*crying* In Need Of Solid Good Advice, Total Mayhem In The Oscar Tank

[Spishkey]

at three am was woken by the most terrible commotion. the oscars and the large featherfin catfish looked like they were trying to kill each other it was pure chaos, water splashing everywhere scales flying. we grabbed the catfish and threw him in a bucket but had to add him back as the bucket was not heated nor filtered water. checked them all over. few scales here and there missing, went back to bed after watching them fpr 30mins, in which nothing happened.



got up this morning and one of the oscars has a chunk missing from below his mouth, its hanging there flapping off his mouth, and big bites/scles missing all down one side

now im 99% certain its the catfish that has inflicted this, but there is that small chance it could be the other oscar (they have been acting strange together recently but were showing more signs of mating behaviour than aggression) and after seeing the fighting between the catfish and oscars earlier, im wondering if they are getting territorial ready for egg laying or so???


i have rang my 2 LFS's this morning and neither can take in the catfish (there is four large ones in the tank, i thought it best to rehome them all) i dont know anyone who could possible take them, i dont even want to part with them but if the tank is going to turn into a war zone, someone has to go.


im so upset i have cried half the morning. luckily all the catfish hide during the day so i dont have to sit and watch them. the oscar that has the worst injuries is amazingly the larger, stronger of the two. the smaller one seems injury free.

im at a loss what to do.

i would advertise them on ebay, but i dont want them going to any old person who may not have a clue in how to care for them.

would a rearrangement of the tank perhaps help or is this something that is going to always happen as long as the fish stay together?

*bangs head on wall* i dont know what to do (

also in regards to waldorfs injurys, what do i do? he has what looks like specks of blood on the inside of his mouth (like blood blisters under the skin) the big chunk hanging off his face, and big white patchs where the scales have gone?

 

[minxfishy]

Oh Spish, sorry to hear about this, the best advise I can give is to seperate them somehow, with some temporary dividers?

With the wounds, can you add some Melafix? Or the equivalent you have in Belguim, and do some good water changes over the next few days to help with the healing.

 

[Spishkey]

the only thing i have to use as dividers are tea trays and chopping boards. how would i get them to stick though?? the oscars are very good at moving stuff so im worried they'd push them over or squish themselves

 

[minxfishy]

I know its a large tank so not as easy to divide as the small ones, but maybe some plastic mesh of some kind,(in the UK we get this sort of stuff from a hardware store/Garden centre) to allow the water to flow, as to what you can use to hold them in place - arrgh cant think, some suction cups maybe, heavy duty kind so the Oscars couldnt force the mesh down.

Do you have any other tanks to perhaps move some fish around to serperate them?

 

[Spishkey]

no other tank big enough. all the fish in that tank are huge. at a push i could put the featherfin in my community tank but think it may eat the smaller fish in there?

 

[minxfishy]

Then honestly the only thing you can do is divide the tank. Some heavy duty garden mesh, the kind with small holes in, then the suction cups on either side, going down either side of the mesh, every other hole, to fix it tightly to the inside of the tank, then place some heavy rocks at the bottom to stop them pushing through it.

Kinda like this stuff:

Its plastic, so wont effect the water and will allow the flow of water through the holes.

I hope that makes sense

 

[Spishkey]

makes perfect sense! will go shopping as soon as ive got the kids ready. thanks

 

[minxfishy]

Good luck, I hope it works, least until you can re-home someone. Maybe best to make 2 divisions, one Oscar in each, the catfish in the other? I know they wont like it, but its for their own safety

 

[Miss Wiggle]

Good luck, I hope it works, least until you can re-home someone. Maybe best to make 2 divisions, one Oscar in each, the catfish in the other? I know they wont like it, but its for their own safety

i agree with this, they all need to be separated

not sure what you have in belgium but in the UK we have a site called aquarist classified, this is a good place to advertise fish for re-homing.

another good option in liue of another tank is the big garden tidy tubs, they're only a couple of quid froma garden centre and will do as a makeshift home for an oscra or a couple of large catfish, obv need to get a heater and filter but they are a good standby for a few days.

you're gonna need to re-home one of the oscars IMHO, we were a bit unsure before if it was preparation for mating or just fighting, this sounds liek the fighting is getting much worse which is what tyou can expect with two unmated oscars of the rough age you think they are. I honestly think it'll just get worse unless you find a home for one of them.

 

[Spishkey]

i was thinking that too miss wiggley one. thing is they would both have to go. heart breaking as it is i couldnt pick which to keep and which to go so id have to say goodbye to both.


its gonna be a tearful week.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

i was thinking that too miss wiggley one. thing is they would both have to go. heart breaking as it is i couldnt pick which to keep and which to go so id have to say goodbye to both.


its gonna be a tearful week.

It's hard work finding a home for one adult oscar let alone two tbh, don't make it your issue, advertise them that one has to go, let the buyer choose which one they want and you keep the other.

 

[shelaghfishface]

when my 2 oscars wrere fighting, it was the gill area which was damaged,( chunks missing) i still think these oscars should be allowed time to settle in ( they have been thru hell)and maybe think about moving the syno out, i have one and they can be aggressive..i would bet its him that has been fighting not the O`s

love shelagh xxx

 

[Spishkey]

he's the one they were fighting with at 3am. i have learnt off a group im in that those catfish, although sometimes peaceful can be very very territorial, so i am wondering if his territory overlaps the oscars, hence the big fight??

its too true they've been through hell and back perhaps if i try to rehome the catfish and see where it goes from there (getting some dividers though to be on the safe side incase i need them?)

i am so attached to these beasts(!) i love them to death. i dont want to split them if its not them causing the problem

 

[Miss Wiggle]

its too true they've been through hell and back perhaps if i try to rehome the catfish and see where it goes from there (getting some dividers though to be on the safe side incase i need them?)

that sounds sensible, def make sure you have a plan B though, i.e. the dividers

i can totaly understand you don't want to split them up, i'm just concerned if left too long they'll come to serious blows and you'll have worse than re-homing to deal with

really tough situation you've found yourself in though, totally feel for you.