Getting Oscar (or two) soon, need advice with Tank

[freddyk]

Have you considered non-cichlid companions to go with your Oscar, that way there is no fighting, and you won't have fish constantly under the stress of defending its territory? Something large that can handle themselves. Tinfoils and silver dollars come to mind. I've done tinfoils with an Oscar before without issue.

 

[ecto1]

Go with the 75g. And only get one Oscar. You can add something else, like a pleco.

 

[Jason_S]

Tinfoils and silver dollars come to mind. I've done tinfoils with an Oscar before without issue.

a few silver dollars maybe though this would be pushing things quite a bit. tinfoils would definitely be a bad idea unless the tank was going to be much larger than a 75. tinfoils themselves grow to 13" and need to be in at the very least a trio.

 

[leanne]

I have two oscars in a 75 gal and one is 12 inches and the other pushing 14 inches. It's dangerous to say that they won't reach 16 inches in a tank - I'm guessing mine might... They are both only 12 months old by the way.

I know the tank is supposed to be two small but they are a breeding (ish - when they feel like it) pair and get along without too much agro. Also the tank is long and low so it has reasonable length and width.

If you do get two I will warn you they may not get along - unless you get a breeding pair. Same sex will fight if you only have two. They are best kept on their own or with 6+ in a HUGE tank. My original two fought like mad and I had to take one to my lfs and swap it for another or one would have been dead. The two I have now get along great. I would love to get them a bigger tank though...

 

[nc_nutcase]

On tanks... imagine... being 14" long, we just heard of an Oscar being 14" in one year, now do a U turn in a tank that’s 11.5" front to back... watch your head! If I make any impression on anyone... whenever possible go with an 18" thick tank! Which means the 75 Gal (or 90 if you can). As far as space in your home, all 3 (55,75,90) are four foot tanks and will take up the same amount of space.

As far as fish, I’m the idiot building a 550 gallon Oscar Pond. So definitely get Oscars. I've had a TON of luck when growing Oscars together from 1"-1.5" to adulthood. Also most of the Oscars I've had (I've raised prolly 20 of them from less than 2" to more than 10" over 20 years )Personally, I would be willing to raise 2 Oscars in a 70 Gal (definitely not a 40 or 55 though). Of course you might get a couple that don't get along and have problems, but that’s going to be true in my pond also.

For filters: OVERKILL!!! Because your tank's space will be max’ed out, over filter it. If your in the US I love my Magnum 350 (Deluxe). If you want to go with an overflow for now to save money that’s fine. But when your Oscars get around 6 inches you NEED to upgrade. Mag 350's can be found online from $110-$125 and in LFS for $125-$155 (around me anyway).