75 gal tank

[Toby_H]

Removing the cat and the Pleco does free up some space to add another fish or two…

In my experience, FM’s are rather docile for SA/CA Cichlids and can be pushed around ( = stressed) by more aggressive fish.

Adding a mate for the FM is an option, but FMs are hard to sex and cannot be sexed prior to sexual maturity. While a pair of FMs would probably be fine, two males probably will not. So this option is ‘easier said than done’…

Convicts are small and don’t add much waste, but they are aggressive and demand their share of space. I do believe the 75 gal offers “enough” space, but Cons are far more capable than FMs and in my experience haven’t made the best tank mates. Adult Oscars often act as ‘police’ breaking up fights. If this is the case with your Oscar he may keep squabbles amongst others to a minimum.

There are several species of Geos that may make better tank mates for your Oscar and FM than Convicts would… A Severum may also work out well…

But in my opinion nothing should be added… until the Cat and Pleco are rehomed…

 

[Dominator]

when oscars are full grown, 75g will not be considered big for them(they grow to 18 inches). But i would definantly get more fish because single oscar is boring to watch. perhaps, most oscars stop at 14 inches, so you may add more fish. If i were you, i would get rid of the oscar and get more colorful and active cichlids.

 

[Toby_H]

when oscars are full grown, 75g will not be considered big for them(they grow to 18 inches).

Can you please qualify this statement...

As I have read that the largest known Oscar was 16" and was caught in
Lake Okeechobee... I've seen some huge Oscars in my days but nothing over 14"...

perhaps, most oscars stop at 14 inches

Can you please qualify this statement...

I've raised a number of Oscars in large tanks (125~300 gal), several of them for 5+ years... and I've had one reach 13" and the rest maxed out at 12" or smaller.

Exaggerating to make a point doesn't help anyone...

 

[Sab_Fan]

yeah, that "18 -inch Oscar" comment stopped me in my tracks . . . let's just say 12" is waaay more normal . . . either way, you're talking about a large-bodied fish that eats a lot and makes a lot of waste (as does your pleco)

speaking strictly for myself, I stopped keeping oscars specifically because I wanted to keep a larger variety of fish; I can keep 3 or 4 smaller cichlids in the same space as one oscar

 

[TrikkyMakk]

i wouldnt add anything there iwth the o and the pleco alon you have a small tank for em

this

 

[keaser06]

Removing the cat and the Pleco does free up some space to add another fish or two...

Adding a mate for the FM is an option, but FMs are hard to sex and cannot be sexed prior to sexual maturity. While a pair of FMs would probably be fine, two males probably will not. So this option is ‘easier said than done’…

Convicts are small and don’t add much waste, but they are aggressive and demand their share of space. I do believe the 75 gal offers “enough” space, but Cons are far more capable than FMs and in my experience haven’t made the best tank mates. Adult Oscars often act as ‘police’ breaking up fights. If this is the case with your Oscar he may keep squabbles amongst others to a minimum.

There are several species of Geos that may make better tank mates for your Oscar and FM than Convicts would… A Severum may also work out well…

But in my opinion nothing should be added… until the Cat and Pleco are rehomed…

well the cat is definately being rehomed but the pleco is there to keep the algae under control because the tank is lightly planted and with the lights i have to keep the plants alive i get slight algae growth and i hate algae..

now if the pleco grows too big for the tank i will get a smaller species of pleco but in my experience with plecos i havent had them grow that large very often.

the fm is almost large enough to sex now i believe but if i were to get more i was going to get them soon while he is still small enough to be able to throw 3-4 more in so he can choose his mate by himself.. the one fm i have now was a real terror but my oscar seems to police the tank like mentioned and keeps everyone from fighting too much..

i like the severum idea that sounds nice. ill have to look into them a little more as i have never kept them before..

now as far as my o goes its about 3-3.5" now and i caught and tried to vent him/her tonight and looks like imo its a female which based on personality makes sense as it seems to keep everyone from fighting too much and isnt very aggressive for an o.. but the vents looked to me like which would be female right? or is it even possible to vent at this age?

so here is a little better stock list for my tank i think

1 Oscar
1 FM
1 Severum

could i maybe add something like a blue acara in there with them? as far as aggression goes i can deal with that.. theres plenty of hiding spaces for a wide range of fish sizes and the aquascaping allows for plenty of room for large fish to swim as i had originally kept 3 juvi pbass and 1 juvi silver aro in here until they were rehomed with their new owner as the tank i was setting up for them didnt work out..

 

[Sab_Fan]

FYI, standard plecos suck when it comes to long-term algae control in a planted tank; they're just too big . . . instead, you could get a busy-nose pleco and/or a couple of clown plecos and get some real work done, and they are much smaller fish

if you wanted to add another cichlid, a blue acara is a good choice and shouldn't impact your aggression levels too much . . .

 

[b show]

You have lots of room in a 75 for more than 1 oscar, You could get more oscars. J dempseys, convicts, would go good. Oscars aren't mean, they will just eat anything that fits in its mouth, I'd worry about putting to of a aggressive fish with the oscar. How bout a geophagus or a jurupari. Good luck but get more fish, 1 oscar would be boring. you have plenty of room.

 

[Toby_H]

Common Plecos grow huge (24"+) if given the right conditions and as mentioned do not eat agle as adults... I agree that I would replace it with a smaller growing Pleco (if yours is a Common Pleco that is)...

I think 1 Oscar, 1 FM, 1 Severum & 1 Blue Acara sounds like a nice full 75 gal tank... Adding a small growing Pleco is optional but if you keep a Common Pleco I suggest only keeping three of the four Cichlids (as Common Plecos create a good bit of waste).

I would not suggest keeping a second Oscar as adult Oscars commonly don't appreciate the company of other adult Oscars...

As for venting your 3~3.5" Oscar... it is difficult to vent an adult Oscar that is not paired off... I would have zero confidence in venting a 3.5" Oscar... And I do not believe that the behavior of a 3.5" juvi would suggest gender either...

But don't sweat it... most Oscar owners go years without having a clue what gender their fish is. Call it whatever you want to call it and it doesn't matter unless you want to breed it...

 

[Acipenser]

A good clean up fish is the flying fox, They are active and and do well enough with removing algae, I had 6 in my 75g ( I upgraded to a 125 ) along with 2 gold sevs, a geo, a convict pair, 11 tiger barbs( excellent dithers) and a plec. You could fit a few more juvenile fish in there and just sell them/ give them away when they grow out.