The setup for a Oscar?

[Adamrhh]

I want to buy a Oscar I am going to buy a 75 gallon tank.

I was wondering if anyone could hook me up with a guide to some awesome filters all that good stuff that would be good for 1 Oscar fish.

 

[Jason_S]

personally I'd go with at least 1 Aquaclear 110 but if possible get 2. Oscars are very messy fish and require lots of filtration and water changes. If you want a HOB filter then, imo, you can't do better than Aquaclear. However if you want canister, wet/dry or something else then there are plenty of members here who can help you.

Were you planning on any other fish with it? personally I'd try to get a decent sized bristlenose pleco and add it to the tank first or at the same time as a juvenile oscar. This way, if you can get a bn plec that is at least 4-5" then it will be a little while before the oscar would be able to eat it and hopefully after being together for that long the oscar won't look at it as a possible treat.

 

[Adamrhh]

personally I'd go with at least 1 Aquaclear 110 but if possible get 2. Oscars are very messy fish and require lots of filtration and water changes. If you want a HOB filter then, imo, you can't do better than Aquaclear. However if you want canister, wet/dry or something else then there are plenty of members here who can help you.

Were you planning on any other fish with it? personally I'd try to get a decent sized bristlenose pleco and add it to the tank first or at the same time as a juvenile oscar. This way, if you can get a bn plec that is at least 4-5" then it will be a little while before the oscar would be able to eat it and hopefully after being together for that long the oscar won't look at it as a possible treat.

Thanks, I really don't know about any other fish. Right now I've had a 35 tank and I just want one big guy About the pleco, I heard plecos actually defecate more? One more thing If I try to get my Oscar as young/small as possible would this matter if the Pleco was big? Ive heard cases were the pleco will suck on the Oscar

 

[Jason_S]

nah I doubt the plec would bother the oscar. I would definitely try to get a bristlenose though. they max at about 6" and should eat algae their entire lives whereas commons will grow far too large, produce way too much waste and at some point they stop messing with algae.

 

[Adamrhh]

nah I doubt the plec would bother the oscar. I would definitely try to get a bristlenose though. they max at about 6" and should eat algae their entire lives whereas commons will grow far too large, produce way too much waste and at some point they stop messing with algae.

thanks man you have been a lot of help. I will try to get a bristlenose. (How long do you think I should wait to add the oscar?)

 

[Jason_S]

I would try to get the largest bristlenose you can and the smallest oscar you can. this way you'll have the best chance of them getting along together. Plus be sure to provide a few small cave-type structures where only the bristlenose can go. As a juvenile the oscar may be able to get into small crevices as well but what you want is small caves where the bristlenose can go that an adult oscar won't be able to.

 

[atmetoyer]

Thanks, I really don't know about any other fish. Right now I've had a 35 tank and I just want one big guy About the pleco, I heard plecos actually defecate more? One more thing If I try to get my Oscar as young/small as possible would this matter if the Pleco was big? Ive heard cases were the pleco will suck on the Oscar

When I got my Oscar I bought the biggest pleco they had the Oscar out grew him and then ate him.

 

[Shannen_x5]

I currently have a 75 gal setup.
got the smallest oscar i've seen (about 2 inch) and I have a 6-7 inch pleco. Don't see any problems so far.
I'm also using an Eheim Proffesionel II filter, and it's kept the tank pretty clean, I have lots of other fish in it.

Oscar and Pleco should be fine, but I would also reccomend bristlenose.. Mine will soon outgrow the tank

 

[CODzilla]

I added a bristlenose to my tank with my 2 Oscars (they were probably 6-7 inchers back then) and apart from a few investigative nibbles they left it alone. I got rid of the plec a couple of months later though because it just hid under bogwood eating it and pooped a lot, I never once seen it on the glass!

You'd probably be better off with some other bottom dweller or dither type fish to eat any food that is left or comes out of the Oscars gills.

 

[Amphilophus88]

Plecos sucking on Oscars (and other big fish) usually happens then they don't get fed, or not fed enough. I hear this a lot from Discus keepers as well, but when they start feeding the pleco this behaviour usually stops.

I have had small plecos with big cichlids and big plecos with small cichlids, nothing ever happened. On rare occasions a cichlid chases a pleco away but that's it. Of course it also depends on tank size.