LM bass passed, considering oscars
- Thread starter Basskeeper
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i wont go into a long post about live food, a sim sure you get the idea. but if you do want to give live food as a treat, or as stimulation for them and entertainment for you, your best bets are ghost shrimp, earthworms, or crickets. all great for your fish as a treat 1-2x a week, yet not a huge chance of passing any disease off.
now, you have a 55g, which chances are wont even be big enuff for one oscar once he is full grown. a typical 55g is 12" wide, and oscars commonly reach that 12" mark and even an inch or two larger. the bare minimum for one oscar would be a 75g for life. that being said, an oscar will take a while to get to that full size, but it will happen eventually, and he'll need atleast an 18" wide tank. you can keep him in a 55g for now, but know you will almost definatly need a bigger tank.
as for sexing, im pretty sure theres no way to sex an oscar 100% without venting it, which can be extremely stressful to the fish.
now, you have a 55g, which chances are wont even be big enuff for one oscar once he is full grown. a typical 55g is 12" wide, and oscars commonly reach that 12" mark and even an inch or two larger. the bare minimum for one oscar would be a 75g for life. that being said, an oscar will take a while to get to that full size, but it will happen eventually, and he'll need atleast an 18" wide tank. you can keep him in a 55g for now, but know you will almost definatly need a bigger tank.
as for sexing, im pretty sure theres no way to sex an oscar 100% without venting it, which can be extremely stressful to the fish.
well i think i might go for that 75. how long will it take him to get to 12 inches. and why can't it house 2. not trying to be a smart..... but i'm just curious. is it the bio load? what tankmates can go with it to help keep the tank clean
The best conditions will produce the best results in terms of growth rate and coloring so it is not easy to pin down how long it wil take for the oscar to reach a certain size.You could keep two in a 75 but there will most likely be problems,they may bully one another and if they dont one of them will grow bigger and one wont.You would have to overfilter the tank in order for the system to keep up with the oscars waste output and even in a 75 you are pushing it with tankmates as someone is going to suffer in those cramped dimensions but if you do not overfeed your fish and your filtration is good enough you dont need to add a soo called clean up fish which would really only add to the filters workload.Basskeeper;3081330; said:well i think i might go for that 75. how long will it take him to get to 12 inches. and why can't it house 2. not trying to be a smart..... but i'm just curious. is it the bio load? what tankmates can go with it to help keep the tank clean
like was just said, oscars can become very nasty when in tight spaces, so its optimal to keep just one O in a 75. you could try to keep 2 in a 75, but you may have to move or get rid of one if they start fighting. if your going to try it, get the fish as small and young as possible, and raise them together.
a clean up fish isnt a way to cut down on cleaning your tank, just dont forget that. however, since oscars are so messy, and do miss and spit out alot of food, bottom feeders like loaches or bichirs will happily eat some of what an O misses. just make sure to feed them as well, and dont just have them rely on scavenging.
a clean up fish isnt a way to cut down on cleaning your tank, just dont forget that. however, since oscars are so messy, and do miss and spit out alot of food, bottom feeders like loaches or bichirs will happily eat some of what an O misses. just make sure to feed them as well, and dont just have them rely on scavenging.
Honestly? My suggestion would be to look up different species of fish, talk to your petstore. It sounds like your most interested in a fish that is aggresive, and a carnivore. There are many species that fit the bill your looking for. And some would happily live a life merrily in a 55 gallon. I've had Oscars, and I've had LM Bass before. Both are boreing compared to a pike cichlid or my bichirs personally. my needlenose gar was also very cool. tiretrack eels are also an interesting fish. many many types to look at if your looking for live food eaters. Simply do your homework, and talk to your local LFS and fellow hobbyists. Personally i feed frozen to my carni's because I've had to many issues with parasites and fungal/bacterial issues in the past to make it worth my while, and yes all feeders where quarantiened first for 2 weeks.. And they still rip their food up.
Personally if you don't know why your bass died I would rip the tank up and re-cycle it. In case it was indeed a parasite or other nasty. clean the gravel/get fresh. and strip it all down and re-cycle the tank from scratch. It is more work and time, But unless you de-wormed your fish there is a very likely chance he was carrying some form of parasite/bacteria that could do potential harm/cause death to a new tank resident.
Personally if you don't know why your bass died I would rip the tank up and re-cycle it. In case it was indeed a parasite or other nasty. clean the gravel/get fresh. and strip it all down and re-cycle the tank from scratch. It is more work and time, But unless you de-wormed your fish there is a very likely chance he was carrying some form of parasite/bacteria that could do potential harm/cause death to a new tank resident.
I wouldnt crowd two Oscars together if I were you. They like their space. I've had to cram two into a 75g lately and the larger one is beating the crap out of the other. Im sure plenty of people will respond that they keep Os together, but whatever this is my experience. I'd say unless you have room for 5 or 6, keep 1.
