commonly said things about oscars

[TwistedPenguin]

Incredibly underrated fish. But they're big, thick, love us and love to eat so of course they're going to require the care that any foot-long, thick, hungry fish is. Fish-keeping would hold no interest for me if not for Oscars. My Oscars are the reason I love this hobby. Yes, you HAVE to change the water a lot or you risk Hole In The Head. If you love your Oscar, you do it. We have to clean litter boxes and scoop dog piles in the yard, too. All for the love of the pet. And my Oscars are every bit as interactive 'pets' as my dogs and cats. That's why people love em' and why they've remained at the top of the popularity list all these years.

 

[AMG]

Oscars require extra care (no lazy fish keepers should own one), but I feel they are well worth the effort if you're willing to put in the time. I find their personality and beauty to be very rewarding.

 

[CTU2fan]

They're also very impressive display fish when well kept. Big personable fish with striking red color against a nice black (or white) background...a really big one is tough to ignore.

 

[perfect_prefect]

lmfao @ bio load of an oscar. try keeping a large pacu sometime then youre gonna have some bio load. i love my oscars and i keep accumulating because people keep buying them and getting rid of them when they get big. ive dedicated my indoor pond for the winter and one of my outdoor ponds for the summer strictly for rescued oscars and pacu. they are great fish with great personality. if you are afraid to take on the tasks to which you have called the downfalls of this fish please just leave it in the lfs so someone like me doesnt have to rescue it from you. if youre not afraid and up to the challenge you will probiably buy one of the best damn fish you'll ever own.

 

[headbanger_jib]

you will have to change the water all the time
headbanger_jib-> they are a little messy eaters and eat a lot so water changes at once a week shouldn't be a prob if it is a well filtered tank and has a bottom dweller to clean up after the monsters
they are crap machines
fish eat fish poop, oscars eat more poop more, no rocket science, so feed them just till you see a slight plump on their tummies
theyre worse than plecos
no they aren't, plecos are the true poop machines(i keep more than 2 dozen plecos, they are great fish to keep and grow huge, monster cats )
youll have to vaccum the gravel often
any fish you keep in a gravelled tank, gravel vac is important

are these true or not because if they are im seriously going to reconsider
getting an oscar

if you want fish that is owner responsive and fun to keep and are a learner then oscars aren't a bad choice

p.s. im new to cichlids so dont flame
almost all at MFK play good, and are happy to answer queries about fish

 

[navygirl76]

oscars are what made me fall in love with fishkeeping. im also very diligent about weekly waterchanges. right now i keep africans, but i have a 90 gallon that im going to put an oscar into here in about a month--im excited and cant wait to own one again!

i love their personality! but like everyone else has said, you need a big tank, you need to do your waterchanges and not overfeed.. they are well worth the work..

 

[oscarsftw]

As long as you do a weekly maintainance, it's just like any other fish IMO

Thank you,

If you can't be responsible for your fishes, I suggest getting fish bowl gold fishes or some Comets they are rather cheap if they die and require little maintenance. Every Cichlid has their own personality, if you get other Cichlid you run the risk of aggression towards other fishes not to mention not only Oscars are prone to HITH disease. But all that you heard about Oscars are true. They poop a lot and big chunks of it and eat a lot, get HITH, requires a lot of maintenance and space. But I consider Oscars the best fishes in my tank.

It's really not that hard to take care of an O. If you have the minimum required size tank to house one you're already half way there. All you need to do now is feed the right amount, do a Large water change weekly or small ones through out the week, while gravel vacuuming (you need to gravel vacuum with any fish).

 

[ShadowStryder]

I personally don't care for Oscars but then again pretty much all large cichlid are waste produces and messy eaters. Very few of them actually just swallow there food whole. as the semi chew it and debris floats out the gills or they spit it out in pieces and take it back in several times making a mess.

 

[Cichlaholics Anonymous]

another aspect of oscar keeping that needs to be mentioned is the misconception that feeder fish are an important part of their diet. It really isn't, and it can leave them susceptible to parasites from unquarantined feeders, and also the fact that feeders are not the best food when it comes to nutrition.

 

[groovitudedude]

fish eat fish poop

I just thought this was funny.

I personally don't like Oscars, but they are pretty hardy fish with a big appetite and personality. If you like them, go for it.