OSCARS WONT LIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Nice tank Polomax!
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Thanks.

I like to keep my tank well stocked, so the aggression spreads out among them.

By the way, I have about 50 five days old wrigglers in that tank. Free to good home. PM me for detail.
 
75% water changes might be fine in America but I live in London England and the chemicals in the tap water make 75% water change impossible and if you want to keep discus successfully you need to use an RO unit.
Also I use the old fashoned method with 3.5gal buckets so a 25% a week change for my 120gal is more than enough work for me
 
rweedon said:
ignore last post... yes aquatic plants will take care of your nitrates very quickly and efficiently. as far as the DOC's they can be eliminated with smaller frequent water changes... and also nitrates and doc's are both equally spread throughout the water and if it wasn't you would have to somehow do multiple water tests from diffrent areas in your tank... I think it is also important to talk about filtration in connection with ammonia and nitrites... when you talk about a biological bed you were referring to beneficial nitrifine bacteria right? they break down the ammonia and nitrites and the best way to grow this bacteria is with an undergravel filter since your entire gravel bed is turned into a biological bed instead of just the biowheel (sorry penguin you are still inferior to the good ol undergravel filter)...
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A UGF cannot handle the stuff cichlids dish out, besides that cichlids are diggers and can mess up the UGF. There is still bacteria in the gravel bed whether or not you have a UGF so that arguement won't work. I cannot imagin keeping my two oscars in their 75g with UGF and smaller water changes.

How are more smaller water changes a week less stressful than one large water change a week? Seems to me like you would only keep the fish stressed more throughout the week.
 
piranha45 said:
what size tank, what size tankmates. what size oscar, and how often do you do waterchanges and how much water do you change each time?
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P45 is right in all of his posts. You need to pass on this info for advise.
Sounds wierd that the Oscars can't handle the water change. I've had
Ocsars for years and not to mention many other species that are talked
about frequently on this site and it depends on what you get your fish "used"
to in the water change area, if you have been doing 75% changes consistently
then it's not that! I have never lost a fish to a water change. But, until you
let everyone know the tank variables, can't help.

Smellfishy -- nice tank, but to many variables and tastes in fish keeping.
Everyone does not do things the same way, what works for one, may not
for the other, depends on factors as stated previously. BUT, I GOTTA SAY
I'VE NEVER SEEN A BIG WATER CHANGE DO ANYTHING BUT HELP THE FISH!!
 
My two cents - I've heard a lot of experienced, successful fish keepers argue BOTH SIDES of the water change issue - some who do HUGE water changes, and some who argue to do smaller ones and let the bacteria do it's job.

the answear to all this nonsense - CHECK YOUR FREAKING WATER CONDITIONS REGULARLY - then experiment with different size changes and frequencies and find what works for YOU. at least thats how I feel

Personally I do 25% 3X a week, because for what's worth - MY opnion is that smaller more frequent changes are the best. HOWEVER - if someone else out there does 95% once a month and its working for them...well then I'm not going to tell them they are wrong!
 
what do u do if ur tap water has high alkaline and and chlorine
 
sandtiger said:
A UGF cannot handle the stuff cichlids dish out, besides that cichlids are diggers and can mess up the UGF. There is still bacteria in the gravel bed whether or not you have a UGF so that arguement won't work. I cannot imagin keeping my two oscars in their 75g with UGF and smaller water changes.

How are more smaller water changes a week less stressful than one large water change a week? Seems to me like you would only keep the fish stressed more throughout the week.
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the bacteria that live in the gravel bed are aerobic meaning that they need a constant water flow to the bottom of the tank with a great deal of oxygen in it. you have not said what type of filter you are using but my guess would be a large penguin bio wheel or possibly a fluval or hot magnum each of which only gets oxygen at most 1/2 inch down into the gravel bed where it is emptying into and then when you do your massive water change you bury the gravel that did have bacteria on it thus killing all that bacteria that had been growing.

I have kept 4 large parrot cichlids in a 75 with a UGF and also yes I do have oscars both of which have dug but am yet to have one break the plate I have been doing it for years and recommend it to anyone who wants to keep fish because in my experience maybe not yours but at least for me the UGF has proven far superior...
 
if both a UGF and a Penguin filter both keep Ammonia and Nitrites at 0, I can't see how you could ever tell the difference.
 
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