Ok having problems with my oscars...

[Dubster10]

So here's my situation. I was given two small oscars about 6 months ago, they always got a long great. Well they are getting bigger now(approx 4"), and still in my 29 gallon; I just got a 90 Gallon for them that is in the process of cycling.
Well they are getting very aggressive towards each other now, i'm sure due to lack of space; and I'm not sure they are both going to make it to the 90 gallon if they keep it up. Any suggestions on what I should do? Also with this behavior will they both be ok together in the 90 gallon? Thanks for the help...

 

[Dylan]

the 90 gallon should be great for them. just make sure to have plenty of hiding spaces, and a big tank like that should give them much more room to run away from each other. Is one of them the aggressor? Also, you might try to put in maybe one or two more cichlids to take the aggression off the others.

 

[Dubster10]

well they both seem equally aggresive toward each other. It started with lip locking and has quickly progressed into chasing each other around the tank, and scales are starting to fly... I'm not sure if they are both males or both females. But it's so weird they used to get along so good and now they can't stand each other, i guess lack of space will do that. What other chiclids should i look into getting with them in the 90 gallon? Thanks for the help.

 

[DarkMuse]

Are they the only fish in the tank? Maybe you could get a tank divider until the 90 is finished cycling.

 

[Dubster10]

I have 2 algae eaters, and a smaller jack dempsey that doesn't bother, or get bothered by the oscars. One second the oscars seem to be getting along fine, swimming together and such. Then the next second they're locking lips and chasing after each other. I guess I'll probably just get a tank divider so they don't kill each other. Now to decide which oscar to keep the Jack with.
Any other advice on which chiclids would be good tankmates with the oscars and the small jack in the 90 gallon?

 

[jewel]

I have 2 Keni Cichlids, 1 Brown Bullhead Catfish, and 2 Pictus Catfish with my 3 Tigers and they all get along great, (the Kenyi Cichlids chase each other quite alot and sometimes my one Oscar gets mad and chases them til they calm down, lol).

 

[Dylan]

i think youll be good with the two algae eaters, two oscars and a dempsey. watch out for the dempsey. mine chases my pleco out of all its spots, but it never fin nips or anything. i used to have this blue african cichlid, i think it was a zebra but not sure. he was the smallest in the tank, but the most aggressive and the most active. he would chase everybody around the tank, except for the oscar, cuz hes huge, but once i put my dempsey in, they went at it, always swimming in circles tryin to catch each others tails. im pretty sure all cichlids are aggressive fish. as long as one of the oscars doesnt become the aggressor and they both are equally matched, i dont think youll need to separate them. but if one of them starts to get bigger while the other stays smaller, then you might have a problem

 

[Dubster10]

Ok, one of the oscars has now become the aggressor. It's the smaller one(not by much) and it's the tiger oscar. The other now hides in the corner to try and stay away from the tiger oscar.

 

[Dubster10]

Also, how can I identify the sex on my oscars?

 

[LongTime]

Oscars begin to mature at about 4", so part of your problem could be each of the maturing fish trying to establish territory. I think that is most likely the case. The other, but I doubt it right now, is a case where one is a male who wants to breed with a female that is not ready.
I have heard of a lot of people who claim to be able to sex oscars. http://www.cichlidfish.com/oscars/oscars.htm is a site that claims to have a way of doing it outside of watching to see who lays the eggs. I tend to get skeptical when I read something like this " If your OSCAR has about 3 dark spots at the base of the dorsal fin, it is most likely a male. Unfortunately, conversely if it doesn't have the 3 spots it doesn't really tell you it's a female. Also, males tend to have more pointed dorsal and anal fins."
There is some good information there but I'm still waiting for the "secret information on sexing oscars at a young age."

 

[Dubster10]

Thanks for the info, I still can't tell the sex of either one of them. This sure is frustrating....