New and eager to learn.

[Dav]

Trust me you wouldent want to, was gutted when he had to go, his head was like 4 inchs fat and about 12 inches deep, he was a brut, stunning fish though ive got a video and some pictures some where ill try and find them out for you just so you no what your getting ino to .
Dav.

 

[Jon M]

Well before i decided to spend roughly £500 on the tank and equipment i did alot of research on the requirements of a single oscar fish. I came to the conclusion providing the best water quality is the key as oscars are known for being messy fish. I know how big these fish can get and i dont intend on moving him to a larger tank. He will have enough room to smim and do as he pleases even if he gets to 14 inches. Water quality is more important than and extra 6 inches swimming space.

Water quality is very important but with your tank size, bluntly put, you won't maintain it.

Assuming your 40 gallon tank 36 x 18 x 13 Tall in American (which is a standard size I don't know your dimensions because you haven't given that information yet) your 14" O will barely be able to turn around and takes up a 3rd of your tank length stationary allowing him to swim no more than less than 2 body lengths before his extremely tight turn... That's with your very unlikely assumption he will stop growing at 14". These fish can and DO grow up to 18" very regularly. A 40 gallon tank absolutely does not supply enough space for a full grown O.

On to water quality. You do 30% wc weekly? That's nothing. In a mid stocked tank 50-70% weekly is more realistic to keep nitrates below 10ppm. WIth a 40 gallon tank and a full grown O I question 50% wc every other day would even keep your nitrates below 10ppm.

O are a large cichlid and aren't cheap bro. If you don't have the money for a suitable sized tank don't take on the fish. Minimum tank size for a single O would be 55 gallons and even then you would have to do at least two very large wc weekly. (70-80$)

It doesn't sound like you are willing to supply the adequate funds required to house this fish so if I were you I'd do yourself and the O a favor and take him back and if you want to explore cichlids do yourself something more reasonable to your tank size like a FM, or some convicts, or both. Or community african cichlid.

I'm not trying to sound harsh or anything but your setting yourself up for disaster and putting your new O in very poor conditions.

 

[NCStateFisher]

+1 Goldfish are cold water fish that contain practically no nutritional value plus their high amounts of fat can cause your O to develop fatty liver disease. I'm not sure if there is any "chemical" they have biologically that is bad for O but they are definitely prone to many diseases and parasites, as you stated, that they can introduce to your O.

chemical isn't the word i was looking for, the Thiaminase in them maybe its a vitamin or something

 

[muffywrx]

Just so everyone knows. I do weekly water changes of 30%. Im also really carefull not to over feed him. He gets all he wants for 3 min twice a day. Hikari gold and frozen fish 2 times a week. Have had no issues what so ever when it comes to water quality.

How do you not have issues? Do you maintain under 20 ppm?

A big deal for oscars is swimming space and he doesn't have that in your tank mostly because it isn't wide enough. They like long tanks to swim up and down ... and they need to be able to turn around comfortably. Your tank is probably too short on the sides ... not making for a happy oscar. Come on. Get a different type of fish .. please.

 

[OscarFishRule]

If i can not maintain a good water quality for my oscar i will rehome him. Its not like i went into getting the oscar not doing a little research. The internet is full of people who say you can not keep a single oscar in any less than a 55 gallon tank. some have even said a 75 gallon is min.i know for fact people have kept 2 fully grown oscars in a 3 1/2 foot tank no problems. I know what to exspect with this oscar and i know he will be happy in this tank. I joined this site to learn, not be told. Thanks for your concerns.

 

[Jon M]

If i can not maintain a good water quality for my oscar i will rehome him. Its not like i went into getting the oscar not doing a little research. The internet is full of people who say you can not keep a single oscar in any less than a 55 gallon tank. some have even said a 75 gallon is min.i know for fact people have kept 2 fully grown oscars in a 3 1/2 foot tank no problems. I know what to exspect with this oscar and i know he will be happy in this tank. I joined this site to learn, not be told. Thanks for your concerns.

Then give him back now because I guarantee your next water test (assuming you test your water) will have sky high nitrates aka poor water quality.

The people you know that have kept two O in a 3.5' tank have poor water quality. You think because the fish are alive and swimming there are no problems. Fact is I've seen many people in restaurants, businesses, etc. keep O in poor housing. Sure you think there are no problems because the fish are alive but fact of the matter is these fish have prolonged exposure to high levels of nitrates, and it will shorten their regular life span significantly.

As far as the O being happy in this scenario, bluntly put, you are wrong. This fish will be over crowded in a tiny 40 gallon and will have prolonged exposure to dangerous levels of nitrates due to the fact that there simply isn't enough water to delude the amount of waste these fish put out. Your O's future in a 40 gallon tank with 30% weekly wc is going to be HITH, ICH, lack of oxygen straining your fish, a shortened life for your O, and stunted growth. (at least you were hoping for him to stay below 14" right?)

