Like I said earlier...spectacular and interesting. Brick looks impressive in a picture; in person he must be amazing.
OP, look at that Oscar in that tank...much larger than your tank, but that fish fills it, no question. Don't stretch everything to the max and end up walking a tightrope. Consider
Keep your stocking reasonable and enjoy your aquarium and your Oscar. It may not be "set and forget"...no tank with large cichlids ever is...but it can be fun and easy and sustainable, or it can be stressful and labour-intensive and always on the verge of disaster. Choose wisely, and good luck.
Thanks for the kind words about Brick! He's my first and only Oscar so far but here's what I've learned:
Oscars do NOT like being crowded especially once they mature! You will get chaos.
They are powerful, heavy fish. You have to consider decor because they will move, knock over and wreck stuff.
I can't emphasize enough tank maintenance. When Brick was under a foot, 50% w/c worked fine. He got to a foot and it became twice a week. When he got past a foot smaller w/cs were useless so I had to bump it up to 75% and now 90% once a week. My filters also showed the change as he grew. They could handle the bioload but the mechanical filtration was starting to strain and I got huge outbreaks of brown algae. Single week cleanings became twice a week. In reality now it would take 3 cleanings for the filters to be totally clear but for now twice works. I use slabs of poret foam now and bio bale. Powerheads on the corner sponge filters break up and dissolve Brick's logs for the hobs to catch. High aeration keeps the water moving towards the filters and the bottom stays clear. It was a lot of trial and error to get that right but it works.
