I am looking to get a pair of Oscars what size tank will be best? I'm thinking 5ft+ what age do they pair up? Is it best to get a slightly older already bonded pair? I don't want to get 2 that are un-happy together but at the same time I wouldn't want one on its own to be lonely. I know its ideal to get 6 youngsters and wait and see who pairs up but I'm not sure I could part with the other 4 afterwards hehe I'm a bit soft! Then if I had a pair and they were happy enough to breed where do you keep the fry till you can sell them/rehome them? can they live with the parents till they big enough? or could they go in my 3ft tank with my widow tetras and plec? I don't particularly want to breed them but if babies came along I wouldn't mind as long as I had the set up and knowledge to look after them till they ready to move on.
I think thats enough questions for one post hehe thanks!
Yes, it is best to get 6 juve's and you would need atleast a 180G for this as they will have co-exist for awhile for a strong pair to form and you can be sure that they are good possible mates. Just a note too as it will drive alot of members crazy on TFF; when describing a tank, dont use the length as this can be many different sized tanks. It is better to describe a tank as to its volume. I know it might not be the nicest thing to just give the other four away, but to have 6 adult oscars, you need a very large tank, off the hip, i would say 400G to 500G+ as you need atleast 75 to 90G for one full grown oscar by itself. You might need even bigger because of aggression issues so for the home fishkeeper, this is almost unreasionable although possible as some TFF members have shown.
There is no problem keeping the fry with the parents. The first few batches of fry may confuse the oscars and they may eat them, but this is normal for cichlids as it takes them a couple of batches to become excellent parents, but when they get it right, they will be very good parents and will protect the young very handily, hence why it is better to leave a breeding pair by itself in a tank, to protect other fish that may get to close to the eggs.
If you dont want a pair, then you are going to need atleast 75G to 90G per adult, as I said above, so if you want 2 or 3, then your looking into the 100's of gallons for a tank because of their size and semi-aggressive character.
Many people choose to keep one oscar with other cichlids as it allows for a smaller sized (relatively) tank with a beautiful array of fish with personality
