Getting Oscar(s)

I have always wanted an Oscar or oscars and now I have a 55 gallon
tank. I think I need special filtration don't I? Also how many can I
keep in a tank that size, I know they can get quite big. Any info is
greatly appreciated.

Laura
(Milwaukee)

A 90 gallon is usually big enough for one male/female pair at adult size. If
you have two male adults or two female adults in a 90 gallon, the stronger
one will usually kill the weaker.

An oscar I kept grew to 14 inches long in a 55 gallon tank, and was
uncomfortably crowded, even as the only fish in the tank. He could barely
turn around. 55 gallons for an adult Oscar really isn't adequate, in my
opinion.

Oscars also produce a LOT of waste, so I recommend at least two large power
filters. On the 55 I had two Penguin 330's , plus an undergravel filter.
Oscars can move baseball-sized rocks , so they can easily re-arrange any
aquascaping you do.

Keith J.

"Laura Dawson" wrote in message
om...
I have always wanted an Oscar or oscars and now I have a 55 gallon
tank. I think I need special filtration don't I? Also how many can I
keep in a tank that size, I know they can get quite big. Any info is
greatly appreciated.

Laura
(Milwaukee)

i have several large tanks and my favorite is my 120 gallon oscar tank.
i have five large oscars and they all get along great. i got them all
when they were small and they grew up together (10-12 inches).
water quality is something i strive for and for this tank i have 3
aquaclear 500's a fluval 404 with a 25 watt uv sterilizer and an
undergravel filter with 2 large power heads. the water looks clean
enough to drink and the fish are very healthy and happy. they love
attention.....being touched and they will jump out of the water for
food. just a lot of fun to have.
i'm not saying you need all this filtration but it works for me.....
randy

Thanks to both of you for your input. From what you have said and
other people I've talked to I think I will just admire the Oscars when
I visit my LFS (for now anyway).

Laura

"Keith J." wrote in message .. .
A 90 gallon is usually big enough for one male/female pair at adult size. If
you have two male adults or two female adults in a 90 gallon, the stronger
one will usually kill the weaker.

I'm curious where you got this information. No one who has kept or
studied Oscars that I know (or know of) has ever observed this -- On
the contrary, a pair of Oscars in a 90, regardless of their gender,
are normally quite calm, unless water conditions are unbearable. I can
see that what you're describing is possible, because Oscars from
specimen to specimen can be different as night and day; but to say
that the strong Oscar will *usually* kill the weaker Oscar I think is
a little naive.


An oscar I kept grew to 14 inches long in a 55 gallon tank, and was
uncomfortably crowded, even as the only fish in the tank. He could barely
turn around. 55 gallons for an adult Oscar really isn't adequate, in my
opinion.

Oscars also produce a LOT of waste, so I recommend at least two large power
filters. On the 55 I had two Penguin 330's , plus an undergravel filter.
Oscars can move baseball-sized rocks , so they can easily re-arrange any
aquascaping you do.
Keith J.

I'm curious again -- why are you suggesting UGF if an Oscar can move
"baseball-ized rocks"? Generally we avoid UGF systems with Cichlid
species that dig, because of the possibility that 1.) Holes created in
the gravel allow water to bypass the beneficial bacteria, and 2.)
Aggressive digging by large Cichlids (like Oscars) can disturb the UGF
plates.

You seem to have gone out of your way to discourage Laura Dawson from
getting Oscars. What's the deal?

--Curious Mark


Mark Stone tractorlegs at msn dot kom
OSCAR Lovers! http://www.geocities.com/cichlidiot_2000/oscar.html
The ".Edu" meens i are smart.




"Laura Dawson" wrote in message
om...
I have always wanted an Oscar or oscars and now I have a 55 gallon
tank. I think I need special filtration don't I? Also how many can I
keep in a tank that size, I know they can get quite big. Any info is
greatly appreciated.

Laura
(Milwaukee)

Just stating my experience. I had two in a 90 gallon, both males. The larger
one eventually killed the slightly smaller male. Granted, this won't happen
every time. Individual temperments vary quite a bit.

Keith J.

"Mark Stone" wrote in message
om...
"Keith J." wrote in
message .. .
A 90 gallon is usually big enough for one male/female pair at adult
size. If
you have two male adults or two female adults in a 90 gallon, the
stronger
one will usually kill the weaker.

I'm curious where you got this information. No one who has kept or
studied Oscars that I know (or know of) has ever observed this -- On
the contrary, a pair of Oscars in a 90, regardless of their gender,
are normally quite calm, unless water conditions are unbearable. I can
see that what you're describing is possible, because Oscars from
specimen to specimen can be different as night and day; but to say
that the strong Oscar will *usually* kill the weaker Oscar I think is
a little naive.

)

"Keith J." wrote in message ...

