like I said, its not for everyone, and definitely not for novice keepers like yourself. if you can't keep up with the schedule, don't do it. if you can't afford the right equipment, don't do it. obviously, you aren't capable of doing it, doesn't mean its not possible or "not a positive thing" as you so eloquently put it. that is simply YOUR OPINION. nothing more.I perzonally keep some of my tanks "overstocked", and have no problems. but then again, I've been keeping fish for a long time, and I'm committed to my wetpets. if you're gonna keep fish and decide to go on vacation with nobody to keep up your schedule, you have no business keeping those poor fish in the first place.now. theres no need to get heated about it because you have a different opinion based on what you've been told verses what I successfully practise personally. I did say its not for everyone. just keep in mind its possible.
Could 3 Os go in a 125?
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Cichlaholics Anonymous;2389423; said:how are you assigning fish the number of gallons they "take up". What calculations are you using for this, it seems very trivial to say 2 oscars=100 gallons. If someone really does have a great water change schedule and superb filtration, it definitely can be done. You can make an argument based on footprint/territory, but in terms of bioload it can be done, especially by an experienced fishkeeping
It's based on my own personal experience and the collective experience of others in the Oscar community with nitrate production. I'm speaking from experience here because I own all of the above fish and have kept them all in different sized aquariums. It seems I'm one of the few people here who tests nitrates and believes the acceptable limits are under 20ppm of production per week. This assumes some strict practices, not overfeeding, doing a very good job vacuuming gravel substrates, keeping any sponge media relatively free of excess waste along with regimented weekly water changes.
Yes, there are ways around this with excessive water changes, if you can keep up doing multiple water changes per week, or even daily, almost anything can be done with stocking. But we're only human. When I give advice I tend to give it assuming that we're not all perfect and there needs to be room for error. Personally, with the two tanks I have now, doing weekly water changes on both is enough. That's not to say others don't want to spend more time than me doing that, but I generally assume that a novice just getting into the hobby is better off with advice that doesn't immediately make them slaves, burning them out. Make sense?
jwarriner;2389464; said:It's based on my own personal experience and the collective experience of others in the Oscar community with nitrate production. I'm speaking from experience here because I own all of the above fish and have kept them all in different sized aquariums. It seems I'm one of the few people here who tests nitrates and believes the acceptable limits are under 20ppm of production per week. This assumes some strict practices, not overfeeding, doing a very good job vacuuming gravel substrates, keeping any sponge media relatively free of excess waste along with regimented weekly water changes.
Yes, there are ways around this with excessive water changes, if you can keep up doing multiple water changes per week, or even daily, almost anything can be done with stocking. But we're only human. When I give advice I tend to give it assuming that we're not all perfect and there needs to be room for error. Personally, with the two tanks I have now, doing weekly water changes on both is enough. That's not to say others don't want to spend more time than me doing that, but I generally assume that a novice just getting into the hobby is better off with advice that doesn't immediately make them slaves, burning them out. Make sense?
I can't speak for anyone else on this site about the nitrate testing issue, but I admit I don't test it as often as I theoretically should, but I do maintain a rigorous water change schedule and maintain the filters in good shape...If I were talking to someone who just got their first oscars, then yes, it is best to have minimal bioload, but in the context of this site, I assume most here are intermediate/advanced aquarists who understand the basics and what they are getting into
lets stop arguing about this and let the guy do what he wants, i have 3 O's in a 110 with a 8" pleco in there to.
my o's are albino tiger 5.5", tiger 5.5", and a red thats 8"
there all as happy as they can be and if you dont beleive me go look at the pics of my tank.
and may i add before i had the 110 all 3 were in the 55 i currently put my cichlids in. and they were also fine in there in there "younger" years. up to being 5" then we got a new tank cause its the right thing to do.
in the end it can be done, if u dont want to u dont have to, just dont start arguing about the hobby we all love though
my o's are albino tiger 5.5", tiger 5.5", and a red thats 8"
there all as happy as they can be and if you dont beleive me go look at the pics of my tank.
and may i add before i had the 110 all 3 were in the 55 i currently put my cichlids in. and they were also fine in there in there "younger" years. up to being 5" then we got a new tank cause its the right thing to do.
in the end it can be done, if u dont want to u dont have to, just dont start arguing about the hobby we all love though
Do you test your nitrates?
If you don't, or never have, then you don't know if you're doing anything right. A fish won't necessarily show any signs of living in elevated levels of nitrates over a long period of time but you're shortening its lifespan. When people say their unorthodox methods are working I take it with a grain of salt unless they document nitrates. Sorry but I'm a skeptic.
If you don't, or never have, then you don't know if you're doing anything right. A fish won't necessarily show any signs of living in elevated levels of nitrates over a long period of time but you're shortening its lifespan. When people say their unorthodox methods are working I take it with a grain of salt unless they document nitrates. Sorry but I'm a skeptic.
How do you account for aggression. No amount of water changes or heavy filtration can keep the aggression in check. 4 8" oscars does not seem responsible in that size tank.bitteraspects;2388407; said:the key is good filtration and frequent WC. keep in mind, this method requires a lot of devotion to your tank(s), and is not for novice keepersthe ones I saw were 4 in a 55, and they were around 8"no hlle. no hith. very stable and happy.
My own experience with two Oscars in a 48" tank was that they were an inseparable duo and then one day, literally overnight, my red began attacking my other Oscar. He was an albino and there was visible bruising. I had to put up a divider and rehome the albino. In my opinion 8" is borderline for adolescence, aggression, and/or permanent pairing, would be imminent. 8" also isn't full bioload by any means.
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