Some advice on oscars please.

[James Gil]

So after a long few weeks of thinking, ive decided im gonna keep some oscars. Ive read some articles on these fish and the more i read the more i want some. I like the fact that these fish can become very 'tame' and almost as some ppl have said like pet dogs in a tank . I have a 87 uk gal ( 107 US) tank all ready and cycled ( it has baby angels and sevs in atm which will soon be gone) But i have some questions first before i go out and buy the fish. Ideally id like a non related pair (male and female) for an eventual attempt at breeding. Apart from venting the fish, is there any other way of sexing them? Eg. fin shapes, markings, more colours etc. Also is there anything specific i should be looking for in the fish apart from the obvious signs of disease and bad health. Im moving house in the next 3 months or so, and i will be getting a coustom tank made, atleast 1500 uk gal in size, so the fish will eventually have plenty of room good food and a proper, caring owner. Will my current tank be of an ample size for atleast 3 months maybee a few more if i have trouble with my newer tank build? and last of all, what fish will be appropriate tankmates for the pair? im planning on atleast another bigger fish for my 1500 gal, maybee an aro. Will this be a suitable tankmate? I know there ae some very well informed oscar keepers on this site so any help off you guys would be great. Thanks very much for your time and i look forward to your reply.

James G.

 

[TwistedPenguin]

An Aro would be good, if my biggest tank was bigger than 250 g I'd already have one You can't go wrong with picking Oscars. I've got 6 and they've all got super pet-like personalities. My very favorite fish of all time. The 107 g will be big enough until your huge tank is ready. With lots of water changes (lots) the 107 g would be good for life if it's the 5' long one. I wouldn't want to put 2 Oscars in a 100-some g tank though., they enjoy more room so much.
Dang.....I'm jealous.....you get to get *2* baby Oscars plus an Arowana.

 

[James Gil]

Ye i cant wait to get moved in, the sooner i get in my new place the sooner i can start planning my tank build. Its gonna cost me a s**t load of cash and i cant see myself completing it all at once due to the cost of the tank and the initial setup. Once its done however, im gonna be one happy bunny And yes my tank is 5 ft long. Atm i do a 25% water change every other day, would this be adequate for the fish or would a daily water change be more appropriate? Thanks v much for the advice twisted. Can anyone else answer my question on the sexing of these fish please? Thanks again for the help

James G.

 

[N.C.]

oscars are one of my all time favorite fish to keep, they have the best personality of any fish i have ever kept. plus they have a great life span , mine lived over 10 years.

 

[James Gil]

yep, im definatley looking forward to owning some. Atm im on youtube watching some vids here are some links if ye are interested

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmV-7xQO1Cg Jumping oscar

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1A9l3amEpaQ Pet oscar

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYcvodtqMec angry oscar

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1beKDkYq4dE the same fish as in the second link. this time its in a bigger tank.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txHoWR6Mf2g oscar and a pleco

there is a few to kep u busy for a few mins

 

[TwistedPenguin]

Ye i cant wait to get moved in, the sooner i get in my new place the sooner i can start planning my tank build. Its gonna cost me a s**t load of cash and i cant see myself completing it all at once due to the cost of the tank and the initial setup. Once its done however, im gonna be one happy bunny And yes my tank is 5 ft long. Atm i do a 25% water change every other day, would this be adequate for the fish or would a daily water change be more appropriate? Thanks v much for the advice twisted. Can anyone else answer my question on the sexing of these fish please? Thanks again for the help
James G.

Even if the 2 Oscars were a foot long you could easily do 1 80% water change a week and keep nitrates under 20 ppm or so. I meant to tell you also that you can't sex Oscars without having them vented. Only the Oscars know for sure

 

[seaofdreams]

Oscars aren't sexually dimorphic which means that males and females are visibly identical. If you're really keen on breeding, start off with 6 babies and wait to see if two of then pair off and then sell or rehome the others.

 

[Eläköön]

my oscars bite me and draw blood. they are around the 1' mark. so when you have them pair up like mine they will attack you when you do water changes even so they are beautiful fish and fun to own. you wont regret having them.

heres a pic of mine a few months ago

 

[Kcoastsurfguy]

oscars are one of my all time favorite fish to keep, they have the best personality of any fish i have ever kept. plus they have a great life span , mine lived over 10 years.

Great fish to own, you may have a problem if you get 2 of the same sex together, there could be some aggression in the smaller tank if there around the 6-10 inch mark babies should be fine though. You would probably be ok in the large tank if you get them in there before they hit that size (They grow fast)