Just stating my experience. I had two in a 90 gallon, both males. The larger
one eventually killed the slightly smaller male. Granted, this won't happen
every time. Individual temperments vary quite a bit.

Was the smaller of the two sick? Occasionally (as in many species) a
larger Oscar will kill a weaker or sick fish. I was concerned when you
had told the original poster that if two males are in a 90, the larger
one will "usually" kill the smaller one, which is certainly not the
case. But as you say, individual temperments among Oscars is variant.

I must say, though, that it's refreshing to see that you don't
correspond to the "You can't tell the sex of an Oscar" internet
newsgroup bandwagon! This is the second most believed and propogated
Newsgroup fib -- the number one myth, is, of course, the newsgroup
weekly water change myth. (You've heard it, I'm sure -- "If you don't
do a partial water change weekly, all your fish will die"--)

--Mark

"Mark Stone" wrote in message
om...
"Keith J." wrote in
message ...


I must say, though, that it's refreshing to see that you don't
correspond to the "You can't tell the sex of an Oscar" internet
newsgroup bandwagon! This is the second most believed and propogated
Newsgroup fib -- the number one myth, is, of course, the newsgroup
weekly water change myth. (You've heard it, I'm sure -- "If you don't
do a partial water change weekly, all your fish will die"--)

--Mark

You can't be CERTAIN of an Oscar's sex without a blood test or witnessing
spawning, but experienced keepers notice characteristics that are more
typical of one sex vs. the other. Not a certainty, but experts can look and
be fairly sure.

It's similar to the water change myth. Weekly water changes are not usually
required, but they do improve the chances of fish staying healthy. A weekly
water change isn't really necessary for a reasonably stocked tank, but it
can help.

A third major aquarium myth is " you have to use CO2 injection to have
healthy plants." I've never used CO2 in my current tanks. My largest sword
plant is a little over 3 feet across and 2 feet tall, with about 10 baby
plants growing on it. I grew a 40 gallon hair grass "forest" from 3 small
rhizomes, and I have Java Ferns nearly the size of a basketball.

Keith

"Mark Stone" wrote in message
om...
I'm curious again -- why are you suggesting UGF if an Oscar can move
"baseball-ized rocks"? Generally we avoid UGF systems with Cichlid
species that dig, because of the possibility that 1.) Holes created in
the gravel allow water to bypass the beneficial bacteria, and 2.)
Aggressive digging by large Cichlids (like Oscars) can disturb the UGF
plates.

One major point I didn't mention , you can successfully use a UGF with large
cichlids if you put a plastic grate on top of the plates, and weigh the
grate down with large rocks. The grating I use is called "egg crate" or
"light diffusing grid" , and is sold in hardware stores for ceiling lights.
It's relatively cheap, about $5us for a 2x4 foot piece. It's can be cut with
a haksaw, or can be quickly "cut" by breaking sections off with a hammer or
other heavy tool.

You put the UGF plates on the bottom, half the gravel over the UGF plates,
the plastic grating next, the large rocks on top of the grate, and then add
the last of the gravel.

The fish have gravel they can dig in and move around, but they won't be able
to expose the plates or disturb the lower gravel layer. Bare bottomed tanks
are easier to clean, but this setup looks more "natural".

Keith
p.s. I didn't mean to prevent Laura from getting Oscars, I just wanted to
make sure she knew the challenges involved before she bought them.

Keith J. wrote:
"Mark Stone" wrote in message
om...
"Keith J." wrote
in
message ...


I must say, though, that it's refreshing to see that you don't
correspond to the "You can't tell the sex of an Oscar" internet
newsgroup bandwagon! This is the second most believed and propogated
Newsgroup fib -- the number one myth, is, of course, the newsgroup
weekly water change myth. (You've heard it, I'm sure -- "If you don't
do a partial water change weekly, all your fish will die"--)

--Mark

You can't be CERTAIN of an Oscar's sex without a blood test or
witnessing spawning, but experienced keepers notice characteristics
that are more typical of one sex vs. the other. Not a certainty, but
experts can look and be fairly sure.

It's similar to the water change myth. Weekly water changes are not
usually required, but they do improve the chances of fish staying
healthy. A weekly water change isn't really necessary for a
reasonably stocked tank, but it can help.

A third major aquarium myth is " you have to use CO2 injection to have
healthy plants." I've never used CO2 in my current tanks. My largest
sword plant is a little over 3 feet across and 2 feet tall, with
about 10 baby plants growing on it. I grew a 40 gallon hair grass
"forest" from 3 small rhizomes, and I have Java Ferns nearly the size
of a basketball.

Keith


Keith,
Would you care to elaborate on your setup?
Lighting, substrate, bio-load, etc...

I want to plant some tanks (55g-75g,) and will not be using Co2.

thanks

TF

Put my handle in front of the domain name to email.