Year One: Then and Now

[FINWIN]

This year past year has been a learning curve for me, experiencing cichlids for the first time. Overall it's been a blast. One year ago today I purchased three young adult parrots and two baby Oscars. One didn't make it. The other is history...

Here we go. The new numbers are out!

Patch (BP)
Then: 6 inches
Now: 6.5 - 7 inches
2 inches thick
girth ~3 inches

Kong (BP)
Then: 6 inches
Now: 7 inches
2 inches thick
girth ~3 inches

Boss (BP)
Then: 5 inches
Now: ~6.5 -7 inches
2+ inches thick
girth 3+ inches

Chip (Severum) **
Then: 5 inches
Now: 7 inches
1 inch thick
girth 3 inches

Tango (BP)**
Then: 5 inches
Now: 6 inches
1.5 inches thick
girth 3 inches

**I haven't had these two for a year yet.

My Oscar Brick's timeline

Length Width Height (body only, fins not included)

2 inches 3/4" thick girth 3/4"

3 inches 1" thick girth 1.5"

4 inches 1" thick girth ~2"

6 inches 1+ inch thick girth 3"

7 inches 1.5 inches thick girth ~4"

8 inches 1.5 inches thick girth 4"

10 inches ~2 inches thick girth 4.5"

11 inches 2 inches thick girth 5"

Drum roll...Brick is now

12 inches! 2+ inches thick girth 5+"


Now in case you're wondering "how the heck did she get those measurements?" It was easy. I used a clear ruler taped to the tank.
Then I'd hold it against the glass when Brick would swim up to greet me. When I did fin level changes he'd be on his side so I got
the girth and length that way. I only did a timeline for the Oscar since I raised him from a teeny weeny. Obviously he had the most
growth to track. I haven't had the Severum or the BP Tango for a year, so their info is skewed.

Then and Now pics to be up tomorrow! You'll see the transformation of color in my Oscar through different phases. He goes from a baby copper with black fins, to a speckled red with black fins, to a solid red with black fins, and now nearly all red! His lower fin is now long enough to overlap his tail.

 

[Backfromthedead]

This year past year has been a learning curve for me, experiencing cichlids for the first time. Overall it's been a blast. One year ago today I purchased three young adult parrots and two baby Oscars. One didn't make it. The other is history...

Here we go. The new numbers are out!

Patch (BP)
Then: 6 inches
Now: 6.5 - 7 inches
2 inches thick
girth ~3 inches

Kong (BP)
Then: 6 inches
Now: 7 inches
2 inches thick
girth ~3 inches

Boss (BP)
Then: 5 inches
Now: ~6.5 -7 inches
2+ inches thick
girth 3+ inches

Chip (Severum) **
Then: 5 inches
Now: 7 inches
1 inch thick
girth 3 inches

Tango (BP)**
Then: 5 inches
Now: 6 inches
1.5 inches thick
girth 3 inches

**I haven't had these two for a year yet.

My Oscar Brick's timeline

Length Width Height (body only, fins not included)

2 inches 3/4" thick girth 3/4"

3 inches 1" thick girth 1.5"

4 inches 1" thick girth ~2"

6 inches 1+ inch thick girth 3"

7 inches 1.5 inches thick girth ~4"

8 inches 1.5 inches thick girth 4"

10 inches ~2 inches thick girth 4.5"

11 inches 2 inches thick girth 5"

Drum roll...Brick is now

12 inches! 2+ inches thick girth 5+"


Now in case you're wondering "how the heck did she get those measurements?" It was easy. I used a clear ruler taped to the tank.
Then I'd hold it against the glass when Brick would swim up to greet me. When I did fin level changes he'd be on his side so I got
the girth and length that way. I only did a timeline for the Oscar since I raised him from a teeny weeny. Obviously he had the most
growth to track. I haven't had the Severum or the BP Tango for a year, so their info is skewed.

Then and Now pics to be up tomorrow! You'll see the transformation of color in my Oscar through different phases. He goes from a baby copper with black fins, to a speckled red with black fins, to a solid red with black fins, and now nearly all red! His lower fin is now long enough to overlap his tail.

Nice job with them cant wait to see pics.

 

[FINWIN]

Then and Now pics
Here we go. First, Tango. I purchased him in May of 2019. He's very skittish and hard to get pictures of. Always in a defensive posture but will eat from my hand.

 

[FINWIN]

Chip the Severum, purchased in March of 2019.

 

[FINWIN]

Kong. My Arnold Schwarzenegger parrot. All attitude and a mile wide. Very strong and extremely active. Never seems to tire as he's always decorating his tank. Notice how his tail seems shorter in porpotion to his body in the "now" pic. His body has just gotten bigger, so his tail seems shorter! His trailer is very long though. It looks like he's growing a tooth now (one fang up top). That's all I need, another crazy BP with teeth.

 

[FINWIN]

Patch. Egg production has slowed her growth a bit, but she's still put on a bit of size since purchase. Her tail and trailers are much longer and color has intensified. She had three vertical knots in her tail I originally mistook for ich. They've since healed and no longer visible. She sleeps in the pothos as much as her house. At times she floats like something is wrong but she's just snoozing in the vines or watching the main tank.

 

[FINWIN]

Boss. The Sumo parrot was once the smallest and is now the most massive. Camera angles are deceptive, he's pretty much the same thickness down to his tail. Still the most laid back, but is increasingly aggressive about everything as he grows. Always looks pissed off. Uses the syno cat Cash as a push toy.

 

[FINWIN]

Brick no longer 'waggles' for food like he once did. Kind of comes up like, "Grub time!" still gets his pats and tickles but can be moody now. Loves to play with his basketball. Fights the glass a lot now...even has a small chin pimple. I think he's growing up!

He's back to eating all mealworms again so I'm soaking them in Boyd's. For some reason water changes no longer bother him. That's an ongoing drama...first he loved w/c, then hated them, now is fine with them again. Typical O, all over the place.

It's been a fun ride raising him from a tiny wiggler to bully brute. Originally looked like a copper oscar, then developed black leopard like spots (at one point I called him a "Riger" oscar, part red, part tiger.) Around 5 inches his color intensified to bright

orange. At 7 inches the head profile started to get steep. Black pigmentation started to disappear from his body. Now red dominates.

Hard to believe now he was ever this tiny! He looks completely lost in the 225. But Brick never stressed about anything and explored everything, totally fearless. Pretty pushy, for an O so small!

 

[FINWIN]

Brick at 2 inches

 

[FINWIN]

3 inches