Moving Two OSCARS (need some advice)

[Aqualoon]

You're really limited with that 55g. If you could do a 75/90g your options for the 10"+ cichlids would expand. Are you looking for cichlids to grow out only or something more long term? For the grow out option you need to be careful because while your friend has a 150g he'll run into stocking issues with your stock being dropped on him. It's much harder to get two adult cichlids to coexist verse having them grow out/up together.

As far as a GT/O growing out together, it has worked before. What you need to watch for is the O will grow faster then the GT and may start to really bully the GT.

 

[chagoi]

You can but why? And you will. If it was me & I was only
doing 50% water change a week. I would also do few smaller to get the poop out. You will need a heater they can't brake,a top they can,t they can't send flying. If they make it for a year you will be 1 of the many people with 2 big fish in a tank that is to small. It,s alot to ask of your friend.

 

[Jay88]

Your advice is really helpful. I will try asking the shop keeper if he can give me q 4x2x2 if not..ill get an oscar..but also wanted another fish...and i thought a gt might be a good option?

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[oscaroo]

I say its perfect! I work at 2 fish stores and I tell everyone looking at oscars that a 55 can fit a full grown pair. so go for it!

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I have 1 Oscar in a 75 gallon aquarium and the the tank even looks a little small. A pair would need at least a 90 gallon aquarium with way overfiltration and tons of WCs.(preferably 120 gallons).

 

[oscaroo]

Stupid

I work at one fish store and tell anyone looking at O's that a 75 gallon is a minimum for one O. I see this species abused on a daily bases and it saddens me. In the course of a year you will fall in love with an O.
The statement of them growing 1" per month until est. 4 or 5" is true. You have to remember that O's are tank busters and jumpers. So if you can have two O's together(Oscars don't get along with others very well) you will be doubling your chances of either having a fish on the floor, leaky tank, or lose a fish. These things are some of the many things you have to keep in mind when housing these guys in a small area.
On the lighter side I say keep the O's grow with them and get a bigger tank. If this is your first attempt at fish keeping, this is the fish to do it with. Many have. You will learn the worst case scenario real quick I don't care who you are. These are great fish! I love mine.
I have one I have had for 7 years now and she is the lone fish in a 75 gallon tank with over filtration and I have two more that I am actually keeping in a 55 gallon tank.
The two in the 55 gallon tank were a rescue(two 3" O's in a ten gallon tank you could not see through) and had no intention of keeping them. After the drive home with them in the passenger set of my truck I knew I was keeping them. I am currently putting together a 125 gallon tank for them with only two other fish. So these guys will be in a bigger tank before they hit 6 inches and these two have lived together for may be 2 years with minimum battles between the two. So I may have a chance to keep them together in the bigger tank. P.S. the two in the 55 takes a lot of cleaning, and w/c. if your going to do it I recommend bare bottom tank. Everything else ends up destroyed and clogging up your filters.

Well that is just plain mean. They are just misinformed. Don't go yelling at a misinformed hobbyist.

 

[cacichlids]

If you don't have a problem upgrading or finding a new home for them, I don't see a problem. They will indeed outgrow the 55 gal tank at some point though, probably less than a year considering how fast Oscars grow.

I once kept 2 Oscars in a 55 gal tank and gave them away when they were a little over 6". It became increasingly hard for me to keep up with the water quality (due to the amount of waste they produce) to the point were I had to change 50% of the water every other day to keep the nitrates around 10ppm, so I figured it wasn't worth it, and back then I had no way of upgrading that tank. I admit I fed em a lot of crap like live crayfish, bloodworms, earthworms, crickets, etc on top of the pellets, which supposedly contribute to the mess/waste.

 

[JASamper]

I say its perfect! I work at 2 fish stores and I tell everyone looking at oscars that a 55 can fit a full grown pair. so go for it!

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I bet you tell people that they can also fit a fire eel for life in a 20 gallon?

 

[jlennon]

I am not saying it can't be done. I am just saying be prepared for work.

Here are my boys.


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[DMD123]

I say its perfect! I work at 2 fish stores and I tell everyone looking at oscars that a 55 can fit a full grown pair. so go for it!

So Petco and Petsmart?

 

[framcosco]

You guys are awesome. So much good advise..i thinl two oscars wud.b hard to keep in 55gal...what you think of

1x1-2 inch tiger oscar

1x 1-2 inch green terror or jack dempsey?

Would this be better or easier to maintain?

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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.