Poorman's Monster Fish Tank

[jjohnwm]

I have 75g in my fishroom and it’s got a sunken ship and the air powered diver/chest. Pretty much bought all the original decorations I had in 80’s for a bit a nostalgia.

Sunken ship and those divers that go top to bottom are classick

Oh, man, don't get me going on diver ornaments. If I have to go there, then esoxlucius will come on and start harshing my mellow about my old diver buddy. He's mean that way...

 

[esoxlucius]

will come on and start harshing my mellow about my old diver buddy. He's mean that way...

Nah, you're completely safe. My time away from the forum has mellowed me somewhat. I'm not as quick to criticise or finger point anymore..........but in this case.....

All I'll say is that I can't believe you went and lost that little guy, a part of the family no doubt. After the years of pleasure your little buddy give you, and you went and "lost" him. Tut tut tut. And then even had the gall to blame the wife for his sudden disappearance. You're an absolute disgrace.

You stick to keeping dogs, you sure as hell shouldn't be put in charge of a little diver buddy again!! Lol.

 

[johnnymax]

You just messin with us now with the toddler deco? … Such a stark difference from the top tank that looks very nice.

Do, that is the setup. I would never have done a crazy tank like this in the past, but I want to try to push the Oscar interaction and see if I can encourage more interaction. It is worth a try. And honestly, as this "Sand Box" tank theme comes together, I am liking it... But if it does not work, I will put in a big rock and maybe free-floating plants, more natural looking.

 

[amazontank]

How in the world will a sand box work with an Oscar. All I see is sand up in all your filters with the fish just swimming around.
Johnny are you trolling us

 

[johnnymax]

How in the world will a sand box work with an Oscar. All I see is sand up in all your filters with the fish just swimming around.
Johnny are you trolling us

Not trolling, I am hoping the pre-filter will catch food, I guess sand as well. Give me a few weeks and I hope the tank is ready and I have found the Oscar. I do not want to order a fish, because I want to see and choose the fish, so the only local option is PetSmart. So, I guess I need to condition the water and inoculate it

 

[johnnymax]

Actually the toys, I am hoping will entertain the fish. I came to that conclusion because everyone said that an Oscar will move and rearrange everything that is put in a tank; decorations, rocks, plants, etc. So, I took that thought to the next level, and decided to use actual toys, the Oscar won't know the difference. But it will entertain me!

 

[FINWIN]

Darken that substrate some. You can use heavier weight sand and for your hobs use the shorter stems. I'm not sure how tall a 75 is but this is another area where size can hamper your efforts. In the 225 I have Sandtastik sand. It's heavy like sugar crystals. Never had an issue with it getting in impellers but we're talking 30" height. So more room underneath the intakes.

I know you're concerned with interaction. All O's don't have the same personality. Some are fun, some are grumpy. Some are playful and goofy. Some are aggressive.

True personality comes with adulthood. Talk to the fish. Move and sit around the tank. The oscar will get used to your floor vibrations and sound and recognize your gestures and face over time. Your movements won't be seen as a threat. If they're comfortable oscars generally aren't skittish...they can literally see across a room in the dark, or nearly 180 degrees behind. You can't sneak up on them. When I would go downstairs to head out to work Brick would come greet me at the side of the tank near the door.

Spending short amounts of time near the tank several times a day is effective. Sessions are good and avoid stressing the fish. When Brick wanted me out of the fishroom he got aggressive and would shake.

Over time Brick and I developed sight cues...I could tell when he wanted to play with his ball vs when he wanted to eat. I could point to an area of the tank to direct him. This was over time and repetition. I even used a ruler on him when he got too aggressive...I'd tap it against the tank and he'd scamper away. He hated the sound. One day he was so out of control I tapped him right on the side. This was his tantrum phase where he would tear up the tank if he didn't get attention. Everything would be floating...plants, filtration pads, heaters. Substrate would be dug out in huge areas.

Then he went through a biting phase and grabbed anything near his mouth when hungry. To calm him I would rub his head gently. Got the stinkeye at first but then he enjoyed his 'pats and tickles.' I could tickle his sides too.

Brick also was particular about family members. Some he liked, some he didn't. My aunt was the only person besides me he would play ball with.

It's a learning process. I know when I get my next oscar I will have to learn it all over again because it will be a different fish.

 

[johnnymax]

[CLIP] ...I know when I get my next oscar I will have to learn it all over again because it will be a different fish.

Exciting information. I hope my fish is like Brick and not an a-hole...

 

[johnnymax]

Update... Kinda!
I subdued the brightness of the light. I covered all of the LED light with black tape except for a 3/4" strip. The tanks looks fine to the observer, but it is not so bright. You cannot see in the picture really, because the camera adjusts the contrast, But this will be awesome for Stump.

Also, I am looking for ways to reduce algae growth... Just sayin'

 

[FINWIN]

Where are you going to get Stump?

Reducing light helps (I use translucent plexiglass on the 125).

Clean up uneaten food.
Stay on top of w/cs
Use powerheads to force poop into filters. If you have hobs, you want the jets to blast across their output flow. This is trial and error.
Keep mechanical filtration clean
white sand shows algae like a magnet.

It's going to be a challenge when Stump gets to a certain size.