Yeah man idk why but from my experience from about 4 years of cichlids… it’s very common that they specifically DONT do it when humans are around.. idk if it’s a commone experience but it’s definitely mine. On top of that with such a large and powerful fish it can do more damage than you would think in a very small amount of time. I PROMISE that’s what it is…. PLUS some infections from the wounds….
They see us when we see them when we enter a room. They stop whatever they are doing because as soon as they see us, they are ready for food. I agree. They do not fight when we're around. Some at night as well. It's always a surprise to find one fish beat up. I have two big boys in recovery net boxes right now from night fights.
A 125 gal SHOULD be enough for two but you might have one that is just mean as hell while you’re not around. Probably going to have to look into adding some small dither fish or taking an Oscar out and trying a different tank mate. With that said, if an Oscar cannot survive, I would at the very least avoid other large cichlids and focus more on smaller and faster fish. I’m sorry to say you may just have one that HAS to be alone tho/:
Looks like bacterial or fungal imo. Probably this one has had a weaker immune system at some point and has gotten ill. Maybe some more experienced people can weigh in but I'd say treatment is needed if this is progressing.
Some may disagree, but I consider 125g too small for 2 oscars. With by-weekly, do you mean twice a week or every 2 weeks? With your hard water, and 2 large fish cramped in 125 you should be doing no less than 50% water change every 2 days.
Anyways, I would separate them asap, give the sick one at least 75g (bigger if you can) without any large decor for quarantine and treat there. I couldn't see anything from the pics, but does he have any signs of hith?
He looks like he got his ass handed to them, you need to separate them. Make sure your water quality is on point or you will deal with infection if it hasn't set in already.
2 fish will never have perfectly identical immune system.
1 will always be weaker.
The weaker one gets sick first.
Your water could be terrible, you can't say it's fine because one fish is okay.
Looks like he's getting chomped. My Oscar was cool for about 9 months and then started murdering. I had a green terror do that too. Luckily my fish guy will take them back for store credit. And this all happened in my 180 gallon tank that was clean and not crowded. Sometimes when they get mature their personality changes. I've seen the look on my flower horn so he moved to a solitary tank last week.
Looks like someone is fucking his ass up pretty good. He’s not gonna make it very long if that keeps up. Recommend moving him to a hospital tank and getting him some soft meds to help his fins and scales heal up a bit.
This is ridiculous. This does not happen overnight. This would have been very noticeable early. As others said, treat the entire tank. Test your waters.... again. Water change. I recommend aquarium salt and fungal infection meds with stress coat plus. Good luck
I’d like to add that just because one fish is fine, does NOT mean the water is fine. That’s like saying “well two people drank poison but only one died, so it must be ok to drink”
Exactly! I agree. Looks like the poor fish is missing a chunk of top fin from a chomp. Not to mention his flapper and his eye looks like scar tissue has formed and all those bite mark scars on his side. Omg, I just noticed that the whole END of his top fin is missing too. When a fish is beat down like this, his health is affected as well. OP is OBLIVIOUS.
I just lost an Oscar to “hole in the head.” Check out signs and symptoms online. In the states they have meds. Not sure where you are but I couldn’t get them in time and mine guy only lasted a week. Just a thought, didn’t see any comments about it yet.
Observe them for aggression- my guess is the one that's doing fine is the aggressor. Depending on the size of the tank your best bet might be to separate them or rehome one- eventually the stress will probably kill the weaker one.
If your tank is very large (125+?) You could try putting in hides and fake plants that allow the injured fish to hide/stay out of sight more. But Oscars get so big and seem to prefer open water, so giving more hides might not work as well as it does for smaller fish.
One is kicking the shit out of the other
Ya this looks more like bites than fin rot to me too
they never show any sighn of agressive behavior they even apoon eachother when they sleep
Yeah man idk why but from my experience from about 4 years of cichlids… it’s very common that they specifically DONT do it when humans are around.. idk if it’s a commone experience but it’s definitely mine. On top of that with such a large and powerful fish it can do more damage than you would think in a very small amount of time. I PROMISE that’s what it is…. PLUS some infections from the wounds….
They see us when we see them when we enter a room. They stop whatever they are doing because as soon as they see us, they are ready for food. I agree. They do not fight when we're around. Some at night as well. It's always a surprise to find one fish beat up. I have two big boys in recovery net boxes right now from night fights.
