its pretty much the same thing it is a pipe that connects to the sink and uses a venturi siphon to start the siphon on the hose and siphon out faster than just a regular hose, then without disconnecting anything you just twist the connector part and it pushes water pack to the tank but yeah if there isnt a sink near the tank then it probably wouldnt go any faster than what you have (is there not a bathroom sink or anything closer?) and also if you dont have good water pressure than it goes slow, at my parents house it took forever to drain the water but at my place it goes quickly
How many Oscars?
- Thread starter n-e-w-land
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I dont really think you should get any more fish. When they all get bigger, you will have a seriouly big problem with nitrates, even doing a huge w/c every week. By the time 2 oscars are fully sized which only takes a few months, they will need 100 gallons of water to themselves to keep the nitrates below 20ppm. 20ppm is actually the highest it should get with oscars. Just my 2 sense lol
One more Oscar can't have that big an impact surely? I would love to have a pair at least and they may even breed.
well first i would get your nitrates in check then i wouldnt see a problem in adding one more oscar but in order to get a pair you would have to start out with like 5 juvi oscars and have them pair off and then rehome the others, while oscars are a common fish to find they are actually one of the harder ones to breed because it is extremely hard to sex them and they are picky about their partners
you might run into a problem with aggression, like i did when adding oscars. seems like you got the filteration down right, but your oscars might fight until you find a good pair. like said. surprised me that i didn't know the oscars would fight each other. almost to the point of killing another oscar.
n-e-w-land;3698828; said:One more Oscar can't have that big an impact surely? I would love to have a pair at least and they may even breed.
Yes it will make that big of a impact. He will need the same amount of water the other one will need. Im sure someone has said this before, but oscars are nitrate sensitive, I dont think you will be able to keep all of those fish together and they be healthy.
My advice on integrating multiple Oscars into a mixed environment with non-Oscar cichlids is getting 6-7, or even more. Otherwise, stick with just one.
Oscars like to duel each other and start showing semi-schooling behaviors around 5+ together in one area community.
Now, I am not suggesting your tank can handle that type of bio-load once these fish reach adulthood with only 160 gallons, but I am suggesting you keep only 1-2, or be prepared to get 6+.
Keeping two or three Oscars together makes them into bullies toward non-Oscar tank mates on a serious level--especially if you're unfortunate enough for a pair to form later.
I successfully keep a school of 8 Oscars along with lots of other species in a 300 gallon, and the Oscars are so busy dueling and schooling with each other, they never even notice the other fish in the tank.
Might I add, Tinfoil Barbs will make an amazing addition to your setup for stemming aggression--just make sure you get the largest you can find.
Oscars like to duel each other and start showing semi-schooling behaviors around 5+ together in one area community.
Now, I am not suggesting your tank can handle that type of bio-load once these fish reach adulthood with only 160 gallons, but I am suggesting you keep only 1-2, or be prepared to get 6+.
Keeping two or three Oscars together makes them into bullies toward non-Oscar tank mates on a serious level--especially if you're unfortunate enough for a pair to form later.
I successfully keep a school of 8 Oscars along with lots of other species in a 300 gallon, and the Oscars are so busy dueling and schooling with each other, they never even notice the other fish in the tank.
Might I add, Tinfoil Barbs will make an amazing addition to your setup for stemming aggression--just make sure you get the largest you can find.
Thanks Stibnite, thats really useful advice, I may just add another sa/ca cichlid of some kind? I would like to try the adding one Oscar and maybe if I had a back up plan to return him to the same shop then there wouldn't be a problem?
Personally, if you want my opinion, since your fishes are all so relatively young still, I would go for a stronger variety--and it may well prove more rewarding for you down the road.
In that mix you'd have a much better chance of adding a Jaguar Cichlid (Managuense) to your setup. Note, these guys grow large, but your tank has a long dimension (very useful and good for jags), and Jags are very slow growing. There's a strong chance if you raise your jag up with other mixed tankmates, he will not become the wrath they usually become in adulthood. I have two male jags in my set up personally.
