how big of a tank t=do oscars need?
- Thread starter oscarlover2498
- Start date
LOL...I hold my tongue a lot on here. It can be pretty hard at times though. But I always appreciate your contributions to the site.
Still giving out lame Oscar advice I see.
You guys are so mean...telling the truth and all!!
A 55 is not a fair sized tank for a juvenile/adult oscar unless you do 50% water changes every 2-3 days and <sarcasm> take him out for 2 swims in a bigger tank 5x a week.</sarcasm>
haha balton i wasnt saying that as anything against you lol, i completely agree i was saying that towards shamrock and the arguments that always ensue when he tries to tell people that an O in a 55g is ok haha but yeah like gruff said i really do have to hold my tongue alot when people post stuff like that lol
If you get rid of the pleco and do lots of water changes, the two oscars in the 75g should be fine for some time. You'll eventually need a bigger tank, though, for both of them to reach their potential.
Matt
Matt
It's just that not everyone is a hardcore fishkeeper willing to change water twice(+) per week. For the average fishkeeper it's too much. Adding two Oscars in a 75g for most people is most likely going to result in severe HITH. The result will be bad for the Oscars and bad for the morale of the hobbyist. My two cents...
I know nothing about Oscars, never kept them and don't plan to anytime soon, but the info I'm about to copy and paste is from www.cichlid-forum.com by TheFishGuy (huge Oscar lover and has kept many of them)
Here's some additional info on keeping multiple oscars:
Here's my take on the whole two oscars and tank size issues.... It's been my experience that no matter the size of the tank, even an 800, males will simply not get along. The problem comes when you have a tank smaller than 800 gallons one male WILL kill the other. Especially if a female is present. I currently have six oscars in an 800, three are mature, three are not and have not revealed their sex yet. Of the three that are mature only one is female. The two males still hate each other but there's room to run in a 14' tank, not a 240, or a 75. To get two males to get along is not an easy task but it's been done.
In short here's the deal:
F + F = OK
F + M = OK (sometimes)
M + M = No way
That's usually why only one oscar is recomended for a 75, not because there's not room for two oscars but because there's aggression issues.
Two females will work in a 75 with a 90% success rate. I say 90% because there's still a 10% chance they won't get along. I'd still do it though.
I'd give a pair about a 75% success rate in a 75 simply because a female will test a males strength before spawning with him, if he's too strong and she's got no place to run then she's dead. If he's not strong enough then she might kill him if he's got no place to run..
And two males I'd give about a 10% shot... best not to try it.
Now here lies the problem, there's no proven method of sexing juvinile oscars.... So you're stuck with the only safe option of getting one Using dithers to spread aggression around doesn't work with oscars.... (Dithers are target expendable fish that are used so your main fish don't kill each other. They spend their time going after the dithers instead of each other) Oscars will simply eat the dithers, or ignore them
Here's some additional info on keeping multiple oscars:
Here's my take on the whole two oscars and tank size issues.... It's been my experience that no matter the size of the tank, even an 800, males will simply not get along. The problem comes when you have a tank smaller than 800 gallons one male WILL kill the other. Especially if a female is present. I currently have six oscars in an 800, three are mature, three are not and have not revealed their sex yet. Of the three that are mature only one is female. The two males still hate each other but there's room to run in a 14' tank, not a 240, or a 75. To get two males to get along is not an easy task but it's been done.
In short here's the deal:
F + F = OK
F + M = OK (sometimes)
M + M = No way
That's usually why only one oscar is recomended for a 75, not because there's not room for two oscars but because there's aggression issues.
Two females will work in a 75 with a 90% success rate. I say 90% because there's still a 10% chance they won't get along. I'd still do it though.
I'd give a pair about a 75% success rate in a 75 simply because a female will test a males strength before spawning with him, if he's too strong and she's got no place to run then she's dead. If he's not strong enough then she might kill him if he's got no place to run..
And two males I'd give about a 10% shot... best not to try it.
Now here lies the problem, there's no proven method of sexing juvinile oscars.... So you're stuck with the only safe option of getting one Using dithers to spread aggression around doesn't work with oscars.... (Dithers are target expendable fish that are used so your main fish don't kill each other. They spend their time going after the dithers instead of each other) Oscars will simply eat the dithers, or ignore them
