Oscar questions....

[FrozenEcho]

I'm wondering if it would be wise or not to get an Oscar in a few months. I've researched them fully, and know they need a big aquarium, strong filter, etc, but I'm unsure if you need to be really experianced with fish to give an Oscar proper care.

I've only owned two dalmation mollies before, and they were really healthy. Right now I own three bettas, and they're also really healthy.

My main question is about experience.
Any help would be appreciated. :D

[gothicangel69]

If you have done all the research, and you think you know that to do, the only way to get experience is through keeping fish right? I say go for it. The minimum tank size for one oscar(i wouldn't recommend getting more than one) is 70 gallons, but 90 is better.
I just bought an oscar a few weeks ago, and soon i'll be having to buy a new tank.(its in my 44 right now). I say buy a big tank from the get-go though.

[Sorathien]

i would suggest at LEAST a 75g for a single oscar with no tank mates. you need double filtration (75g tank, you need a filter rated for a 150g tank) as they are very messy. a 90g would be far better for a single oscar however. the footprint is almost identical to a 75, but they are taller, and the extra water volume really helps dilute the nitrAtes.

oscars are also very sensitive to nitrates and they have to be kept low, so the bigger the tank, the easier it is to keep the nitrates low because you don't have to do insane numbers of water changes. nitrates should be kept below 20ppm, the water has to be kept very clean, and make sure your oscar has a nutritious and varied diet. both of these factors help prevent Hole In The Head disease, which only occurs in large cichilids kept in dirty water with poor diets.

if you want to get a larger tank and have tank mates with your oscar, make sure the tank mades grow fast and get a decent size (at least 5" long), otherwise they will become food. all tank mates must be introduced to an oscar when the oscar is a baby, or he will become very territorial and agressive.

their base diet should be a high-quality cichlid pellet. even try having 3-5 different brands and types of cichlid pellets and alternating between them. they also should be fed live, frozen, and freeze dried foods (about 25-30% of their diet) they like earth worms, meal worms, crickets, silversides, shrimp, krill, blood worms, black worms, etc. make sure any live foods you feed them are quarentined, healthy, and its best to gut-load them just before feeding so the good nutrients are passed on to the oscar.

they can also be fed veggies like green beans, romaine lettuce, shelled peas, and zucchini.

all in all, i think what you have to remember is to keep the water clean, and have a good, varied diet. those are the two most important factors in keeping a healthy oscar. fishless cycle your tank before adding the O to make sure he doesn't have to go through the stress of a cycle.

they are very fun fish and as soon as i have a house where i can keep a 180g tank i plan to keep one with 2 fire eels and a trinidad pleco. they are like under-water dogs and learn to recognize "their" people and family, and will get territorial if a stranger even comes into the room the tank is in.

also keep in mind that they get very excited at feeding time and have been known to jump and bash themselves against the hood of the tank. make sure its weighted down well and there are no gaps.

[FrozenEcho]

Thank you both for so much help! :D
In 2-4 months we will be buying either a 75 or 90 gallon aquarium and all the other supplies for our future Oscar. We will be housing only one Oscar, but will he be violent or aggressive toward a larger pleco if we add one to help clean the aquarium?
Thanks again. :)

[mr gerbil]

Go for the 90 gallon. A pleco should be ok in this, although I'd usually recommend 150 if you're starting from scratch...
I can't forsee problems between the two, but I'm not an oscar expert. They're aggressive fish, although plecs are fairly placid.

[dillydally6]

I've heard that Oscars will play with ping-pong balls if you encourage the game

[Sorathien]

if you raise the oscar and the pleco together from juveniles, they will be totally fine together. its only when you introduce another fish to an adult oscar that you will have problems.

see if you can find a smaller species of pleco, like a trinidad. trinidad plecos got about 12" long (commons get about 18") and are about the same price as commons if you can find them (my LFS once had 3) they were about $2.99 when i found them.

know that the larger species of plecos will need to be supplimented with veggies and algae wafers, and as they get larger, they turn more to a carniverous diet and need to be fed pellets and frozen foods. most are also not very good at cleaning up a tank at all (many of the smaller species eat algae very well) but even if they do eat excess food from the oscar, they still produce their own waste and add to the bioload. i would suggest not getting a pleco if you just want him to "clean up" because they are not very good at it. only get one if you like the fish for itself because they are usually very dissapointing as clean up fish.