Oscars

[Alex1110]

Hey people,

I am thinking of buying my second tank. I want to keep a couple of Oscars, but i have some questions. I have done a little research, but if anyone knows of a good read regarding these fish, please let me know. Anyway, questions....

1. Would two fully grown Oscars fit happily in a 4 foot tank (total about 325L)?
2. Could i fit any tankmates in a tank this size as well? (thinking cleaning fish, but others if room)
3. I know Oscars are messy, would one cannister filter be enough?
4. Are there any special requirements to breed, not that this is my aim, but it would be exciting and an option down the track? (is it easy to indentify sexes?)

I think that is all for now. Thanks!

 

[JenCliBee]

Hey people,

I am thinking of buying my second tank. I want to keep a couple of Oscars, but i have some questions. I have done a little research, but if anyone knows of a good read regarding these fish, please let me know. Anyway, questions....

1. Would two fully grown Oscars fit happily in a 4 foot tank (total about 325L)?
2. Could i fit any tankmates in a tank this size as well? (thinking cleaning fish, but others if room)
3. I know Oscars are messy, would one cannister filter be enough?
4. Are there any special requirements to breed, not that this is my aim, but it would be exciting and an option down the track? (is it easy to indentify sexes?)

I think that is all for now. Thanks!

before i answer all the questions the 1st question is no 1 oscar alone requires at least 75us gallon so 2 u are looking at around 120g and if u buy 2 and they dont pair u may has some really bad aggression eventually eventing in 1 of them probably killing the other.
not sure if i need 2 answer any of the other questions now lol


jen

 

[Miss Wiggle]

Hey people,

I am thinking of buying my second tank. I want to keep a couple of Oscars, but i have some questions. I have done a little research, but if anyone knows of a good read regarding these fish, please let me know. Anyway, questions....

1. Would two fully grown Oscars fit happily in a 4 foot tank (total about 325L)?
2. Could i fit any tankmates in a tank this size as well? (thinking cleaning fish, but others if room)
3. I know Oscars are messy, would one cannister filter be enough?
4. Are there any special requirements to breed, not that this is my aim, but it would be exciting and an option down the track? (is it easy to indentify sexes?)

I think that is all for now. Thanks!

Hi there Alex,

People don’t generally keep 2 Oscars together; you generally just keep one or keep a group of 6 or more. This is because two adult Oscars will generally fight to the death, if you get a breeding pair then they should be fine but this is unlikely and you shouldn’t assume it will happen. If you really want more than one then people keep a big group so that no single fish gets picked on, even then there is still the chance of significant injuries and aggression.

For this reason most hobbyists wanting to keep Oscars will just keep 1 by themselves.

1 - tank size sounds fine, but can you confirm all the dimensions just to be sure, it’s generally the floor plan which is important with bigger fish like this.

2 – I’d suggest a couple of the largeish (but not massive) plecs or catfish would make good tankmates, possibly a shoal of dither fish such as SD’s, if you go for mid-top water swimmers then it’s best to get a group of them rather than just single specimens so choose fish which like to be in a group. Remember anything small enough to fit in your Oscars mouth will get eaten, if you’ve ever seen an adult Oscar yawn they open their mouths up and they actually wider than their body….. choose tankmates with caution!!

3 - Well that totally depends on the size of the canister filter. On an average community tank you would aim for a filter giving 5x tank turnover, so on a 325l tank you’d need a filter capable of turning over 1625lph (litres per hour). For messy fish you’ll need more than this, aim for double if possible so 3250lph. You may find it’s easier or cheaper to do this in two canisters rather than just one; it’s also good to have a bit of redundancy built into the system so if one filter clogs up or fails you don’t loose all your filtration, just half of it.

4 – No Oscars are virtually impossible to sex unless they start spawning, as above I’d advise you to just get one Oscar not two, if you do this then obviously they won’t breed by themselves.

 

[holidayinn]

Your tank sounds big enough to house oscars

My tank originally came with a large oscar and a large pleco...they were fine together

The poster prior to this is correct in that they are very aggressive fish...although having said this i'm sure i've been to lfs's where they have kept mo/less fully grown oscars together...i assume the younger they are the more chance you have of them getting along, i never added to the tank as was warned against it

i know when i asked around lfs's for tips on how to identify the sex of my oscar they werent really helpful...