Another additional I'd like to see there is a Paratilapia Polleni or Bleekeri. Once these fish reach maturity, my gosh, they are gorgeous. They become solid jet black with starry spangles--I have three of these. They start out slow growing, but then take off at around 3-4" non-stop until the reach 10" or so.
Four others which deserve honorable mention would be a Nicaraguanese, Pearsei, Festae and a Severum--I'd add no more than one of each of these. Along with these, add a small group of 4 convicts or hondurans if you can find them. Last but certainly not least, I'd get a Black Belt Vieja, and call that 160 gallon complete.
Note, the above fish I named are what I would put in the place of the 2-3 Oscars you're wanting--and in my experience, all those fish would produce near the same bio-load as 3 Oscars.
Believe it or not, another good addition to go with your setup (many will disagree) would be a basic flowerhorn. Granted, you would need to sacrifice getting about 3 of the (larger style) above mentioned fish due to bio load from these monsters, BUT if you get a Flowerhorn when it is young, and raise him to adulthood with other open swimmers like Oscars, you stand a MUCH greater chance of these amazing hybrids not taking your tank over in adulthood. A flowerhorn mixed with other Cichlids is a rewarding experience, and I have successfully raised three in a mix of other tankmates, and they're doing great even unto this day. Note, this is not a 100% guaranteed science, but it does work most of the time. My flowerhorns don't mess with any fish unless that fish attacks them first, but if you get one, try to find it in the 1-2" neighborhood and raise it up from there.
Get yourself one of those gravel vacs with hose that can attach to your sink, and do your water changes once per week. Just 10%-20% each time. With that hose, it will take you no more than 10 minutes to complete. The fact that you didn't have a test kit already kinda scares me, but I'm sure you can handle getting one of those now and do tests at least once a month--no matter how good your fish are doing. Keep a small notepad, and record the results each time you do a test. You already have plenty of filtration, and I would make sure to add some powerheads (airstones are OK as an alternate I suppose). The best way to get experience is to get deep into the hobby, and I think you'll have lots of fun with a mixed Cichlid setup. Get yourself the book listed in my signature--it's an amazing tool for starting aquarists to become familiar with many available species. Also, invest in a 10-14 gallon sick bay tank--no matter how many precautions you take, eventually a cichlid will get beat up for no reason at all overnight, and you must have a sick-bay department set up and cycled on the side.
The only fish in your tank at major risk in adulthood is your Green Terror. These guys can get aggressive--the problem is, their scales fall off so easily, and other tank mates can do some serious damage to a Terror if they try to fight back. Main reason I think you need more fish, like yesterday, is that the fewer Cichlids you have in a tank of that size reaching adulthood, the greater chance you have of territorial deaths later on. It pays to raise a larger group together to spread aggression outward, and I "personally" try to avoid females in the mix so spawning doesn't cause future deaths either. Believe it or not, but a tank full of males without any females causes them to all become tame toward each other. Fights rarely exceed anything but a gill flare-up over a territory or piece of food.
Make sure you have at LEAST 2 hiding places per cave dwelling species in your tank of sizeable accommodations. There's no need for these spaces for Barbs, Oscars, Flowerhorns and Festae's though--as these are open swimmers.
A 160 Gallon tank can successfully hold those I mentioned to you above what you already own along with the others I've mentioned. Stay away from sumps for this freshwater setup, there's no need for one of those at all.
Fish to seriously avoid in this setup would be Midas (red devils), Dovii, Pacu's, Pikes of any kind, and the "Giant" Gourami. I state these specific ones because so often I see people try to host these in a mixed cichlid community, and it always turns south later on. Other fish out there are quite obvious as awkard additions.
Anyhow, if you have any questions feel free to let me know. I have 14 unqiue aquarium setups ranging from 55-300 gallons each, so can hopefully offer some experienced advice if you require it.
