CichlidFish.com - Fish That Think.

HELP I POSTED THREAD SOMEWHERE ELSE HERE TO BUT NO RESPONSE YET BUT OUR RED AND BLACK OSCAR KEEPS OPENING HIS / HER MOUTH AS BIG AS POSSIBLE AND RAMMING THE GLASS AND SHAKING ( LOOKING ELECTRICUTED ) SO HARD HE / SHE IS SPLASHING SO MUCH WATER OUTA THE BACK OF THE TANK , IT IS UNREAL...WE HAVE NEVER SEEN THIS- WHAT IS THIS- THERE ARE 2 OTHERS IN WITH.. ANY IDEAS ? ?:(

PS.. THEY TURNED A YEAR OLD IN OCTOBER.. ANY HELP WILL ,, WELL HELP.. THANX !

It sounds like fairly typical aggressive behaviour for an Oscar. They will often charge the glass and opening it's mouth as large as possible is what Oscars do when in an aggressive state. This makes them more threatning as generally the fish with the larger mouth will win out in a despute over who's dominant or who owns territory.

Is the Oscar doing this mainly when it can see you near the tank? Oscars often claim a territory the exceeds the physical dimentions of the tank and it may be telling you to "back off".

Is there problems between that Oscar and it's other tankmates? At a year old it will likely be at a stage in maturity where sorting dominance is becoming critical and spawning behaviours will influence it's mood greatly. I'd keep a close eye on the other Oscars and make sure no one begins to attain damage as 3 can be a very tricky number of Oscars to keep together particullarly if two turn out to be a male and female pair (the "third wheel" usually wont be tollerated).

What size tank are your O's in?

Something you might want to concider, lights on in the room..My Oscar (rest in peace) did not like the room to get dark with out a light being on. He would do the same thing in the tank until I turned a light on..then he would calm down..Yours if this is not the case, could be seeing his reflection and attacking the glass thinking it is another Oscar...Try to go to the tank and see if he stops, or are you by the tank when he does this? Hard to say really..These are my guesses..Goofie fish..

THANX FOR THE COMMENTS SO FAR.. TANK SIZE IS 55 GAL.. WE WILL BE MOVING AL ( OUR ALBINO ) IMMEDIATELY.. I HAVE BEEN THINKING WILL THEY GO INTO SOME KIND OF DEPRESSON ONCE THEY ARE SPLIT UP .. WHEN WE MOVED THEY QUIT EATING FOR 2 WEEKS.. I WAS SO SAD... i JUST WONDER WILL IT BE OK ON THEM.. ITS BEEN A YEAR.

SMART IDEA ABOUT THE LIGHTS BEING OFF.. HE DOES STOP SOMETIMES WHEN WE GO UP, BUT AT NIGHTS ALOT I HAVE ALL THE LIGHTS OFF CEPT TV AND AQUIRIUM LIGHTS WE HAVE 2
( 55 GAL. AND 20 GAL ).. SOMETIMES HE WILL DO IT WHEN WE COME HOME THOUGH AND WALK THROUGH THE DOOR.. MAKES ME LAUGH SO HARD.. DUNNO EITHER LOL

WHATS VENTING..? TO TELL SEX- WE WOULD LOVE TO FIND OUT.
CAN FEMALES BE DOMINATE? HMM..

Standard Disclaimer:
I'm fairly new, so ya may not wanna listen to me.


I agree with fnesr's assessment to your post. I think what you're seeing is a territorial aggression reaction. "Flaring" and "charging" are typical aggressive behaviour of a lot of different animals, not just fish like Oscars. These reactions may be intensified further when territory is very limited - and no offense intended, but 3 big oscars in 55 gallons are quite crowded. (I have 7 young fish in 90, but know I will need another big tank within the next year.)

Do you notice Pumpkin darkening when it does this? Oscars are emotional chameleons & will change their colour contrast with their moods; usually lightening when frightened/intimidated and darkening when angry/aggressive.

LOL and no, some O's don't consider their owners could possibly be as tough as they are... after all, they are Oscars and you aren't!.
Many larger species of fish, including Oscars sometimes don't consider the glass of the tank to be the limit of "their" territory. Lighting in the room can play a large part in their perception of this.

There is one other thing it could be......

Pumpkin may just want control of the TV remote.
:redlaugh:

WHATS VENTING..? TO TELL SEX- WE WOULD LOVE TO FIND OUT.

Venting involves removing the fish from the tank and physically examining the genital area of the fish by hand to determinbe sex. It can be a stressfull thing for the fish and I would not recommend doing it unless you are experienced and know what your doing.

If your Oscars are adults however it may be possible to determine sex from the vents visually whilst in the tank. During feeding the line of sight is generally best and what you are looking for in the genital area is the size of openings (holes). Females will have two different sized "holes" with one looking larger then the other (oO). A males "holes" will appear allmost the same size (oo).

I LOVE THIS ROOM SOOOO MUCH ..:applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :hurray: :hurray: :love: :love: :clap: :rockin: :rockin:

HMM.. I CHECKED OUT THE VENTING THING AND THEY ALL LOOK LIKE MALES.. OH BOY..:shock: :shock: MAYBE THOUGH IT LOOKS LIKE SPIDEY MIGHT BE FEMALE AND SHE IS THE BIGGEST..what!?
I WILL KEEP CHECKING .. AND I AM MOVING THEM .. I AM GOING TO PUT SPIDY AND AL IN A 200+ GAL.. AND LEAVE AL WHERE HE/SHE IS. CHECKED ON SOME CONVICTS YESTERDAY TO PUT IN MY 20 GAL.. THEY ARE SO DAM CUTE.. LOL LITTLE JAIL BIRDS COLORS..LOL

WELL ANYWAYS .. TY TY TY FOR THE REPLIES.. I AM LEARNING SO MUCH !

:wow!
AND YOU KNOW.. THEY DO CHANGE COLORS.. SPIDEY GETS REAL LIGHT DURING WATER CHANGE.. I WILL GET THIS TANK SIZE RECTIFIED THOUGH !
THANK YOU EVERYONE.

PUMPKIN IS MY ABBEY HOFFMAN. . . . LOL

:rockin: :rockin: :rockin: :rockin: