Oscars for the 125

[DonnyB]

I agree about the 4ft tank, but IME 6ft doesn't make much of a difference to a 12"+ fish. That's still only 1-2 swipes of the tail fin from one end to the other.







Years ago a buddy in town had 2 adult pairs of Rotkeil sevs in his 550 gallon, that was 8ft long. Both pairs had their own end of the tank, and driftwood etc where they would spawn on a regular basis. And both pairs constantly waged war against each other just as yours are. It never ended, and they had plenty of large fish distractions.

Yeah totally agree , nothing natural about keeping fish in glass boxes in our living rooms. I tend to keep my advise to where with proper maintenance the poster won’t be housing their fish in poison and just watching them slowly die. That is just depressing. It’s a lose lose for fish and new potential hobbiest. Lots of us out there I bet convinced we take great care of our 12 inch fish in 4 foot boxes. I feel the 48” by 18” footprint is the bottom end of what could be argued as enough space. No argument that bigger is better...

 

[-603FiShHoBbIeSt-]

I think we all have our own opinions on what a min tank size should be for various species of fish. I personally don't have an issue with someone that gives a single 12" fish 120 gallons to itself. A lot of fish that are kept by themselves, and raised as wet pets may often have more interaction with their keeper, and mental stimulation, than the same fish forced to live in a community of our choosing. I'm not a fish psychiatrist, so I can only go by what I see behaviour wise, and overall health wise in each fish, and in each situation.

Having said that, most people that have seen SD's in large groups, in large tanks, 6ft long or better, know that they don't do well in small groups, or small tanks, 4ft or under in length. It just doesn't work well long term.

Add the incredible bio-load down the road, and my prediction is the entire set up will become toxic over time.



I agree, well said.

Good luck to the OP, hopefully some of this helps them reconsider their future plans.

I will take all this input into consideration, thank you, and will probably end up getting rid of my large pleco to help lighten the bio load. But I just want to clarify that my tank is 6ft long not 4ft, not sure where the 4ft tank is coming from

 

[Poseidon2.0]

I will take all this input into consideration, thank you, and will probably end up getting rid of my large pleco to help lighten the bio load. But I just want to clarify that my tank is 6ft long not 4ft, not sure where the 4ft tank is coming from

That’s good to know! Though I think all you did was call it a 125 and not a six footer and that along with LBDave’s image of four Os in a four foot tank people conflated things, plus, since you are currently housing your three Os in a 20 gallon people weren’t quite clear. Lots of numbers get thrown around this site and hard to keep track of it all!

 

[RD.]

4ft was referring to comments by DonnyB, LBDave, and those that followed.

See comment below by DonnyB. 4ft has been tossed around numerous times in this discussion.

1. 1 Oscar and Big Pleco Nothing else - 4 foot 120 - bioload at capacity but will work.
2. 2 Oscars -- 4 foot 120 - Works from a bioload perspective. Compatibility is your issue.
3. 2 Oscars and SDs - 4 foot 120 - Pushing your bioload but could work with great filtration large water changes.
4. 1 Oscar and SDs - 4 foot 120 - Works.
5. 3 Oscars - I woundn't try it even in a 125 6 foot tank. 3 is a bad # for cichlids but perhaps you have some docile individuals... Pushing your bioload... I wouldn't do it from a bioload perspective without a 150 and only if the 6 foot version. You're just asking for trouble.

 

[FINWIN]

I agree about the 4ft tank, but IME 6ft doesn't make much of a difference to a 12"+ fish. That's still only 1-2 swipes of the tail fin from one end to the other.







Years ago a buddy in town had 2 adult pairs of Rotkeil sevs in his 550 gallon, that was 8ft long. Both pairs had their own end of the tank, and driftwood etc where they would spawn on a regular basis. And both pairs constantly waged war against each other just as yours are. It never ended, and they had plenty of large fish distractions.

Amazing how big fish make "big" tanks look small, especially when they're on the move. You get an appreciation of the space they need.

 

[DonnyB]

Yeah, I saw it somewhere and ran with it. More options for you for sure!

 

[Serpentine]

There's some good advice here.

I'll just throw out that I understand how it feels to have your heart set on a particular setup with fish you're really excited about keeping... and then have people poke holes in your balloon. But it's better to find out if it's not going to work out well before you put all the fish in than after, yes? Folks here are speaking from hard experience so you (and the fish) don't have to suffer the same experience. It's nothing personal and there's no malice. Quite the opposite. We all want other fishkeepers to succeed and for their fish to be healthy and happy.

Also, it's worth noting that having to do huge water changes multiple times per week really, really starts to wear on you after a while. It can turn fishkeeping from a joy into drudgery.

Ultimately I am glad that I took the advice of more experienced keepers because they were right (thanks, RD!) and saved both me and the aquatic brigade a lot of heartache.

FWIW I was going to put a male Red Texas cichlid and a female festae together in a 4 foot tank. I didn't know then what I know now. It would have been a bloodbath.