Well today I brought home my first oscar. Its still quite small and its an albino. I know the basics about Oscars like they get huge and eat small fish but can some one give me a few tips?
My First Oscar, (advice)
- Thread starter littlewolfpaw
- Start date
They should not be fed goldfish or random tropical feeders either, as this is the best way to introduce diseases and malnutrition to your fish. Get him on a variety of pellet foods and live food like crickets, mealworms and earthworms. And keep the nitrAtes below 20ppm to help reduce the chance of lateral line erosion. They hate having their tank rearranged and will drag things around to suit their own decorating tastes. Don't leave the lid open, as they are known for their jumping abilities. Remove turds as often as you can. They contribute significantly to bad water quality. Start him in the biggest tank you can. Mine wasn't too happy at 77ºF, but at 79-80 he's spunky and alert. They don't need salt. Make sure the pH is near neutral and doesn't fluctuate throughout the week. Don't overfeed. At his size, three servings of food per day is reasonable IF you can keep the water in good shape. Once he hits about eight inches you can slow down to once per day feeding.
dont freak out if he starts pouting in a corner or something, and no matter what his size is, unless your tank is 55+ be prepared for VERY frequent water changes.
unfortunately my two little guys are stuck in a 20 until the end of the month, the amount of water changes i have to do is awful.
also, they're incredibly messy, and make sure you have very high quality food because all that filler goes straight through them like cocaine through lindsey lohan.
unfortunately my two little guys are stuck in a 20 until the end of the month, the amount of water changes i have to do is awful.
also, they're incredibly messy, and make sure you have very high quality food because all that filler goes straight through them like cocaine through lindsey lohan.
oscars have are very smart (for a fish), sit down and watch your tank regularly, soon your oscar will get use to you and become very friendly.. However DONT giv in to those puppy dog eyes!! i used to overfeed mine causing bad water...
I was really worried today when I brought it home cause he/she just sat there and wouldnt swim around...I thought at first I picked out a sick one but now its ALL OVER the place lol! The water is between 75 and 80 degrees, Im to lazy to go see exactly what it is haha. I like to do water changes every other week, is that enough? I put stuff in every week to balance nitrates and ph also. I have pellets but Im not sure what the pet store was feeding them. I also feed my Clown Knife fish frozen brine shrimp, Im sure the oscar will get in on that ^-^ I tried feeding the pellets but no luck, maybe shes just to nervouse or not hungry. Right now shes in a 20 gallon long with the CK who is also a juvenile, very small yet, but I have a 120 gallon coming in a few weeks, super excited lol
Heres Some pics of her. Sadly I had a convict cichlid in there for less then 15 minutes and it niped the edges of the fins...nothing to bad but I still wasnt happy so i sold the convict along with my other small cichlids.
Not unusual for them to "sulk" when you move them,sometimes for days.Nice looking fish,good luck with him!
Oscars are the best, but they do poo like small dogs. You'll have to keep the water clean. You don't necessarily have to add stuff to the water to adjust it as they're pretty resilient. Clean water (weekly water changes) and regular feedings will keep you little guy happy.
Ok thats a plus cause this stuff is kinda expensive and of course I really dont know if its helping, wal mart special haha. I havent seen him eat yet though...Iv been dropping in pellets with no luck. Is it normal for them not to eat right away when you bring them into a new home?