 

[Alex1110]

Hi there Alex,

People don’t generally keep 2 Oscars together; you generally just keep one or keep a group of 6 or more. This is because two adult Oscars will generally fight to the death, if you get a breeding pair then they should be fine but this is unlikely and you shouldn’t assume it will happen. If you really want more than one then people keep a big group so that no single fish gets picked on, even then there is still the chance of significant injuries and aggression.

For this reason most hobbyists wanting to keep Oscars will just keep 1 by themselves.

1 - tank size sounds fine, but can you confirm all the dimensions just to be sure, it’s generally the floor plan which is important with bigger fish like this.

2 – I’d suggest a couple of the largeish (but not massive) plecs or catfish would make good tankmates, possibly a shoal of dither fish such as SD’s, if you go for mid-top water swimmers then it’s best to get a group of them rather than just single specimens so choose fish which like to be in a group. Remember anything small enough to fit in your Oscars mouth will get eaten, if you’ve ever seen an adult Oscar yawn they open their mouths up and they actually wider than their body….. choose tankmates with caution!!

Thanks everyone for the quick replies.

When you say people tend to get 6 oscars, the tank would have to be pretty big? The plan was to get them when they were very young. If i was to get six, is it fair to assume that they could 'pair off', which would mean i could give away the remaining 4, leaving a happy pair?

The 325 litres was worked out assuming 2 foot wide and 1.5 foot deep - what kind of foot print is ideal? I havnt found a tank yet, but there is a possibility i could fit a 6 footer in though.

What kind of set up in terms of fish do you think would be good around an Oscar in a 6 footer?

Thanks again!

 

[Miss Wiggle]

yeah you need a massive tank to keep 6 oscars for life....

you can try getting a group and letting two pair off, remember though there is no guarantee this will happen and if you leave it just that bit too late you'll end up with a bloodbath, even a breeding pair of oscars can suddenly turn on each other.

so yes, you can try it that way..... but just make sure you are prepared for all possible outcomes first.

it really is bigger is better, if you think you can fit in a 6X2X2 that would be brilliant and would allow for plenty of extra room for fish, that way you could have a nice group of clown loaches, some plecs/catfish, a group of dithers like SD's or bala sharks and then a handful of other specimin cichlids, firemouth's and so on

 

[ox5477]

as wiggle and JenCliBee have stated, Oscars need large tanks, even by themselves. Females get to about 10 to 12" and males can reach upwards of 14 to 15". Plus, they are very messy eaters, taking in food chewing it and letting bits and pieces fall out of their mouths/gills. So, a good cleaning regimen is essential along with a one or more strong and efficient canister filters to handle the bioload.

The dithers that wiggle mentioned are the best dithers usually for an oscar as these fish either grow large, are fast, or just grow in a starnge shape making it hard to be eating. But it should be made sure that these fish will always stay bigger than the o's mouth so maybe buying them roughly half grown or allowing them to settle into the tank for a couple months before introducing the o's would help, even when only getting very small juvenile o's... they will grow very rapidly (reaching roughly 7-10" alone in the first year if well fed and housed accordingly). All these dithers are schooling fish as well and would like to be in schools of 6 or more to feel safe.

As for including other cichlids, you have to make sure the other cichlids will be able to hold their own. small dwarf species will soon be outsized by the o and larger growing "peaceful" cichlids like festivums and angels will be battered and beat up by the o.

And if you wish to get a breeding pair, I wouldn't go for anything under 300G. As it will take a little longer than other cichlid species for a commited pair to form, so you could have the six for up to a year... hence needing the large tank for 6 possibly 10", and very aggressive fish.

Ox

 

[shelaghfishface]

to be brutally honest, unless you have the huge tank, bank balance for filters/food and somewhere to rehome the oscars too when they decide they hate eachother i would leave them alone.. i took 4 on and i am now really stuck, 1 is in my large tank ( in sig) and 3 others are in smaller seperate tanks, they are beautiful fish,and i wouldnt have been without them, but i am really at a point where i feel stuck right now, have them, but forward thinking has to be the way, check that when all hell breaks loose your lfs will take the ones you cant keep back, ensure you have the filtration in place,my large one lives with convicts and clown loaches, he dont bother them, but goodness he wont live with another oscar, hope you dont think im being rude or saying you cant do it!, but its really hard work when they get a bit bigger and all of a sudden the hate eachother, please take it from one who knows

shelagh xxx

 

[Alex1110]

The idea of me asking here to get the ideas and experiences of other people, so i dont think your being rude shelaghfishface. Thanks for all the advice, i think i have moved on from the two Oscars idea and will settle with one. Hopefully i get can get a 6 footer!