Newby oscar question (I think they are ciclids)

[dapike1979]

I really liked my oscars they were pretty smart!! I had a string hanging over the tank attached to a bell!! Trust me when they were hungry they would ring that sucker till someone fed them! i had my oscars in a 120g tank!
If you get oscars try the bell thing you will enjoy that!!

 

[scottv]

I really liked my oscars they were pretty smart!! I had a string hanging over the tank attached to a bell!! Trust me when they were hungry they would ring that sucker till someone fed them! i had my oscars in a 120g tank!
If you get oscars try the bell thing you will enjoy that!!

Thanks for the sweet idea! I'm gonna do that once I get a bell!

 

[scottchristian]

i currently have 4 oscars in a 125gal. ive never seen fish happier. i have to constantly change the water though. every few days

 

[Lund]

Would a bgk be ok with a couple large oscars? I ask because I would like to have a bgk in a large tank and let it grow.

 

[rallysman]

It depends on the size/temperment of the oscars and the size of the bgk. I've seen stranger things work.

 

[stotty]

there is no visual way to sex an oscar

however they can be sex by looking at there vent area

dont ask me how you can tell them apart by this method, i have no clue

More and more everyone is posting everywhere with godlike authority that it is impossible to sex oscars short of seeing them spawn. That is NOT true! One sure way is through venting, where you analyze size and characteristics of their vents. Although hard to tell unless raised up together in same environment, females will have a more round head, also be more compressed and shorter. Males will have larger/longer fins. Males will generally have a more pointed 2nd dorsal fin(top fin next to tail). Females will have more of a rounded dorsal fin. Males are also more brightly colored. This is best noticed with cricles that surround eyespots or other areas that don't change with mood. And yes, the male will usually be more aggressive than the female. Another hint as to gender is the presence of DARK SPOTS at the base of the dorsal fin. Some males have 3 dark spots at the bottom of the dorsal fin. You may see that some of the dark spots may become "eye" spots like the one on the tail, encircled by red color. If your Oscar has 2 or 3 dark spots you should start looking for an Oscar who's laid eggs. Beware, that many male oscars do NOT have these 3 dark spots at base of dorsal fin. Males will generally have more red dots on fins, some say around gill area also. Soon I will add the SECRET method used by breeders to sex oscars at a very young age.




From http://www.cichlidfish.com/oscars/oscars.htm

 

[stotty]

Would a bgk be ok with a couple large oscars? I ask because I would like to have a bgk in a large tank and let it grow.

A friend of mine has a BGK in a tank with Oscars Fire eel’s jags and some other odd ball stuff and they are fine but the black ghost is quite large about 14in

 

[Lund]

Edit* whoops...You said you want natural as possible...that means you LOVE your oscars..hehe.....Yeah grab a 150 gallon and do a natural setup with driftwood and all! That would be SWEET!!!

I would have to agree with the natural setup idea. The drift wood would really set it off. Can you put natural plants with oscars? I heard or read, can't quite remember that oscars will up root plants if they don't like them where they are at. Is this true?

 

[Fry]

oscarfish.com recommends a bare minimum of 75 for 2, 125 for 3

 

[SiestaSkyy]

I really liked my oscars they were pretty smart!! I had a string hanging over the tank attached to a bell!! Trust me when they were hungry they would ring that sucker till someone fed them! i had my oscars in a 120g tank!
If you get oscars try the bell thing you will enjoy that!!

.... i want a bell. they would actully ring the bell? thats sweet. how for above the water line did you have the bell?