i am gonna get another pleco, but is there a specific one other than a common that has more of an algae diet??
clean up crew for oscar tank
- Thread starter blowfishRus
- Start date
yea i think im gonna get one of those, the last i had was pretty cool and i know it will eat left overs. now i just gotta figure out the algae problem.
Having had 11 full-grown oscars in a 240 gallon tank at one point (WAY to many btw!), my first recommendation is DON'T OVERFEED! O's ALWAYS act hungry, but in reality feeding them 2-3 times a week is sufficient. Also, I find that feeding them frozen/fresh tilapia or shrimp produces FAR LESS waste than feeding them any kind of pellets. Pellets = mess, at least as far as O's are concerned!
I noticed you had gold fishes in there as feeders presumably, while it's fun to watch the oscar's chase I would HIGHLY recommend you keep them in a separate tank and only put in as many as the O's will eat at a given time. It may seem more 'natural' to keep the gold fish in there, but they will certainly do their part in dirtying up your tank!
Be careful of pleco's...having too many pleco's will actually increase the amount of debris on the floor and may even encourage them to switch from algae to other foods since there's more competition.
I like your idea of putting a powerhead or other pump near the bottom to keep it from stagnating, I've done that in some of my larger tanks and it particularly helps with my big catfish and pleco's so that the overflows have a better chance of picking it up & adding oxygen/water flow.
But as others have said, with O's the reality is you have to keep up on maintenance. Good luck!
I noticed you had gold fishes in there as feeders presumably, while it's fun to watch the oscar's chase I would HIGHLY recommend you keep them in a separate tank and only put in as many as the O's will eat at a given time. It may seem more 'natural' to keep the gold fish in there, but they will certainly do their part in dirtying up your tank!
Be careful of pleco's...having too many pleco's will actually increase the amount of debris on the floor and may even encourage them to switch from algae to other foods since there's more competition.
I like your idea of putting a powerhead or other pump near the bottom to keep it from stagnating, I've done that in some of my larger tanks and it particularly helps with my big catfish and pleco's so that the overflows have a better chance of picking it up & adding oxygen/water flow.
But as others have said, with O's the reality is you have to keep up on maintenance. Good luck!
i agree the pellets make a BIG mess. most of it comes out there gills. i usally feed them a few pellets every other day. the minows i had in there was trying to clean my 10 gal tank out which i now have guppies in (minows were not really reproducing and the guppies are like crazy, never have to buy feeder fish and i know there condition<clean>)
do you think one more pleco would hurt, i need a little more algae control.
do you think one more pleco would hurt, i need a little more algae control.
Your fish will def appreciate some more hiding spots and retreats. It will give them a chance to get away from the Oscars. When those Os get bigger, there wont be much to keep them from eating anything in that tank except maybe the pleco. Maybe they wont, but your fish would benefit from some rock caves or driftwood. Depends on whether you r more concerned with having it look the way you want or having it the way the fish want.
blowfishRus;4320595; said:
I think (not 100%) that the bristlenose or medusa plecos are pretty good algae eaters. Also, a lot of plecos benefit from having some driftwood to munch on too. You could kill two birds with driftwood: shelter & pleco food. Feeding Os 2-3 times a week is coolbut if u wan them to grow quicker feed them at least once a day til they get bigger, BUT you MUST do lots of BIG waterchanges.
i got some sticks in there and i can throw my peice of driftwood on top of it. make it a cave somewhat.
i deff want them to grow thick. im feeding them hikari chchlid gold right now and there colors seem to be getting real nice.
thanks for the info on the pleco, i have heard similar things.
do any of yall do water changes with out water conditioner?? last time i did a small water change and just stuck the water hose in it (i was out of conditioner) i noticed no ill side effects that i saw.
my main goal, is to get it set up where i really dont have to mess with it to much. just enjoy.
i deff want them to grow thick. im feeding them hikari chchlid gold right now and there colors seem to be getting real nice.
thanks for the info on the pleco, i have heard similar things.
do any of yall do water changes with out water conditioner?? last time i did a small water change and just stuck the water hose in it (i was out of conditioner) i noticed no ill side effects that i saw.
my main goal, is to get it set up where i really dont have to mess with it to much. just enjoy.
In a 75 gallon tank with two Oscars you'll be doing at least two 50% changes every week to keep nitrates under control. Why would you add more fish to that mess?
i have been told that water changes are not always the best thing to do, that you should get better biological filtration. large water changes loses some of your good bacteria. i have been told this by a marine biologist that has not changed the water in some of his tanks for years, and the fish look health as could be.
im not saying its right, but it works for him.
i dont test nitrates, mainly i dont have a tester for that, i hardly even test my ammonium and ph any more. i do about a 25% water change once a month. i have not had the oscar set up for to long, and maybe that will have to change some but so far so good.
im not saying its right, but it works for him.
i dont test nitrates, mainly i dont have a tester for that, i hardly even test my ammonium and ph any more. i do about a 25% water change once a month. i have not had the oscar set up for to long, and maybe that will have to change some but so far so good.