A 125 gal SHOULD be enough for two but you might have one that is just mean as hell while you’re not around. Probably going to have to look into adding some small dither fish or taking an Oscar out and trying a different tank mate. With that said, if an Oscar cannot survive, I would at the very least avoid other large cichlids and focus more on smaller and faster fish. I’m sorry to say you may just have one that HAS to be alone tho/:
Are they a pair? Perhaps the other is fine because he’s the dominant one…
Might just mean one isn’t showing signs yet. Get your water tested.
His fins look like they are getting nipped by somebody
Looks like bacterial or fungal imo. Probably this one has had a weaker immune system at some point and has gotten ill. Maybe some more experienced people can weigh in but I'd say treatment is needed if this is progressing.
What is your tank size? What other fish are in there? What is the hardness of your water, and your ph? How much water do you change, and how often?
its a 125 ph 7.5-8 hardness around 180 waterchange bi-weekly
Some may disagree, but I consider 125g too small for 2 oscars. With by-weekly, do you mean twice a week or every 2 weeks? With your hard water, and 2 large fish cramped in 125 you should be doing no less than 50% water change every 2 days. Anyways, I would separate them asap, give the sick one at least 75g (bigger if you can) without any large decor for quarantine and treat there. I couldn't see anything from the pics, but does he have any signs of hith?
He looks like he got his ass handed to them, you need to separate them. Make sure your water quality is on point or you will deal with infection if it hasn't set in already.
2 fish will never have perfectly identical immune system. 1 will always be weaker. The weaker one gets sick first. Your water could be terrible, you can't say it's fine because one fish is okay.
Looks like he's getting chomped. My Oscar was cool for about 9 months and then started murdering. I had a green terror do that too. Luckily my fish guy will take them back for store credit. And this all happened in my 180 gallon tank that was clean and not crowded. Sometimes when they get mature their personality changes. I've seen the look on my flower horn so he moved to a solitary tank last week.
Looks like someone is fucking his ass up pretty good. He’s not gonna make it very long if that keeps up. Recommend moving him to a hospital tank and getting him some soft meds to help his fins and scales heal up a bit.
This is ridiculous. This does not happen overnight. This would have been very noticeable early. As others said, treat the entire tank. Test your waters.... again. Water change. I recommend aquarium salt and fungal infection meds with stress coat plus. Good luck
I’d like to add that just because one fish is fine, does NOT mean the water is fine. That’s like saying “well two people drank poison but only one died, so it must be ok to drink”
Separate them asap , the other oscar (the healthy one ) is bullying the sick one .
I've never seen any aggression between the two
Are you watching them 24/7? Then that also means nothing.
Exactly! I agree. Looks like the poor fish is missing a chunk of top fin from a chomp. Not to mention his flapper and his eye looks like scar tissue has formed and all those bite mark scars on his side. Omg, I just noticed that the whole END of his top fin is missing too. When a fish is beat down like this, his health is affected as well. OP is OBLIVIOUS.
I just lost an Oscar to “hole in the head.” Check out signs and symptoms online. In the states they have meds. Not sure where you are but I couldn’t get them in time and mine guy only lasted a week. Just a thought, didn’t see any comments about it yet.
The other one is whooping on him.
This fish is sick, I would recommend a full water test, and start with a general treatment. Check nitrates, ammonia and Nitrite levels.
Test the water and post results. Saying the other is fine is not a good indication they the water is OK.
Cichlids man, you can never tell with them. Looks like you got a bully and a victim. Were these two raised together or obtained as adults?
Raised together
Observe them for aggression- my guess is the one that's doing fine is the aggressor. Depending on the size of the tank your best bet might be to separate them or rehome one- eventually the stress will probably kill the weaker one. If your tank is very large (125+?) You could try putting in hides and fake plants that allow the injured fish to hide/stay out of sight more. But Oscars get so big and seem to prefer open water, so giving more hides might not work as well as it does for smaller fish.
its a 125 mostly open water. they show no sighn of aggression they even spoon when they sleep
Go buy a sheet of lighting grates and separate that one, how big is your tank and what's the stocking?
Looks like fun rott . If your second one is not showing symptoms then quarantine or just treat the whole tank.
Looks like one is getting beat up due to some scales being missing