Caring for rescued oscar + should I rehome?

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r.e.g.

r.e.g.

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Apr 5, 2018
10
18
3
Louisiana
On Sunday, I pulled a young oscar out of the pond where I live that someone had dumped. A 10 gallon tank is the biggest I had on hand, so that's what he's in, though I've know he needs something larger ASAP. I have an established shrimp tank so I did take a rock and a java fern from it and added it to the oscar tank, hoping that'll help cycle the tank just a tiny bit. Maybe I should move over some driftwood too? The tank is 76 F/24 C, and I've ordered a heater, but I'm not sure it's necessary right now. Since the tank is uncycled, I'm doing 50% water changes daily to keep ammonia down.

The oscar has a great appetite and is very active and interested in what's going on. That's great. However, I'm very concerned about the condition of his fins. They were very tattered when I took him in and they don't seem to be growing back yet. I started dosing the water with Melafix on Monday and I hope that between that and the large water changes, they'll begin to regrow. Is there anything else I should be doing/anything I should be doing differently to help get him into better shape?

Secondly, I'm trying to figure out if I should rehome him. I've been doing a lot of reading and know that he needs at least a 75 gallon tank, though many argue for larger (and I see the reason for that), but a 75 would be the absolute max I could swing for at least the next few years. I know that we'll be moving in about 2.5 years to another state (and possibly quite a long ways) and as my significant other is in academia, there will likely be several other moves after that one. I have a few concerns regarding this: I don't know if it would be fair (or possible!) to put an adult oscar through long car trips; I don't know if it's going to be hard to find apartments that'll be OK with a 75 gallon tank (not to mention a dog and 3 cats); I don't know that it would be possible to have a big tank waiting when we got to the new place or if my fish would have to wait in cramped quarters for up to a few weeks for the moving truck to arrive. If I can find an experienced fish keeper who can put him up in a huge tank, I don't think there's any question that I should adopt him out, but I'm nervous about giving him to the LFS to sell, as he was already dumped by one person and I don't want that to happen again when he gets even bigger.

I love this fish as he is so friendly and curious and interested in what's going on around him but I really want to do what's best for him. I love our red cherry shrimp but I'm blown away by how personable this little guy is. Many thanks for your help. (Sorry I can't post a picture since I'm too new to the forum)
 
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Covetous said:
Just curious, why did you take him home if you didn’t have accommodations for him?
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That's a good question! I was looking at tadpoles in the fairly large drainage pond we have here and noticed an albino fish hanging out at the surface. I suspected it wasn't a green sunfish (which do live in that pond) so I decided to catch it because introduced species can cause so many problems. That being said, an albino fish that was staying at the surface was going to be egret food pretty quickly.
 
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r.e.g. said:
That's a good question! I was looking at tadpoles in the fairly large drainage pond we have here and noticed an albino fish hanging out at the surface. I suspected it wasn't a green sunfish (which do live in that pond) so I decided to catch it because introduced species can cause so many problems. That being said, an albino fish that was staying at the surface was going to be egret food pretty quickly.
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I see, being some one that’s kept Oscars for 15 years I can tell you they don’t like moving. I’ve managed to keep mine alive through about 4 different moves. But it was precarious every time. I lost one of mine to a move, sometimes they just don’t handle it well. Their kinda big babies when it comes to change.

I found the best way to do it is to use a giant trash can filled halfway with tank water and a large sponge filter on a battery. And a power head. It’s hard to move because of the weight but the fish do better then in a simple bucket. And the. Large amount of water agitation creates a super well ariated fish transport.

I kept my Oscar in a 75 for a couple years. It was definitely abit cramped. But it’s not the worst thing, I’d say it’s probably the minimum for a full grown Oscar. But of course bigger is better.

As far as the fins go, good clean water. That’s all you need. Alittle tea tree oil doesn’t hurt I’ve used it (malafix) however in the small tank don’t choke him out on it. And ost fin damage will disappear. My old man has a chunk out of his tail that never healed. It gives him character!

And here is a couple pictures for making all the way through that rant. My old man Oscar
185EA9E9-9F8A-4332-9A90-23F2C77D4825.jpeg
B4D347EB-47A3-4E1F-8170-FD206A034237.jpeg
 
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I think it sounds more practical to re home him. Maybe someone on here lives close who could take him in?
Buying a big tank that's not quite big enough then moving it across the country will be a drag.
It's a weird dilemma rescuing an introduced fish, it's good to remove them from the local waterway but now you are responsible for,it's welfare and seems like he's grown on you. Since you like him and want the best for him I'd recommend finding someone with a suitable tank,
 
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Covetous said:
I see, being some one that’s kept Oscars for 15 years I can tell you they don’t like moving. I’ve managed to keep mine alive through about 4 different moves. But it was precarious every time. I lost one of mine to a move, sometimes they just don’t handle it well. Their kinda big babies when it comes to change.

I found the best way to do it is to use a giant trash can filled halfway with tank water and a large sponge filter on a battery. And a power head. It’s hard to move because of the weight but the fish do better then in a simple bucket. And the. Large amount of water agitation creates a super well ariated fish transport.

I kept my Oscar in a 75 for a couple years. It was definitely abit cramped. But it’s not the worst thing, I’d say it’s probably the minimum for a full grown Oscar. But of course bigger is better.

As far as the fins go, good clean water. That’s all you need. Alittle tea tree oil doesn’t hurt I’ve used it (malafix) however in the small tank don’t choke him out on it. And ost fin damage will disappear. My old man has a chunk out of his tail that never healed. It gives him character!

And here is a couple pictures for making all the way through that rant. My old man Oscar
View attachment 1308319
View attachment 1308321
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Thank you for the detailed reply. Hearing that you lost one during a move is enough to convince me that I should just rehome him now while he's a baby. We drove 8+ hours with a couple of super hardy crayfish once and that was nerve-wracking enough. Your fish are gorgeous. Ever since I was a kid I've wanted to adopt a big oscar that no one wanted but I'm just not in a position yet to take that on. Someday I'll be settled and can set up a huge tank!
 
Ogertron3000 said:
I think it sounds more practical to re home him. Maybe someone on here lives close who could take him in?
Buying a big tank that's not quite big enough then moving it across the country will be a drag.
It's a weird dilemma rescuing an introduced fish, it's good to remove them from the local waterway but now you are responsible for,it's welfare and seems like he's grown on you. Since you like him and want the best for him I'd recommend finding someone with a suitable tank,
Click to expand...
Thank you very much. I've gone and posted him in the marketplace here and will hope someone local wants him. If not, moving him to the LFS is probably a lot better than hoping he survives the cycling process in this tank.
 
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