Oscars

[Dieses Madchen]

If you think they are happy and you don't want to spend like $800 bucks on a new tank that's your decision. You just have to remember man it comes down to your decision and that's all that matters.

Cause yeah, you know, fish can tell you fish they are happy and it's your decision if you want to keep them in bad condition. I'm just going to say this. And its a true story.

Skal doesn't care about your fish. Barely cares about his own. Had the displeasure of speaking with him in chat. It was quite....disturbing. Someone who believes that stunting is not cause by ill tank conditions, and that fish truly only grow as big as you let them. Doesn't realize that internal organs do keep growing and eventually the fish dies, much earlier than it should. Sad to say, stunting is a pretty painful process. And yes, contrary to Skal's belief, fish do feel pain.

Ever watched those comercials from the ASPCA about animal cruelty? The sad look in the dogs and cats eyes who came from abusive neglectful homes? Unfortunately fish cannot really give us those looks. I wish they could.I wouldn't have made so many mistakes years ago. But the truth is, fish do feel pain, and two Tigers in a 55g will evetually feel pain. The typical 55g is a foot wide. Oscars top out at 13-16 inches in proper condition. 12 inches wide isn't enough for them to turn around! And while it is true that fish only get as big as you let them, that is only true for the out shell. Imagine being a 4ft tall human being with the insides of a 7 foot man. Sounds painful, right? Well, imagine being a 6 inch oscar with the insides of a 12 inch fish! It would hurt equally as bad. Now I don't know what knowledge trip Skal is on about, but I recommend you listen to those that truly do care, and Skal has already shown to me that he does not. Rant over.

 

[dbanner]

Couldn't agree more... Skal clearly does not know how to care for fish properly and as far as we can see he couldn't care less. That aside, no you don't need a 200 gal for 2 oscars but you do need 150-180 gal for them to live comfortably. Of course they can be kept in smaller tanks up until a certain size but the reality is they will need a 150-180 eventually. As most on this forum knows, big fish = big tanks.

As iv said I keep my flowerhorn which is currently 6 inches alone in a 120 gal, now I know they CAN be kept in smaller tanks (around 75 gal) but.. I personally feel better having him a noticeably bigger tank. He has all the room he needs, i have no need to upgrade and the water stats are always perfect. He can live his life as intended. That makes me feel good knowing I'm giving him a good home.

 

[josh_g]

Anyway mate are the oscars eating okay yet? lol

As far as tank size goes 55gal is fine for a while. But when it looks like the fish are out growing the tank upgrade. You don't have to spend 800 bucks you can pick big tanks up cheap second hand. Or if you can't afford a bigger tank or whatever rehome the oscars and get some diff fish.

The good thing about fish keeping is there are lots of options, nothing is set in stone.

Just remember look after the water and the fish should look after themselves.

Hope the oscars are doing okay

 

[star4]

I am sure we all know someone who knows someone that has kept oscars in the wrong size tank "and they have been ok". These are intellegent fish, as are most cichlids. No one can see into the future hence only offering advice and personal experience. One of my oscars lives with many other fish, far too many, but he hates being in a tank on his own, he is small and has a broken jaw so he gets what he wants, the maintenance on this tank is heavy, but it has to be done.

Most oscars never live out their entire natural life. Once they hit the magic 2 years of age their attitudes can change over night. Many large oscars you see on classifieds are "free to collector" because no one wants them, even shops that get them dumped on them will most likely destroy a large oscar, rather than have it in the shop for months on end before someone comes in willing to buy it as there are so many available free!!!!, those lucky oscars end up on the door step of someone like me, daft enough to take them on, get them well and see them off to a new home.

Star4 is dead on. She is a Cichlid master and everything she said is spot on.

Thank you for your kind comment

 

[Skal]

I do care about your fish and Dieses sometimes lies this forum. Like she did in this comment

Skal doesn't care about your fish. Barely cares about his own. Had the displeasure of speaking with him in chat. It was quite...disturbing. Someone who believes that stunting is not cause by ill tank conditions, and that fish truly only grow as big as you let them. Doesn't realize that internal organs do keep growing and eventually the fish dies, much earlier than it should. Sad to say, stunting is a pretty painful process. And yes, contrary to Skal's belief, fish do but I recommend you listen to those that truly do care, and Skal has already shown to me that he does not. Rant over.

I do care about your fish and I love my fish. Hope you realize she doesn't know much about fish only cichlids mostly. The size of a oscar depends on its tank. This is the case for most species they will grow to the size of their tank (their organs will stop at the same place as their body). Two oscars as a matter a fact are often recommended at petstores to be kept in fifty five gallon tanks. Occosionally oscars will out grow there tank. You should know if they have out grown their tank if they have trouble swimming normally. Watch out for Dieses if you don't agree with something she says, she will harass you as seen watch out for her!

It sounds like your tank needs at least a 50 percent water change if you are having that much trouble.

 

[Questions?]

to get this back on topic, i think your oscars are fine, for now, and they probaly aren't eating because they are new to the tank as mentioned before, or they are sulking