Oscars

[heather]

my two oscars are so unpredictable they are the best of friends most of the time then they have a quick nip at each other its like having 2 toddlers with these two ,they are cute and are my favourate fish but how do you know if these need to be parted?there isnt much dmage to them apart from 1 has a white patch on his head .. i think its wear the other 1 has nipped him , they are always together follow each other and lay together ,, waird fish

 

[mamafish68]

what size tank are they in? (gallons) and how big are the oscars?

 

[heather]

there in a 4ft by 2ft tank there only 4 inches ,,

 

[Ginge]

Jus to let you know for a better response post in the other cichlids section.

 

[modernhamlet]

there in a 4ft by 2ft tank there only 4 inches ,,

2 points:

1. Oscars are South American, not African cichlids. You might get better advice posting in that forum.

2. As 2 oscars grow up, that 4x2 tank is probably going to become too small for them to coexist in. You're just seeing the tip of the iceberg behaviorally...

 

[freddyk]

The biggest problem here is that these are two randomly chosen Oscars, not a formed pair, and the bigger they get the worse the aggression between them will get. Although your tank is fine for a pair of Oscars, it's not big enough for two. There's a pinned post on it in the New World section.

 

[mamafish68]

someone please remind me what a 4x2 tank is....

dont we use gallons or liters anymore?

 

[freddyk]

As far as space for the fish is concerned the dimensions are the best way to speak of the tank. To say it's 120 gallons means it could be 4x2, or 6x1.5 or several other alternatives, which can make a huge difference in stocking despite having the same volume.