Yaaaaaaargh!

[LisaLQ]

I was going to say - that's not really big enough for one oscar, let alone two! Most folks say 75g min for an oscar, those who really want them say 55g - but tbh, the dimensions are as important as the capacity - and as oscars can and do get to 14-16", a 15" tank is too small. Min should be 18". Sorry Fenwoman

 

[Miss Wiggle]

I was going to say - that's not really big enough for one oscar, let alone two! Most folks say 75g min for an oscar, those who really want them say 55g - but tbh, the dimensions are as important as the capacity - and as oscars can and do get to 14-16", a 15" tank is too small. Min should be 18". Sorry Fenwoman

yup, bear in mind they need to turn around comfortably, if it gets to 16" and your tanks 15" it's always gonna be facing one way and unable to turn..... don't think anyone would need more of an explanation to why that's bad!!

 

[fenwoman]

ahh well, no oscars then. I must admit I have never seen a 12 or 18 inch oscar. When I kept one before it was in a tank the same size as the one I have now. He was about 8 inches long. Since so many fish shops stock baby oscars, I wonder how many people really have tanks large enough for them

 

[LisaLQ]

How long did you have him for? Our oscar got to 8-9" in 6 months. But he was in a decent sized tank, if yours was in the small one for a long time he was probably stunted - as oscars should easily hit 12", more usually 14", and sometimes 16". 8" is a very small oscar.

I dont think anyone said they get to 18" though, although the way mine ate, I'm sure he'd have given it a go

 

[fenwoman]

How long did you have him for? Our oscar got to 8-9" in 6 months. But he was in a decent sized tank, if yours was in the small one for a long time he was probably stunted - as oscars should easily hit 12", more usually 14", and sometimes 16". 8" is a very small oscar.

I dont think anyone said they get to 18" though, although the way mine ate, I'm sure he'd have given it a go

I had mine for 3 years in the same sized tank as I have now.When I moved house and the lfs took him back, he was about 8 inches and very healthy. He seemed very happy and ate well, liked to be stroked, and would jump out of the water to take food from my fingers.
Somewhere I have a picture of him. Will try to find the album and scan the photo.

 

[cane76]

sounds like you stunted the oscar if it only grew to 8" in 3 years

 

[fenwoman]

sounds like you stunted the oscar if it only grew to 8" in 3 years

So if he was a lone fish in a 39 gallon tank and he was bought as a 2 inch baby, how did I manage to stunt him? He was fit and healthy. Surely a stunted fish has health problems?
I read everywhere that fish will grow to their proper size even if kept in a small tank which is why people get told to take them back to the lfs. So this is confusing me. One the one hand, a fish will grow too large for a small tank, then on the other hand a fish will stay small and healthy in a tank too small. Which is it?
on this site it says "For a pair of Oscars the 48?x18? works well, and with enough space to keep it a 24? depth would have the added bonus of space and volume, and make for an impressive display"
which is the size of tank I had him in.
Since you didn't see the tank or the fish how can you simply say he was stunted? Surely a stunted fish has deformities or ill health?
Reading info is a bit like reading the bible it seems, 2 different stories and you are expected to believe both even if they are conflicting.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

it is confusing fenwoman.

but he should definately have got bigger than 8" in 3 years.

i'm not sure of all the facts and it's pretty likely every case is different, but i suspect although he was fine at that point, he may have developed health problems later in life. It's like cycling with fish, your fish may survive and be fine after cycling..... but then a year or two later they might start to develop problems. i had this with platys I cycled my first tank with, they got tb for no reason whatsoever and died suddenly about 3 years after cycling my tank, personally i think they were just weakend by the process.

 

[LisaLQ]

sounds like you stunted the oscar if it only grew to 8" in 3 years

So if he was a lone fish in a 39 gallon tank and he was bought as a 2 inch baby, how did I manage to stunt him? He was fit and healthy. Surely a stunted fish has health problems?
I read everywhere that fish will grow to their proper size even if kept in a small tank which is why people get told to take them back to the lfs. So this is confusing me. One the one hand, a fish will grow too large for a small tank, then on the other hand a fish will stay small and healthy in a tank too small. Which is it?
on this site it says "For a pair of Oscars the 48?x18? works well, and with enough space to keep it a 24? depth would have the added bonus of space and volume, and make for an impressive display"
which is the size of tank I had him in.
Since you didn't see the tank or the fish how can you simply say he was stunted? Surely a stunted fish has deformities or ill health?
Reading info is a bit like reading the bible it seems, 2 different stories and you are expected to believe both even if they are conflicting.

Some fish will only grow to the size they comfortably can in a specific tank. Some fish will carry on growing until they're too big. There's no fixed rule. All you can work on is what size they should be, and offer a suitable tank for that eventuality. For example, my recent addition - common plec, kept in a 2ft tank all his life (2 years - should have been knocking on 12-18" as they're quick growers). He was 7" when he arrived a month or two back. He's now 9", nearly 10" maybe. He's started growing again as soon as I put him in my 6ft tank.