You joined the site to learn and that's great but you don't seem to want to learn anything. You are being told the FACTS by experts that have kept these fish for years and seem unwilling to accept them. Sounds like you just want someone to agree with you that your O is going to have a good life in a 40 gallon tank with 30% weekly wc when the hard facts are he will not. Again I'm not trying to be rude/blunt but your coming off as someone that isn't at all open to learn rather someone that just wants someone to agree that they are right when in fact your definitely not in this situation. Give the poor O back to someone that can take care of him properly.

 

[muffywrx]

Then give him back now because I guarantee your next water test (assuming you test your water) will have sky high nitrates aka poor water quality.

The people you know that have kept two O in a 3.5' tank have poor water quality. You think because the fish are alive and swimming there are no problems. Fact is I've seen many people in restaurants, businesses, etc. keep O in poor housing. Sure you think there are no problems because the fish are alive but fact of the matter is these fish have prolonged exposure to high levels of nitrates, and it will shorten their regular life span significantly.

As far as the O being happy in this scenario, bluntly put, you are wrong. This fish will be over crowded in a tiny 40 gallon and will have prolonged exposure to dangerous levels of nitrates due to the fact that there simply isn't enough water to delude the amount of waste these fish put out. Your O's future in a 40 gallon tank with 30% weekly wc is going to be HITH, ICH, lack of oxygen straining your fish, a shortened life for your O, and stunted growth. (at least you were hoping for him to stay below 14" right?)

You joined the site to learn and that's great but you don't seem to want to learn anything. You are being told the FACTS by experts that have kept these fish for years and seem unwilling to accept them. Sounds like you just want someone to agree with you that your O is going to have a good life in a 40 gallon tank with 30% weekly wc when the hard facts are he will not. Again I'm not trying to be rude/blunt but your coming off as someone that isn't at all open to learn rather someone that just wants someone to agree that they are right when in fact your definitely not in this situation. Give the poor O back to someone that can take care of him properly.

x2

you said you were eager to learn. so act like it. no one is calling you names or being rude. we are trying to help.

55 is bare minimum for one oscar simply because of their size and water quality issues (nitrates). The oscars may be alive in your friend's tank, but I bet they are stunted from poor water quality and not at all as happy as they could be.

 

[MartinBoy]

clean water doesn't always = Happy fish but a large amount of clean water usually does.

 

[OscarFishRule]

My nitrate levels are below 10 ppm. I have kept lots of fish over the last 5 years. I am very eager to learn more about this hobby but your telling me i cant keep a oscar in my setup and keep him healthy when that is what im doing. i test the water before every week to make sure. when i first got the oscar and put him into the tank thenitrates peaked at 30ppm but ever since its been below 10. I am finding it hard to beleive an extra 28 litres of water will make much difference of keeping this oscar healthy and happy. Just so i know jon have you kept an oscar in a setup any less than 55 gallons?

 

[Jon M]

When I first started the LFS owner sold me 2 juvenile O in a 10 gallon tank. After doing research I realized this was ridiculously too small. Trusting the LFS owner again he sold me a complete 55 gallon setup that he proceeded to over price the hell out of. (I didn't know any better at the time being new to the hobby) He told me they would be good for their life in a 55 gallon. At roughly 5-6" on each juvie O that was very frequent at least 50-70% wc to keep the nitrates down. More research, realized this guy was just trying to make money off me at the expense of the fish so I stopped going to him, purchased a cheap fixer upper 125 gallon off craigslist that needed a lot of work and now I only keep one O in my 125 gallon with a JD and am moving the JD into a 90 gallon soon to separate the two because the JD is being too rough on my O. When I was new and realized errors I spent the money and time to correct them and learned from it and moved on. You've come on here asking for our extensive knowledge for help. We're giving it to you and you are showing no effort to use the knowledge in a constructive way and correct your mistakes, rather instead just to tell us our information is incorrect and you with your extensive O experience are right and a 40 gallon tank is fine for a full grown O.

How long have you even had the O, a week, two? That's hardly adequate time to claim your water perimeters are fine and your O is healthy and happy in your 40 gallon tank. Maybe you are getting 10ppm nitrate readings right after a wc but simply put It's not possible to have a healthy adult size O in a 40 gallon tank and 30% wc weekly keeping the nitrates below 10ppm. We're telling you it's not possible because it physically, biologically water wise, is not. Sure you can do it but the O, full grown, will not have adequate room to freely swim, and biologically that amount of waste with a 30% wc weekly will not keep 40 gallons of water's nitrate levels below 10ppm with a full grown O's weekly bioload in it.

I'm sure you've kept plenty of fish but O are quite different than your average aquarium fish, as you will soon find out.