Do I have time???

[brandoncw]

Ok, so I recently traded my piranha for three of these 3-4" tiger Oscars. I for some reason ( I think I crossed memories) thought they only got to 5-6". But here's real problem I have, I only have a 55 gallon tank. I've heard of three Oscars in a 55 but now that I know they reach 8-12", this is not healthy or right to keep them in there. I do have overkill filtration of 2 emperor 400s that are rated at 90 gallon tanks each. So I am certain my filtration is great for now. I was thinking of at least 125 gallon but won't be able to afford one until this summer (after may). My question is do I have enough time to keep them in the 55 until I can put them in a much larger tank. I feel bad about this decision I made but I'm sure the majority of us make mistakes and with mistakes you learn something, my lesson is to double check what you believe you already know about a fish or anything really. Thanks for reading and please leave a comment if you can help, no bashing as I already know what I've done wrong

 

[FroFro]

Ok, so I recently traded my piranha for three of these 3-4" tiger Oscars. I for some reason ( I think I crossed memories) thought they only got to 5-6". But here's real problem I have, I only have a 55 gallon tank. I've heard of three Oscars in a 55 but now that I know they reach 8-12", this is not healthy or right to keep them in there. I do have overkill filtration of 2 emperor 400s that are rated at 90 gallon tanks each. So I am certain my filtration is great for now. I was thinking of at least 125 gallon but won't be able to afford one until this summer (after may). My question is do I have enough time to keep them in the 55 until I can put them in a much larger tank. I feel bad about this decision I made but I'm sure the majority of us make mistakes and with mistakes you learn something, my lesson is to double check what you believe you already know about a fish or anything really. Thanks for reading and please leave a comment if you can help, no bashing as I already know what I've done wrong

I read a few different forum replies after googling how fast tiger oscars grow. The majority of the forums I found said about 1 inch a month when fed properly and cared for. You have a few months before these guys get big enough to start a problem, so if you are dedicated to keeping them you have time to save for a larger tank, if not, you can always maybe rehome one and keep the two to have a larger time window. My uncle keeps two oscars and, although they are soon to push the limits of their tank, they are very healthy and active. He simply has to buy a stand for his larger tank
Best of luck!

 

[brandoncw]

I read a few different forum replies after googling how fast tiger oscars grow. The majority of the forums I found said about 1 inch a month when fed properly and cared for. You have a few months before these guys get big enough to start a problem, so if you are dedicated to keeping them you have time to save for a larger tank, if not, you can always maybe rehome one and keep the two to have a larger time window. My uncle keeps two oscars and, although they are soon to push the limits of their tank, they are very healthy and active. He simply has to buy a stand for his larger tank
Best of luck!

Thanks for the reply. I want to know also if a 125 gallon tank is ok for three of them if not I can give one to my friend with a 75 gallon.

 

[the_lock_man]

My personal viewpoint is to never keep a fish in a tank that it will not be comfortable in when it's fully grown.

You may have the best of intentions now, but when the fish are at a stage where they have to be moved, you may not have the time/money/ability to move them, and then it's too late.

If you have the capability to buy them the bigger tank now, then please do so.

 

[brandoncw]

My personal viewpoint is to never keep a fish in a tank that it will not be comfortable in when it's fully grown.

You may have the best of intentions now, but when the fish are at a stage where they have to be moved, you may not have the time/money/ability to move them, and then it's too late.

If you have the capability to buy them the bigger tank now, then please do so.

I unfortunately don't ha e the funds to buy a larger tank now but I may be able to pick up a 125 gallon tank for a $ a gallon with the stand included if they still have them. I totally agree with you though and I had thought my tank size was just fine because for some reason I thought they only got 5-6 inches in length. I really like the fish and will upgrade asap

 

[FroFro]

Thanks for the reply. I want to know also if a 125 gallon tank is ok for three of them if not I can give one to my friend with a 75 gallon.

The rule of thumb is for every inch of fish you need one gallon of water/capacity.
This website here http://www.oscarfishlover.com/the-oscar-fish said to expect an aquarium housed oscar to get at least 11-12 inches in length, I know not all fish are the same, but I highly doubt all three of the guys will exceed the average drastically. So your current oscars are 6 inches each, meaning you need a minimum of 24 gallons, you have them in a 75. If they each reach a foot long you will need a minimum of 36 gallons, and at that point, if you have the three of them, a 125 gallon will be plenty of room for them to swim and live happily. I always recommend having more than the minimum capacity for fish to thrive and right now you have exactly that. I woudn't take the other poster too seriously as they don't need to be moved RIGHT THIS MOMENT. You do have time, a couple of months actually. If you are fearful of having more than two, go ahead and rehome one of them, and maybe when you get your 125 gallon your friend will let you have the third back, if you are interested