So yes, it is possible to keep a fish in a smaller tank, but it doesn't make it what's best for the fish. Your fish was stunted, whether healthy or not - although I personally think although outward signs pointed towards him being healthy, his size said otherwise. You didn't know better, but you do now, and it would be wrong to do it again knowing that your fish didn't grow properly. Not having a go - we all have to learn some time!

 

[cane76]

some fish definately do get stunted by being in tanks that are too small theres no 2 ways about it.
your oscar was in a tank that was too small and it only grew to 8" in 3 years so the chances are it was stunted
who knows what ill effects this will have on a fish long term,saying it seemed fit and healthy sounds a bit nieve

 

[fenwoman]

it is confusing fenwoman.

but he should definately have got bigger than 8" in 3 years.

i'm not sure of all the facts and it's pretty likely every case is different, but i suspect although he was fine at that point, he may have developed health problems later in life. It's like cycling with fish, your fish may survive and be fine after cycling..... but then a year or two later they might start to develop problems. i had this with platys I cycled my first tank with, they got tb for no reason whatsoever and died suddenly about 3 years after cycling my tank, personally i think they were just weakend by the process.

I'm mortified that I may have unwittingly harmed him
Perhaps he was just a little 'un like me? I eat and eat and eat and still am only 8 stone.

sounds like you stunted the oscar if it only grew to 8" in 3 years

So if he was a lone fish in a 39 gallon tank and he was bought as a 2 inch baby, how did I manage to stunt him? He was fit and healthy. Surely a stunted fish has health problems?
I read everywhere that fish will grow to their proper size even if kept in a small tank which is why people get told to take them back to the lfs. So this is confusing me. One the one hand, a fish will grow too large for a small tank, then on the other hand a fish will stay small and healthy in a tank too small. Which is it?
on this site it says "For a pair of Oscars the 48?x18? works well, and with enough space to keep it a 24? depth would have the added bonus of space and volume, and make for an impressive display"
which is the size of tank I had him in.
Since you didn't see the tank or the fish how can you simply say he was stunted? Surely a stunted fish has deformities or ill health?
Reading info is a bit like reading the bible it seems, 2 different stories and you are expected to believe both even if they are conflicting.

Some fish will only grow to the size they comfortably can in a specific tank. Some fish will carry on growing until they're too big. There's no fixed rule. All you can work on is what size they should be, and offer a suitable tank for that eventuality. For example, my recent addition - common plec, kept in a 2ft tank all his life (2 years - should have been knocking on 12-18" as they're quick growers). He was 7" when he arrived a month or two back. He's now 9", nearly 10" maybe. He's started growing again as soon as I put him in my 6ft tank.

So yes, it is possible to keep a fish in a smaller tank, but it doesn't make it what's best for the fish. Your fish was stunted, whether healthy or not - although I personally think although outward signs pointed towards him being healthy, his size said otherwise. You didn't know better, but you do now, and it would be wrong to do it again knowing that your fish didn't grow properly. Not having a go - we all have to learn some time!

No offence taken LIsa. I said before. I am seriously hard to offend
Needless to say I will not be getting an oscar just like I won't be getting a betta however much I would like one.If I cannot keep them right, I don't keep them.

 

[LisaLQ]

Lisa looks stunned as she shoves another raspberry muffin in her gob. How can anyone be 8 stones if they eat non-stop? It's not fair!

 

[fenwoman]

some fish definately do get stunted by being in tanks that are too small theres no 2 ways about it.
your oscar was in a tank that was too small and it only grew to 8" in 3 years so the chances are it was stunted
who knows what ill effects this will have on a fish long term,saying it seemed fit and healthy sounds a bit nieve

20 years ago I was naive. I was told a 48" X 15 X 18" tank was right for the oscar back then. Given that there was no internet then, and books told me nothing about oscars, how was I to know any different.
I will get an oscar again one day. Just have to rearrange the living room to facilitate a 6 foot tank. Then it will be like the dining room but with fish tanks instead of massive parrot cages. At least I'll still be able to hear the telly, unlike the dining room where the louder I turn the volume up, the louder they yell. In the end I used to sit with infra red headphones on or watch the teletext for deaf people to be able to follow corontaion street

Lisa looks stunned as she shoves another raspberry muffin in her gob. How can anyone be 8 stones if they eat non-stop? It's not fair!

Hah!! but I bet you have boobs. I may have been born in Bristol, but I am built more like the fens. Dead flat

 

[LisaLQ]

You can have them. I was built like the Cairngorms. Sadly, after the kids, they seemed to have a slight landslide.

 

[cane76]

how did you manage to end up talking about boobs from oscars