40g Breeder

[BushFishRox]

Oscars don't stay under a foot long, they commonly max out around 14 inches and can get to 18 inches. 40 breeders are around 18 inches front to back, so now you have a fish that could possibly end up the same depth as the tank front to back, and is half the length of the tank.

That's some massive water changes you're looking at there, especially if you somehow stuff other fish in with him, and how is that happy and healthy if he can barely turn around without bumping the glass?

Yeah, you could maintain one in a tank like that if you worked hard enough doing water changes every day and put a lot of filtration, but why?

Convicts or other cichlids that size or a little bigger would be a good choice for a 40 breeder.
How about a tanganyikan tank? There's a whole lot of fish to choose from in that catagory and many stay plenty small enough for that size tank. There's of awesome looking tanganyikans.

First show me a 18" Oscar.... Oscars get on average 12" some smaller, and some even get to 15"+ but rarely, as for the dimensions of the 40gal breeder they are fine I would perfer a 4' long tank, but as stated if anything a 55 isnt wide enough for an Oscar as they are 12" wide. Now for the "daily water changes" with the right filtration you can keep an O in a 30gal with once a week water changes at full grown...

so I will end this how I started it...

 

[ShadowBass]

That doesn't make sense to knock the 40 breeder for being 18 inches when on the Oscar forums everyone suggest 55g which is only 12. Not saying I want to keep an Oscar, but if I did I'd be more worried about the 36 inches over the 18 front to back.

Uh, where in my post did I say a 55 was better than a 40 breeder? Neither of them are big enough for a full size oscar to live happily.

I mentioned the length also.

Hey, if any of you wanna stick an oscar in a 55g or 40 breeder, that's your choice, but they can get well over a foot long unlike rob's post implied, which is why I responded.

 

[ShadowBass]

First show me a 18" Oscar.... Oscars get on average 12" some smaller, and some even get to 15"+ but rarely, as for the dimensions of the 40gal breeder they are fine I would perfer a 4' long tank, but as stated if anything a 55 isnt wide enough for an Oscar as they are 12" wide. Now for the "daily water changes" with the right filtration you can keep an O in a 30gal with once a week water changes at full grown...

so I will end this how I started it...

You haven't said anything that contradicts what I've said other than the size thing.

I could probably show you an 18" oscar, and I've seen PLENTY of oscars over 12 inches, many of 14 or 15. In fact the fish store I frequent a couple of hours from here has several 14+ inch oscars that people have brought in because they were told they wouldn't get that big.
If you'd like I can take pictures with a ruler against the glass for size comparison *shrug*. I'm up there a lot anyways, it wouldn't be a huge waste of my time.

The main reason most oscars you see are under a foot is because they are kept in tanks with poor water quality. Poor husbandry is the main reason a lot of large fish don't reach normal size, and it's also the reason faulty information on their size is passed around.

Sorry, you're welcome to disagree, but I'm sure I'm not the only one on here that's seen 14+ inch oscars quite a bit. It's not THAT uncommon, and depending on the fish stores you frequent you'll see some monsters quite often.

A. ocellatus have been reported to grow to a length of 45 cm (approximately 18 in) and a mass of 1.6 kg (3.5 lb).[1]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscar_(fish)

Never said I've personally seen 18 inchers, just that they can POSSIBLY get that size. As mentioned I HAVE personally seen several 14+ inchers though.
Wiki isn't the best reference, fishbase.org also lists max size at 18 inches.

 

[BushFishRox]

well I doubt it is a true 18"s, it would probably be a long finned Oscar with a TL measurement of 18"s

 

[ShadowBass]

It may or may not be, I was just pointing out that it could be possible.

14"-16" I have seen myself in person and there have been a few people to post 16 inchers on this board. If you search you may be able to find them.

As I said, it's someone's personal choice what they choose to keep their fish in, I was just trying to give some facts so the person could make a better decision, no matter what they decide to do

Sorry if anyone felt like I was flaming them, this is just my personal experience and what I've read and heard from other people.

 

[AHoskins]

Not planning on an Oscar anyhow

But I do want to know something. Could I keep a Fei Feng and a Dat in the tank for a little while? Maybe 6 months, maybe a year before I move them to a larger tank?

 

[ShadowBass]

Not planning on an Oscar anyhow

But I do want to know something. Could I keep a Fei Feng and a Dat in the tank for a little while? Maybe 6 months, maybe a year before I move them to a larger tank?

I don't know anything about the Fei Feng, but if you bought a dat small enough it could stay in the 40g for well over a year probably.

I bought my indos at 1 inch long and they're in a 55g growing out, about to be moved to a 75g but that's only because I have 16 of them and they need more room and hiding spaces as they're starting to quarrel a bit. The biggest ones are 2 inches long and I've had them since march.

 

[rob0521]

It may or may not be, I was just pointing out that it could be possible.

14"-16" I have seen myself in person and there have been a few people to post 16 inchers on this board. If you search you may be able to find them.

As I said, it's someone's personal choice what they choose to keep their fish in, I was just trying to give some facts so the person could make a better decision, no matter what they decide to do

Sorry if anyone felt like I was flaming them, this is just my personal experience and what I've read and heard from other people.

Yea I didn't mean anything by my statement just trying to help out.
We just have different styles of fishkeeping.

 

[Mystix212]

At my lfs that have a huge display tank with 4 or so oscars being 13-15". Some BP's and other assorted cats.