Jay88: thank you for filtering the good advice on this thread....... because there is a lot of bad advice being thrown at you as well. Given clean water, varied diet, and a decent size tank, any O can grow to a foot within one year. NO question asked. From your original post you seem to want to grow out the O and then donate to your friend. A lot can happen in one year. If you really want to try an O, please invest a little more and get a used 90gallon tank from the get go. Chances are you will fall in love with your fish and may not want to give it up. You need to plan in advance as O's grow incredibly fast. You need to be responsible for the O. As someone mentioned, Oscars are one of the most abused fish in the trade due to bad advice & it's heart breaking. Other considerations mentioned is the ability to keep good water parameters & good filtration. If your water quality is poor, HITH is a big reality with Oscars. Almost all larger O's you see at the lfs have head in the hole.... sad... very sad. Best of luck, and I do encourage you to keep an Oscar, it is a rewarding fish to keep although I know many on mfk would disagree with me. Also, O's do very well by themselves.
