinse, and rinse, and rinse, and rinse, and rinse, and rinse some more. LOL

Hey Jason_S: you forgot to mention that you need to rinse it alot.

And, wtfoo, I have to give props to you for getting rid of them right away before any died. Most people don't do that. Good job.