Have My Oscars Gone Crazy Or Did I?

[FBTgirl]

OK I own 3 oscars in a 200 gallon tank. This tank is new they lived in a 130 gallon *Of course way to small*. We got $800 and instantly we got them a new tank. I thought I would do so much more then the 130 gallon. I put in plants, made the rocks even and nice, the water is clear, they have rocks and plants, they have toys. Good, fun tank = happy Oscars.
Just about a week ago my Oscars started picking up gravel and spitting it back out. Now I think I know what they are doing Call me crazy but I think they are cleaning there tank! I know nothing on normal Oscar personalities as I just researched on what has them happy and healthy. They are so messy when they eat and there is usually food all over the floor. I think they are picking it up and re-eating it.
I also noticed they started scooping up the gravel and doing this about a week after we got the gravel vac. Also, they re arranged everything. The little tank lights are now at each side of the tank. Half the gravel is piled in one corner. The bubble maker is moved, all the plants and rocks are in different spots.
I have no idea if this is normal or not?

 

[Davo86]

Yep very normal, Oscars will design the layout of their tank, and if you change it they will just put it back the way they want it

 

[england]

yes its perfectly normal oscars are very messy eaters and sift through the gravel all day long,they also add said rearrange the tank to there liking so i wouldnt bother setting up a nice tank because it wont be how you like it for long

iam going to say to you, three oscars that could be asking for trouble one day if you have a male n female which decide to pair up,,,,or three males
if you get three females then you could be ok, just be warned,but you prob already know this

 

[ox5477]

Yep, as stated twice already, perfectly normal for most all cichlids to arrange their habitat to their liking. Besides the gravel rearranging, o's are known to pull up plants and leave them in shreds if they feel there should be no plant there... so don't be suprised if one day you come home to find the majority of your foliage destroyed.

I have tried plants and sand with my cichlids before and find that gravel with bogwood and rockwork is the best. They will use the wood as tank dividers to divy up the tanks territories and the rock just adds some nice color interest if it is a different enough color compared to your gravel. The gravel is easy for them to move and allows them to sculpt it how they want it. Plus I think its a lot easier to care for as you can just use any plain ol' gravel vac and if anythign gets too out of place, they can spend the next week putting it back how they want it

Nelly makes a good point too. Though you would think 3 12" fish in a 200G is plenty of room, they can funny about things like this so you may see one or two of the fish being battered one day. When this happens I would first try a rearrange of the tank during a wc and see if territory disputes even out as the territories are reformed. If this doesn't work, theny ou may have to take one or two of the o's back to the lfs (which at 12" in adulthood, many o's scare potential fishkeepers off).

Good luck with your o's and hopefully they will all live happy and healthy lives

 

[FBTgirl]

Thanks guys this clears up a lot about the tank. They pulled up a fake plant and so I took it out. I do not think they liked it because they spent 3 days pulling it from the ground.