Baby Tiger Oscar

[Master Zero]

Good afternoon all!

Two days ago I got a baby Tiger Oscar, he was the best looking one out of the rest that were in the tank with him (the others had bite marks, and some even had missing fins). She/he was in my 20 gallon quarantine/hospital tank, but I moved it to my 40 gallon tank, because she/he was just sitting at an angle (not on his SIDE, more like a human on one leg) in the bottom of the tank. After moving it, the baby Tiger Oscar began swimming with my Sharks, but it has not eating in two days. I tried Goldfish flake and Goldfish floating pellets, no good. So I want back to PetsMart and ask them for the type of food that they were being fed. It was Hikari cichlid staple (floating pellets), that still dose not work. Well that is why I’ am here. I need help, because I don’t want to lose him/her. This baby is driving me crazy.

1. Is the baby Tiger Oscar going to eat when it is “really hungry”, or will it let its self die from hunger?

2. Can this Tiger Oscar live in my 125 gallon tank with my sharks ((3) Bala Sharks, (2) Silver-tipped Shark (Colombian Shark), and (1) Rainbow Shark)? Of course I’ am taking about when the Sharks are at their maximum size.

Note: It not always swimming around, some times it just sits at the bottom until one of my Sharks (which seems to really like the baby Tiger Oscar) swims around it, and even try to push it up to get it going.

 

[mooman]

It will eat when it settles in. It would take literally weeks for the fish to starve. As long as it's not sick, there should be no problem.

 

[Master Zero]

Thank you for replaying

 

[FishFreak101]

its ok it mite not like the food or as moo said just let him settle i feed all my cichlids baby chichlid pellets and shrimp. my oscar gets along with my silver shark fine, but he at 1 of my balas........ well he more just chewed on his head.

 

[Master Zero]

Thank you for replaying!

Well I have good news. My baby Tiger Oscar is eating or trying to eat some lettuces that I put in there. He/she is also trying to eat the ghost shrimp, but it’s just to fast for it. He/she try to eat the floating pellets (the baby would eat it and spit it back out).

1. Should I remove the ghost shrimp, or let nature take its course?

 

[mooman]

Let nature take it's course. Ghost shrimp are aften sold as feeders, and make a good live supplimental food for carniverous cichlids.

 

[FishFreak101]

ya just let nature take its course as s/he is getting older s/he will start to eat it.

 

[Master Zero]

Update

The baby Tiger Oscar ate more then half of the ghost shrimp today, the only thing that was left was the head. I did not see the kill, but I’m very sure that it was not one of my sharks because they are too small.

Thank again everyone for replaying to my questions.

 

[NatakuTseng]

Oscars are notorious for being picky eaters. Eventually they will break down and accept anything you want to feed them, I don't suggest feeding any feeder goldfish/tuffies to them, the nutrient content sucks, and you risk bringing in a ton of diseases/parasites into your tank. When I have gotten new oscars before they usually act like they are dying, but a day or two later they start exploring. Glad to hear yours is eating now.

Oscars in my opinion are the biggest "whiners" in the fish world. Move them, change the tank, do a water change, etc and they will go and lay on the bottom and act like its the end of the world. Just a bunch of big babies.

The 125 would be excellent for the Oscar, I would consider cutting the shark stocking down to one of each species, or just the bala sharks. The rainbow eventually will be eaten by the oscar, as they don't grow very large.

 

[Master Zero]

Thank you for replying!

I just got what I think is a breeding pair of Black Convict Cichlid. The reason why I think that there are a breeding pair is because, one of them has some orange on it belly (I think this one is a female), orange on the base of the dorsal fin, and some yellow on her tell fins. The other one (I think it could be a male) only has some metallic blue on its dorsal fin. They were also protecting this fake plant from other Black Convict Cichlid. I was going to put there in my 20 gallon quarantine/hospital tank, but there could be having babies any time soon. So I put then in with my Sharks and baby Tiger Oscar. The baby Tiger Oscar “seems” to like them, because it follows (not CHASE) them around the tank.

1. How long before I began to see some eggs (or fry)?

2. Would they be ok in a well planted 125 gallon tank with the baby Tiger Oscar as it get older and bigger, or should I keep them in the 40 gallon tank?