Crazy Blood Red Oscar

[Jonny967]

I aquired a small Blood Red Oscar over the weekend as it ate everything in a friends tank, all my fish are quite large (parrots & Angels) so it loves it in my tank and thinks its in a shoal with the parrots.
It is displaying some unusual behavior though, it backs in between two rocks lays on its side waiting for the tiger barbs to swim over then lashes out at them, Is this normal?
It hasn't managed to get hols of one yet as the barbs are too fast. What an amazing fish it is though

 

[kewskills]

I don't know the answer but i would love to see a video of this behaviour, and some photos of him

 

[Jonny967]

I'll get some pictures put on later, is it possible to put videos on the forum? i have captured it doing its trick on my mobile.
Do you know of any specific foods i should be feeding it? i am currently chopping up bits of lance fish which it devours in seconds.

 

[rossyt99]

Hi, I'd like to see it in action> Yes you can put videos on, have you got YouTube access?? (Or PhotoBucket)

Once your video is uploaded onto Youtube, you click on the Blue-coloured title writing, and then choose 'Copy shortcut'.
>then 'Paste' it on a message on this forum.

(It Will take a while to upload if more than 30 seconds long)

Hope it works O.k.


P.s; My Oscar used to like playing with a Ping-Pong ball> nodding it around at surface.! May be a good addition..

 

[ox5477]

Before can advise on backing into the corner and snapping at the barbs, got a few questions:

• What size is the tank?
• How many other fish are in there? (You say parrots and angels, but how many of each?)
• What size is the oscar right now?

You could prob post a full tank shot and answer atleast the last two questions. Answer these questions and we will have a better idea of what is going on

 

[Jonny967]

Its currently in my 350 litre tank with 2 small parrots 1 small angel and 10 tiger barbs. I'm awaiting delivery of a 700 litre tank which it will go in once set up along with a rectic ray i have in another tank.

 

[ox5477]

how often do you feed it? It may just feel hungry and naturally it would try and catch and eat any small snack swimming by.

How big is it right now?

350L is right on borderline small for a single o, and sometimes parrots can be little bastards so they may be making the o feel uncomfortable or cramped. Good to hear your getting the 700L because I think the extra space in the tank will help

 

[Jonny967]

Its probally around 8cm at the moment, i feed it one lance fish per day but it will eat the pellets i put in for the parrots.
All food is split in to three feedings per day. I tend to feed small and often.
I don't think the parrot fish bother the oscar as they seem to spend most of the time shoaling together or hiding in the plants.

 

[Jonny967]

Got a picture of the Oscar but not managed to capture its strange behavior yet.

 

[ox5477]

Nice! He's still got those puppy dog eyes that make the juvies so appealing to everybody.

It would prob be better to feed him once a day until he gets to around 7 to 8 inches in which you should switch over to once every two days because his growth will have slowed down drastically. When you feed him too, feed him either pellets or freeze dried/frozen prepared shrimp, krill and other prepared foods. He might munch on some veggies too like cucumber or peas which would be a great thing for his digestion.

Also, when you feed him, make sure he gorges himself. This will (should) stem the attacks on the barbs as he will be a little sluggish for an hour or two after feeding and won't be hungry.

good luck and hopefully these tips help

 

[Jonny967]

How long does it usually take for an Oscar to reach full size?

 

[ox5477]

It depends on a few factors:

Feeding Regime - The more it's fed, the more energy it will have to use for growing (to a point like any other animal, after so much it will be stored and the fish will start to become a little plump and sluggish)

Tank size - A small tank will stunt a fishes growth, especially a typically fast growing and large growing fish like oscars. The best thing is to have as much space as possible since the time they are young so they feel free to grow and grow and grow

Finally: genes - just like humans, some people are 6 foot tall in 5th grade while some people never get a growth spurt until college


But, in general: The most growth is going to be in the first year to year and a half. It will take prob at least 2.5 to 3 years to reach a full grown size.

 

[Jonny967]

This Oscar has now lost the plot! since the last post it has mastered its strange fish catching technique . six tiger barbs have been eaten and it even had a silver doller taht was over a inch in diameter? didn't see this but i can't understand how it swallowed it?
Earlier before it captured the silver doller it had a full lance fish - never known a greadier fish, it is very amusing though
Will try to catch it in action and put it on you tube.

 

[kribensis12]

I would tkae everything else otta the tank, as they will be eaten too, take them to the lfs for credit and maybe get him a tank mate, so he'll have a freind when he moves to a bigger tank. Supposeing they turn out to be opposite sexes, or your in trouble.