Oscar, Oscar!

Recently, I brought home two Oscars (not the movie industry type). Oscars are a type of large and aggressive South American Cichlids. There are three basic types sold in most fish stores: Tiger, Albino Tiger and Red. There is also the less common Zebra Oscar.

The small albino tiger Oscar has a congenital defect -- only one normal eye, the other underdeveloped. He swims sideways keeping his bad eye to the water's surface. His good eye watches for predators. Much like my rescued Angelfish who lost an eye to another fish. For now he is in a breeder fish holder inside one of my aquariums. I used this both to protect him and to acclimate him to the other inhabitants (and acclimate them to him!)

The other is a half grown Tiger Oscar for whom I just started up an unused tank. He is and will remain the only inhabitant for now while I evaluate his condition. He has a lot of recent bite marks and is acting stressed. I started the tank by adding water from my existing tanks, as well as my two favorite aquarium water conditioners NovAqua and Cycle, a beneficial bacteria product. I have tried lots of different brands, and researched other people's experiences on the Net, and found these to be the best.