Oscar Experts: I Need Your Brains

Oscar_Dad

Oscar_Dad

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Nov 5, 2021
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I have a big old beast of an Oscar who's about 3 years old and has lived his entire life in a 220. We just lost his companion Oscar/main squeeze and he seems bored without another Oscar. The full grown sailfin pays no attention to him - and since he figured out he can't bully the sailfin, he doesn't really interact with it at all anymore.

I want to get him a buddy - but you all know how hard it is to find a healthy full-grown Oscar or other fish that can hang with their personalities. As Oscars go, he's pretty chill - but he is an Oscar so he can be edgy at times.

So rather than waiting forever and a day to find the perfect full-grown companion, I had a thought. I have an old 20g high that I'm not using. My question is... what if I got a baby Oscar and raised it in the 20 for 6 months?

1) Would 6 months be enough grow time to then move the newbie into the 220 and give it a chance to not get beat up? At that point, it should be 5-6"
2) Would a 20 gallon be enough for 6 months growth? It wouldn't stunt or slow a baby/adolescent Oscar's growth for just a 6 month temporary stay, would it?

Would love to hear from anyone who has had experience with this issue. Thanks much!
 
Oscar_Dad

Oscar_Dad

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Nov 5, 2021
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Also -

If not an Oscar, do you have any advice for a different type of large companion (and how to find a non-baby version) the might work?
 
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Oscar_Dad

Oscar_Dad

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Nov 5, 2021
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Yeah - I'm open to that, too. If I could find a few adult Silver Dollars that'd be cool. Terror? Dempsey?
 
cockroach

cockroach

Goliath Tigerfish
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Jul 28, 2005
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Taiwan
This is anecdotal and take it as that.
There was a guy here that was adding2 oscars of differing sizes together. the smaller one not being small enough to eat but could be bullied seriously.
He treated much the same as a tank for aggressive cichlid breeding.
Put a divider in the tank - 2/3 for big one, 1/3 for small one.
After a few weeks of that, he cut holes too small for the large oscar to pass through but the small one could come and go at will.
After a while they were together often and no chasing besides a normal oscar bump here and there he removed the divider and created decor that gave the little one a spot to dart to in case of emergency.
They lived happily together for after that until both were full size.
 
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Oscar_Dad

Oscar_Dad

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Nov 5, 2021
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cockroach said:
This is anecdotal and take it as that.
There was a guy here that was adding2 oscars of differing sizes together. the smaller one not being small enough to eat but could be bullied seriously.
He treated much the same as a tank for aggressive cichlid breeding.
Put a divider in the tank - 2/3 for big one, 1/3 for small one.
After a few weeks of that, he cut holes too small for the large oscar to pass through but the small one could come and go at will.
After a while they were together often and no chasing besides a normal oscar bump here and there he removed the divider and created decor that gave the little one a spot to dart to in case of emergency.
They lived happily together for after that until both were full size.
Click to expand...
I don’t hate that idea at all! Thanks. I’ll have to think about what kind of divider I could make that wouldn’t be easily demolished by the big lug - and at the same time I could cut a hole in.

A good suggestion worth thinking about. Thanks again!
 
cockroach

cockroach

Goliath Tigerfish
MFK Member
Jul 28, 2005
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1,721
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Taiwan
Some people use egg crate with suction cups to hold it upright in place. Easy to adjust hole size, add a hole and doesn't impede flow or filtration efficiency.

You could use an acrylic sheet laid at an angle forming a triangle with the side of tank.

Pvc pipes cut to for snugly with gardening plastic mesh would work as well. Just need center pipes to support around holes .

Get creative. Hell use lego if you have a kid with enough laying around. Lol
 
Oscar_Dad

Oscar_Dad

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Nov 5, 2021
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Good stuff everyone. Thanks for the suggestions. My plan changed on a dime though when I ran across a healthy adul Synodontis acanthomias almost a week ago. Knowing that you never know who an Oscar might choose to bully or tolerate I rolled the dice and grabbed him.

So far all good. The Synodontis seems to like being close to the Gibby - and is curious about the Oscar who so far hasn't shown a lick of aggression to the newbie.

I have a ton of wood, so there are a bunch of hiding paces should it come to that.

It's early, but so far I'm super happy with this arrangement.

Thanks again all for the ideas!
 
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