I guess I am lucky...should I push it?

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twhittle

twhittle

Peacock Bass
MFK Member
Feb 8, 2007
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Clarkston, Wa
I have 2 juvy 5 inch Oscars in a 120 gallon 5 ft tank. I was in a pet store and saw a 11 inch female midas. I noticed she was in with some smaller cichlids and was peaceful. I bought her, put her in with my O's, and things have been great. She appears to be attached to my Lutino O. Anyway, I do weekly 50% water changes and would like to do one more fish. What I really want to do is get a small Jag and see if that would work. I know that this would technically make me overstocked, but I tend to be more liberal in that area. Could it work? I have an empty 55 I could move it to if there is trouble. Should I try it? Any other fish suggestions?
 
twhittle;762608; said:
I have 2 juvy 5 inch Oscars in a 120 gallon 5 ft tank. I was in a pet store and saw a 11 inch female midas. I noticed she was in with some smaller cichlids and was peaceful. I bought her, put her in with my O's, and things have been great. She appears to be attached to my Lutino O. Anyway, I do weekly 50% water changes and would like to do one more fish. What I really want to do is get a small Jag and see if that would work. I know that this would technically make me overstocked, but I tend to be more liberal in that area. Could it work? I have an empty 55 I could move it to if there is trouble. Should I try it? Any other fish suggestions?
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an adult jaguar by itself would take up that tank, let alone with other fish, males get to 16" and females to 14", with your other fish your overstocked, but by the sounds of it, it should be alright, but no jag.
 
That tank is fully stocked with just the O's. O's have huge amounts of bioload. Even if you did keep the RD and something does happen the 55 wouldn't really be sufficient for any of the fish you have. O's need at least a 75 gallon to themselves and so do RD's. You can accomplish it though with huge WC's though but I wouldn't risk it. I would take the RD back and pick up a firemouth or something along that line.
 
I've kept a Jag before, and my advice is don't push your luck.
You'll almost surely have problems if you add a jag to that tank.
 
I think I may have been misunderstood. I am aware of bio-load issues. I have 4 aquariums and have kept Oscars for 23 years. My question is not about stocking levels, it's about whether or not a Jag can work with an Oscar. That is why I said the tank would technically be overstocked. Aggression is more of an issue with adding a 4th fish than the bio-load. I fully disagree that a single Oscar or Midas needs 75 gallons minimum. My experience has shown that 50-55 gallons for one O is fine with an additional 30 gallons per Oscar thereafter. The same holds true for a Midas. The dillution rate of the waste does not stay the same per gallon as you increase your tank size. In other words, you will have more problems keeping your nitrates down with a single O in a 50 gallon than you would with 4 O's in a 200. I I once had a single Oscar in a 55 and two in a 90. The 55 had a worse nitrate creep than the 90. For a novice aquariast, the 55 per fish applies. Even the most conservative experts admit that experienced owners are fine with two Oscars in a 75 gallon, as long as they are at peace with each other. If a person does one large water change a week at these stocking levels then they are fine. Aggression becomes the real issue if you have a "troublemaker".

With all that said, I think you are right that a Jag may not be the best choice. Perhaps I will look into a medium size durable cichlid.
 
i would just keep the tank as is and save up for abiger tank. lol im always going bigger lol
 
NY SURF RIDER;762906; said:
Awesome looking, medium-sized, durable cichlid = Salvini
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They are VERY nice looking fish, especially the females, but with 2 Oscars they would probably not be one of the dominant fish and therfore will, IME, hide a lot. :(

I have kept 3 of them and if they're in the shadows all the time you can't enjoy their colors like you'd want to

I'd stick with the current set up

Good luck
 
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