In that mix you'd have a much better chance of adding a Jaguar Cichlid (Managuense) to your setup. Note, these guys grow large, but your tank has a long dimension (very useful and good for jags), and Jags are very slow growing. There's a strong chance if you raise your jag up with other mixed tankmates, he will not become the wrath they usually become in adulthood. I have two male jags in my set up personally.
Another additional I'd like to see there is a Paratilapia Polleni or Bleekeri. Once these fish reach maturity, my gosh, they are gorgeous. They become solid jet black with starry spangles--I have three of these. They start out slow growing, but then take off at around 3-4" non-stop until the reach 10" or so.
Four others which deserve honorable mention would be a Nicaraguanese, Pearsei, Festae and a Severum--I'd add no more than one of each of these. Along with these, add a small group of 4 convicts or hondurans if you can find them. Last but certainly not least, I'd get a Black Belt Vieja, and call that 160 gallon complete.
Note, the above fish I named are what I would put in the place of the 2-3 Oscars you're wanting--and in my experience, all those fish would produce near the same bio-load as 3 Oscars.
Believe it or not, another good addition to go with your setup (many will disagree) would be a basic flowerhorn. Granted, you would need to sacrifice getting about 3 of the (larger style) above mentioned fish due to bio load from these monsters, BUT if you get a Flowerhorn when it is young, and raise him to adulthood with other open swimmers like Oscars, you stand a MUCH greater chance of these amazing hybrids not taking your tank over in adulthood. A flowerhorn mixed with other Cichlids is a rewarding experience, and I have successfully raised three in a mix of other tankmates, and they're doing great even unto this day. Note, this is not a 100% guaranteed science, but it does work most of the time. My flowerhorns don't mess with any fish unless that fish attacks them first, but if you get one, try to find it in the 1-2" neighborhood and raise it up from there.
Get yourself one of those gravel vacs with hose that can attach to your sink, and do your water changes once per week. Just 10%-20% each time. With that hose, it will take you no more than 10 minutes to complete. The fact that you didn't have a test kit already kinda scares me, but I'm sure you can handle getting one of those now and do tests at least once a month--no matter how good your fish are doing. Keep a small notepad, and record the results each time you do a test. You already have plenty of filtration, and I would make sure to add some powerheads (airstones are OK as an alternate I suppose). The best way to get experience is to get deep into the hobby, and I think you'll have lots of fun with a mixed Cichlid setup. Get yourself the book listed in my signature--it's an amazing tool for starting aquarists to become familiar with many available species. Also, invest in a 10-14 gallon sick bay tank--no matter how many precautions you take, eventually a cichlid will get beat up for no reason at all overnight, and you must have a sick-bay department set up and cycled on the side.
The only fish in your tank at major risk in adulthood is your Green Terror. These guys can get aggressive--the problem is, their scales fall off so easily, and other tank mates can do some serious damage to a Terror if they try to fight back. Main reason I think you need more fish, like yesterday, is that the fewer Cichlids you have in a tank of that size reaching adulthood, the greater chance you have of territorial deaths later on. It pays to raise a larger group together to spread aggression outward, and I "personally" try to avoid females in the mix so spawning doesn't cause future deaths either. Believe it or not, but a tank full of males without any females causes them to all become tame toward each other. Fights rarely exceed anything but a gill flare-up over a territory or piece of food.
Make sure you have at LEAST 2 hiding places per cave dwelling species in your tank of sizeable accommodations. There's no need for these spaces for Barbs, Oscars, Flowerhorns and Festae's though--as these are open swimmers.
A 160 Gallon tank can successfully hold those I mentioned to you above what you already own along with the others I've mentioned. Stay away from sumps for this freshwater setup, there's no need for one of those at all.
Fish to seriously avoid in this setup would be Midas (red devils), Dovii, Pacu's, Pikes of any kind, and the "Giant" Gourami. I state these specific ones because so often I see people try to host these in a mixed cichlid community, and it always turns south later on. Other fish out there are quite obvious as awkard additions.
Anyhow, if you have any questions feel free to let me know. I have 14 unqiue aquarium setups ranging from 55-300 gallons each, so can hopefully offer some experienced advice if you require it.
