Introducing A Fish

[GHill]

hi my name is Garrett, I am new to the forum - which by the way seems to be very informative..

i currently have a 29 gal tank with 1 adult oscar, 2 african cichlids (not sure what actual species) that are about 5 or 6 months old, and a couple of algae eaters. I just put a silver catfish out in my lake from my tank because he kept tearing up the tank.
today i went and bought an albino oscar to add to the tank, i removed the large oscar and rearranged the tank while adding the new oscar, after a couple of hours the 2 young cichlids had removed all the fins from the new oscar and finally the large oscar ate the young one.
my question is what is the best way to add a new fish into this environment? the oscar has really calmed down over the years but the two young cichlids are overly aggresive (one more so than the other). i would like to add maybe a clown loach or some other fish for some variety but i don't want to keep wasting my money on $9 a pop fish food. my next step was going to be to put in a tank separator for a few days but i thought i would ask someone who may know better.
if it comes down to it i'll get rid of the cichlids, i don't want them bullying my tank.

thank you for any advice
Garrett

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

Garrett, first off, you need a much bigger tank for Oscars... Try something 5x2x2 foot (540l or 120 imperial gallons). These guys get big quickly. I'm quite saddened to hear that you saw the damage done by the unknown cichlids and then stood back and let an injured fish be eaten by your mature Oscar. Would taking the injured fish straight back to the shop have been too radical?

Without trying to be rude, how can you have no idea of what the two African cichlids are in that tank? Surely the store told you? If they did not, surely its reasonable to look up the species before buying. Potentailly, you could be mixing Lake Malawi or Tanganyika with two Oscars, which could be very dangerous in itself (even more so in a tiny 29 gallon tank). We need pics of these African cichlids who have ripped your new Oscars fins to shreds.

Clown Loaches: Don't they look cute when you see them in the shops ~2" or 3" long? Again, I have to question why are you thinking about adding a fish without checking what size it will get to (try ~30cm for size); whether it is social and needs a group (I believe they need 6+ group, but could not be sure, I never thought about them after discovering their adult size); how it will cope with your other tank inhabitants (I suspect very badly, but again I never considered them); whether the temperature range is compatable with your current fish etc. etc.

In summary...

• Without knowing what all your current fish are, you are playing "Russian Roulette."
• You either need to re-home for the Oscar immediately to someone who can look after it in a substantially bigger tank, or obtain a tank at least ten (10) times the current size... but then you will need an even bigger tank in the long run.
• You may well find that you need to something similar for these mysterious African cichlids.

 

[GHill]

the oscar is fully grown at probably 6 yrs old, not really aggressive anymore, it was too late for the young oscar by the time i found out. the cichlids were sold to me as "african cichlids".. i have been looking through the species to id them.

we have had two full grown oscars in this tank before with no issues, i think mostly because i do not have a very cluttered tank..

 

[james41683]

with a full grown oscar a 29 gallon would be more than stuffed, unless it was stunted and didnt make it to full adult size.

 

[bullit]

h0w bigs the 0scar? pics 0f 0ther cicilds?