Just remember, if they start getting too big before you have the funds to upgrade their tank, there is no shame in rehoming fish so that they can live comfortably

 

[brandoncw]

The rule of thumb is for every inch of fish you need one gallon of water/capacity.
This website here http://www.oscarfishlover.com/the-oscar-fish said to expect an aquarium housed oscar to get at least 11-12 inches in length, I know not all fish are the same, but I highly doubt all three of the guys will exceed the average drastically. So your current oscars are 6 inches each, meaning you need a minimum of 24 gallons, you have them in a 75. If they each reach a foot long you will need a minimum of 36 gallons, and at that point, if you have the three of them, a 125 gallon will be plenty of room for them to swim and live happily. I always recommend having more than the minimum capacity for fish to thrive and right now you have exactly that. I woudn't take the other poster too seriously as they don't need to be moved RIGHT THIS MOMENT. You do have time, a couple of months actually. If you are fearful of having more than two, go ahead and rehome one of them, and maybe when you get your 125 gallon your friend will let you have the third back, if you are interested

Just remember, if they start getting too big before you have the funds to upgrade their tank, there is no shame in rehoming fish so that they can live comfortably

Thanks and I think I am going to try to fix up my tank all nice and see if anyone who has a 125-150 gallon tank that wants to downgrade and get a smaller tank. Then I'm happy and they are happy and everything is all good
Plus these guys are real big babies. I did a water change and here they are just pouting
PS sorry the outside of the tank is a little dirty

 

[FroFro]

Thanks and I think I am going to try to fix up my tank all nice and see if anyone who has a 125-150 gallon tank that wants to downgrade and get a smaller tank. Then I'm happy and they are happy and everything is all good
Plus these guys are real big babies. I did a water change and here they are just pouting
PS sorry the outside of the tank is a little dirty

They look rather cute, best of luck to you!

 

[the_lock_man]

The rule of thumb is for every inch of fish you need one gallon of water/capacity.

That's a pretty rubbish rule, if I'm honest. By that rule, you could keep a single oscar in a 12gallon tank. You can't. You might think you could keep a shoal of 6 zebra danios in a 20 gallon. You can't, they need a much longer tank than that, since they swim very fast, they need to have lots of room to do so.

Where the above shows examples of where you need more water per fish, there are also opposite cases - African cichlids are an example, you would normally keep more than 1"/gal, so that the aggression is spread out.

It sort of works, maybe, for small fish in a big tank, but in reality, there are so many variables at play, the 1"/gal rule is too simplistic. A few months back, Chad posted a long long list of variables that he considers for a stocking plan, it had about 30 factors, such as temperament of the fish, level of filtration.

The internet is a wonderful place to gain knowledge, but it can also be a dangerous place where misinformation can be propogated easily. That's why this forum is brilliant, because there are so many wise and knowledgeable people on it.

 

[FroFro]

I

That's a pretty rubbish rule, if I'm honest. By that rule, you could keep a single oscar in a 12gallon tank. You can't. You might think you could keep a shoal of 6 zebra danios in a 20 gallon. You can't, they need a much longer tank than that, since they swim very fast, they need to have lots of room to do so.

Where the above shows examples of where you need more water per fish, there are also opposite cases - African cichlids are an example, you would normally keep more than 1"/gal, so that the aggression is spread out.

It sort of works, maybe, for small fish in a big tank, but in reality, there are so many variables at play, the 1"/gal rule is too simplistic. A few months back, Chad posted a long long list of variables that he considers for a stocking plan, it had about 30 factors, such as temperament of the fish, level of filtration.

The internet is a wonderful place to gain knowledge, but it can also be a dangerous place where misinformation can be propogated easily. That's why this forum is brilliant, because there are so many wise and knowledgeable people on it.

I said the MINIMUM is one gallon per inch of fish. This is the MINIMUM standard good sir. I did not say that it was plenty of room which would provide them with the happiness and space they need. If you did indeed read all that I and the OP discussed, I simply told him that is oscars which are 5-6 inches large are in a 75 gallon tank are FOR THE MOMENT provided ample room to live. I also advised him they can grow almost an inch a month, meaning they can grow a bit faster but they won't push the limits of their tanks by next week, soon, but not soon enough the impact their health and well being in any way that is detrimental. The rule allows people to know at least what minimum they need to meet when they purchase tanks and stocking them. If say I wanted thirty fish that only reach one inch in length? I need to at least, at least, and I repeat, at LEAST have thirty gallons, and then much more on top to provide ample room for movement and living. My sister when she first started keeping a tank decided to get almost fifteen glow-fish in a ten gallon tank. I immediately went to her home to both inspect her tank and then I helped to replace it a week later with a thirty gallon, she bought the tank, I provided the stand. I did not include the last detail of the minimum and then going above it to provide room because the OP is aware oscars need larger than the minimum to live happily, as they are wanting to get a larger tank. I was simply explaining to them they do have time. Tanks are not cheap, but the OP seems dedicated to providing for these oscars. And by the way, my Uncle actually has zebra danios in his 40 gallon wide and they do swim fast. They are also feisty and healthy. I never said to keep an oscar in a twelve gallon tank either. I am aware not all fish are the same, I am aware there are parameters. I simply gave a bit of advice to a person who was extremely worried for the conditions his oscars would be living in temporarily, as he DOES have time. My thanks for your time and have a good day.

