Oscar in a 70 gallon?

[njr_]

Could I keep a single Oscar happily in a 48” by 20” tank on its own, roughly around 280 litres.

 

[CassCats]

It's not ideal, larger is better.

 

[Fishfunn]

Could I keep a single Oscar happily in a 48” by 20” tank on its own, roughly around 280 litres.

Yes, 70 gallons would work.
I used to keep an Oscar in a 55 gallon tank, but eventually I had to take him to a LFS since he couldn't turn around anymore in the width of a 13" wide tank.

 

[CassCats]

Imo, no, it tends to be a little short for them as they're fairly active and large. They also do like companionship of another Oscar. While yeah it can "live" in a 70, it's not going to be its ideal life. They have the potential to get larger than 13 inches. That gives a large fish only a closet to live in.

As a baby tank yeah, but they grow relatively fast and would thrive better in a 5 foot+

 

[GaryE]

You would find yourself in a bind. If you take care of it, it will grow. If it grows, you will become quite attached to a very personable fish.

In time, you will face two choices:
a) let it die or kill it;
b) find someone with a bigger tank who wants it.

So you have a pet you raised, and you would be super lucky to find someone who wanted it. You could say you'll buy a bigger tank when the time comes, but the time comes fast, and most people just can't fit or afford a larger tank.

My personal rule is that if I don't start out with a tank large enough for the fish, I don't get the fish.

Bettas, Oscars and common plecos end up as the most abused fish in the hobby.

 

[gwand]

I was recently in the Everglades and witnessed 100s of Oscars in small pools of water that collect there. These Oscars were 12-14 inches or more. How did they get there? Hobbyists released them into this waterway because the fishes became too large for their tanks. Sad. Double sad because now Oscars are an invasive species in the Glades.

 

[Fishfunn]

You would find yourself in a bind. If you take care of it, it will grow. If it grows, you will become quite attached to a very personable fish.

Your right, they are a very friendly fish. They remind me of having a dog rather than a fish. I really loved mine, but he did out grow my 55-gallon tank. The one problem was having to feed him enough smaller fish every day. I eventually went to a fishing bait store and bought shiners for him to eat. I had no problem finding an LFS to take him.

 

[Rusty_Shackleford]

Yes this a problem the Florida Wildlife Commission has been waiting for to name all exotic fish imports and or put species on a white list. They were probably originally released by hobbyists or perhaps somehow escaped.from a fish farm. I'm not sure if any farms in Florida are breeding Oscars but it seems likely.
If you are unaware of what's going on in Florida and the bill introduced into Congress by former Florida Sen. Marco Rubio then you should read up on it. It's the beginning of the end of pet keeping. Any pet keeping.