my oscars not groing

[laxislyf6461]

when i first got my 55g tank i bought 2 pairs of oscars with it.....they were bout 2 to 3 inches when they were first introduced into the tank..........now after around 7 months they have only grown to be 5 inches......i think that they arent growing as rapidly as they should. i feed them pellets and sometimes feeders and ive never had problems with them.....i just want to know why they arent growing as rapidly as they should be

 

[Tropicalfishfn]

I may not know alot about cichlids but you got to give it more time than that. And or your not feeting them enough or it's the food there eating. or tank conditions. I think you got to give it more time thats it.

 

[laxislyf6461]

well thats wat i thought.....but i heard that they grow atleast 1 inch every month and i dont think thats the case with my fish.......my tank conidtions are perfect....and i feed them pellets every morning.....i think im going to switch off to some frozen foods

 

[Tropicalfishfn]

It could be the food. But don't swithc to that food so fast. Feed alittle bit of both.

 

[laxislyf6461]

yea i know that is wat i ment......sorry

 

[Tropicalfishfn]

thats ok i wasn't sure if you knew that.

 

[snotirl]

ye maybe u need to feed them more and i dont much about oscars but do they only grow to the right size for the tank!?!

 

[dolphin]

Hi laxislyf6461

Your Oscars are growing slowly. 4 Oscars in a 55 gall tank! That is not enough room for them. Two fish in a 55 is too small a tank. My 2 Oscars live in a 95 gall (UK) tank and are growing at over an inch per month, I have had them about 4 months and they have grown 6 inches.

After I had had them for a month, I went back to the LFS that I got them from, and the remaining fish had not grown, yet my two had put on nearly 1.5".
Cramped conditions will slow the groth down, but with Oscars, it will not stop them reaching well over 12".

IMO you will need to rehome them to a tank, at lest 100 galls

HTH

Here is a pick of My Oscars

 

[Thief_Catcher]

Dolphin is right. Too many oscars in the tank.

I've heard that oscars need at least 40 gal each.

Rod

 

[adaptable]

I have kept oscars for many years and the conditions are all wrong they need a big tank (if you do not supply them with the right conditions they will fight), also please do not feed them pellets every day vary the diet my oscars at the moment love chunky cat food, peas, small potatoes, earth worms. If you want to feed live fish please make sure the fish are disease free, but personally I do not think they need this.

Oscars are very messy eaters so make sure after eating you hoover the mess up............ha ha ha

 

[impur]

If you triple the size of your tank, and add some beefheart to their diet they will grow very quickly. Also up the temp to around 82 to help speed metabolizm.

 

[laxislyf6461]

alright now i have two oscars in my fifty five with one cichlid and a pleco..............and im gonna move the other ones to a 130 witha nother pair of pacus.....ive gotten frozen shrimp and feeders(without diseases) to vary there diet to see if they will grow a little more..............thanx for ur help

 

[impur]

Just remember to vary the oscars diet. They are VERY prone to hole in the head disease. A good well rounded diet is a must.