update on the oscar tank

im really enjoying the look an the fish love it also my banana plants are growing like crazy the first pick is what it looks like today the last pic is from last weeks water change

new edition to the family another female much smaller

How messy are oscars??? I was just wondering how much filteration you have in your tank???

hey neo there messy but the mess works good for the banana plants an pleco I got in there, he does well with the scraps they leave. I double filtration on all the tanks they were in all hobs, the upside of them is they eat what ever falls in the water in nature so frozen veggies veinna sausages are treats. the down side is they leave food behind for later consumption an grow rapidly they get along with the pleco but they don't like cory catfishes are any cat fish at all think its the notion of growing bigger then them an becoming there pred. I wouldn't use an undergravel filter cause there bio load is heavy an they like to scoop up substrate an search for food are decorate, im using an marine land 350 an a emperor 400 on one 55 1 emperor 350 on the second an a ancient hob 400. all tanks have pfs. the 29 they came out of had gravel an pond rocks in it. with a 30 gallon hob from rama an a 30 gallon whisper hob with sponge attachment that tank has the guppie an the sunset platty cories Buenos tetra in it they love the water level's . All in all if you like aggressive fish that react to you gestures there the perfect match. Ive started hand feeding mines they love the attention

I have been thinking of getting an albino Oscar for a while now. Since I love albino fish so much. Just wanted some input from a keeper

neogeo20041 wrote:I have been thinking of getting an albino Oscar for a while now. Since I love albino fish so much. Just wanted some input from a keeper

I've kept a few in past tanks. The cons are that you'll need to have much more filtration than with small tropical fish. A 55 gallon tank is the minimum size if recommend to start with. Eventually they will out grow a 55 and need a 90 gallon or larger to be happy. Otherwise the dominant one will almost always kill the other ones once they get crowded. It can be tricky to keep several in the same tank. For no reason at all, the dominant oscar could start biting the smallers ones and kill them in less than a few hours. Having lots of hiding spots will help out. I've not found any other fish that is 100% compatible. The oscars seem to always kill the other tank mates. Even plecos are not safe from an aggresive oscar. Also , must have lids on the tank to keep them from jumping out. They are succeptable to injuries from hitting lids and other decorations too hard. Stick with metal heaters. They can easily break glass heaters when full grown. Most tropical fish keepers will do monthly water changes on their fish tanks. But with oscars that's not enough. I suggest weekly or a minimum of every two weeks waterchanges. The percentage of the water change should also be larger than what most people are use to. It should be closer to 50% of tank volume. Sounds like a lot but once full grown they produce more waste than goldfish and it will quickly affect water quality. Like any large fish, they are succeptable to hole in the head. Usually caused by poor water quality and a poor diet. Live fish should never be offered unless the oscar is dying of starvation and will only eat live food. Problem with live food is that they have very poor nutritional qualities and have a very high risk of carrying parasites or other illnesses. Frozen feeders are safer but still lack the nutrients that found in a good pellet mix. There's a theory that hole in the head, aka lateral line erosion, is caused by activated carbon dust particles. The theory is that the particles get stuck in the fish's pores and irritate the skin till it developed an ulcer like wound. Just another good reason to rinse your activated carbon really well before using in an aquarium.

Now for the pros. They are very energetic and hardy fish. From beginners to experts, anyone can keep an oscar and have good success. Breeders are always coming out with new designer varieties. Different colors, patterns, longer fins, and of course the albinos. They will sit there and watch you every time you pass by the tank. Easy to train them to feed right out of your hands. I've seen people who swear that their oscars like to petted but I kinda doubt that. I think the oscars are just putting up with the petting in hopes of getting some food. They act very much like puppy dogs. Their biggest attraction is the fact that they have so much personality and can actually resond to your actions. Oscars are one of the few fish that I would be inclined to actually name and I almost never name my fish. I loved having them when I did, but I find that there are so many types of fish I want and need to have variety in my tanks I have. Plus I really have grown to loving planted tanks too much. Not sure if I could set up a nonplanted tank right now.

Thanks for all the info . I have kept goldfish in the past before never had any issues with water quality before or had one die while under my care. It doesn't matter if its tropical or cold water fish I always keep up with my water changes. I have yet to come across a fish that I couldn't train. I have over few hundred angels and they are all used to some kind of feeding habits . I'm guessing Oscar will be no different when it comes to teaching them .

Yeah amp you made a good point about the aggression I've research the theory of why they become aggressive towards other fish an fish of there breed it all boils down to space an attention they love your attention just like a puppy they want you to notice them on a one on one tip. They move closer spit gravel at the glass just for you to pay attention maybe drop them a treat . They notice you watching the others doing the same wanting your attention I truly believe this to be true there a jealous breed of fish so I spend as much time as possible with each one watching dropping green peas an carrots. As far as the pleco they become aggressive also they butt with there heads tail swap just like the oscars I've watch my pleco run the biggest Oscar out of his sleeping spot an would let anyone come near it while he's cleaning the rocks. All an all there truly intelligent fish maybe smarter then you think they love to watch the tele my wife leaves it own discovery channel for them to watch an they actually be watching an yawning lol

Most of us that keep Oscar don't have the luxury of keeping really big tanks. But like many other aggressive fish the more space they have the less aggression issue. Some big cichlids are just plain mean even space won't change their aggressiveness.

Hers a link that would help you out http://petcyclopedia.com/fish/22/oscar/
I also read monster fish keepers from time to time there's a guy who has five in a seventy five planted tank there about two years old he breeds an keeps his fry in that one tank his screen names Oscarking he has some post that are interesting from his post he started with a fourty breeder tank. Check his post an pics they might surprise you

Can I get a link for the monster keeper guy???