 

[brandoncw]

Ok I have decided I'm only going to keep two of the Oscars because one is significantly smaller than the other two so to avoid to much bullying on that one I will give that one to someone else but I still have the question of 2 full grown Oscars in a 125 gallon. I did the measurements and that's as much as I can fit. I would possibly like a couple tank mates on the bottom that don't add a bunch to the bioload. But really I think I could over filter by getting a good canister filter eventually like a used fluval fx4 or fx6 and regular weekly vacuum with a drip/overflow system for a continuous stable water change. Will this be ok

 

[NickAu]

The rule of thumb is for every inch of fish you need one gallon of water/capacity.

By this rule I can put 1 Black ghost knife in my 6 foot 100 gallon tank, Yet in reality I cant because the tank is not tall enough or wide enough to let the fish turn around, BGK's cant bend.

This rule also fails when it comes to things such as red cherry shrimp, As they can grow to be about 2 inches long according to this rule I can only keep 9 or 10 in a 18 gallon 2 foot tank, Yet I have over 100 in that tank.

 

[DomH]

He is saying it is simplistic, not for every fish, you have to account for everything about that fish and he never said it was for your BGK nor your Shrimp he was applying it to this situation.


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[the_lock_man]

I

I said the MINIMUM is one gallon per inch of fish. This is the MINIMUM standard good sir. I did not say that it was plenty of room which would provide them with the happiness and space they need. If you did indeed read all that I and the OP discussed, I simply told him that is oscars which are 5-6 inches large are in a 75 gallon tank are FOR THE MOMENT provided ample room to live. I also advised him they can grow almost an inch a month, meaning they can grow a bit faster but they won't push the limits of their tanks by next week, soon, but not soon enough the impact their health and well being in any way that is detrimental. The rule allows people to know at least what minimum they need to meet when they purchase tanks and stocking them. If say I wanted thirty fish that only reach one inch in length? I need to at least, at least, and I repeat, at LEAST have thirty gallons, and then much more on top to provide ample room for movement and living. My sister when she first started keeping a tank decided to get almost fifteen glow-fish in a ten gallon tank. I immediately went to her home to both inspect her tank and then I helped to replace it a week later with a thirty gallon, she bought the tank, I provided the stand. I did not include the last detail of the minimum and then going above it to provide room because the OP is aware oscars need larger than the minimum to live happily, as they are wanting to get a larger tank. I was simply explaining to them they do have time. Tanks are not cheap, but the OP seems dedicated to providing for these oscars. And by the way, my Uncle actually has zebra danios in his 40 gallon wide and they do swim fast. They are also feisty and healthy. I never said to keep an oscar in a twelve gallon tank either. I am aware not all fish are the same, I am aware there are parameters. I simply gave a bit of advice to a person who was extremely worried for the conditions his oscars would be living in temporarily, as he DOES have time. My thanks for your time and have a good day.

You didn't use the word "minimum" in your opening sentence, and people tend to only remember the first line or two of a post. You yourself have just pointed out some of the flaws of the rule, although I don't feel you did so in your first post, so I felt it worth doing so quite explicitly, not just to you, not just to the OP, but to all the many people reading this thread, now and in the future, whether registered on the forum, or having just clicked through from a Google search.

Although you acknowledge the flaws, you apparently still feel it's a decent starting point. I disagree completely. I don't think anyone should take it into consideration at all. As I said, it's too simplistic, there are too many other variables of which to account.

It appears that you have taken offence at my post. I apologise completely for this, I assure you it was not my intention. I merely wished to counter the myth of the "inch per gallon" rule.

 

[brandoncw]

Ok I took it as 1 inch to 10 gallon thinking a typo but oh well that's beside the point, 2 Oscars in a 125 gallon with three filters, 2 marineland emperor 400 HOB and a fluval canister fx4 or fx6. Is this acceptable. And what about any possibility of some tankmates