For my friend

[Davy_Jones]

HELP
Also, My friend has a oscar, Its about 3 Years old if not 2.
Very pretty. But It kills eany fish its with. Even other oscars its size. Thats where the problem comes in. It kills Plecos to. Large plecos, Small Plecos, Medium plecos.
And its hard keeping his tank clean. He's tried offering it to pet stores but they said its to big and it would be more trouble to keep for them than for him. He cant find a home for it either and its become a real problem for him, and it would hurt him to just kill.

What can he do?

 

[Fishyfanatic]

How big is it and what size of a tank?

 

[Davy_Jones]

Its good 5-7 incher long and its in a 55gallon.

 

[WaterPond]

55 gallons is too small for an oscar. i would say 90gallons would be the minimum for oscars, some say 75, but i have seen them in 75gallons and they looks cramped.

Tell your freind that plecos may eat some type of algea, but if he wants a clean tank it will take some manual labour. Fish won't do all the work for you. Plecos dont eat poo, but will eat some ofetover food.

That oscar has probably claimed that whole tank as HIS territory, so adding new fish now would be near to impossible.

 

[Zagz]

Has he tried checking with his local aquarium society to see if any of their members would take him?

 

[rich311k]

5-7 is not that big. I am surprised the LFS would not take him back. Put him in a 75 by himself and he will be just like a dog. They are great fish with super personalities.

 

[Davy_Jones]

Yes, and every that he know with an aquarium is not willing to take him in, also rich311k, your right that isnt big, but He said that the LFS said it wont be compatible. "What ever thats suppose to mean"

 

[severum mama]

If your friend can't give the fish away, then his only other options are to either:
keep the fish in a tank that is too small relative to its adult size,
or,
purchase a 75 gallon tank or larger.

75 gallons is a minimum size for ONE oscar, so it is hardly surprising that the fish won't tolerate tankmates in a 55 gallon. As for adding a pleco, I wouldn't have bothered anyway in this situation. They really produce a lot of waste (but they are great fish IF they are kept in a large enough tank). One thing I don't understand is why your friend has so much trouble keeping the tank clean. I know that oscars are messy, but if the fish is only 5-7 inches then the real problem is infrequent water changes, overfeeding, inadequate filtration, or a combination of those issues. A 55 gallon should be sufficient to house a 5-7 inch oscar for a while until the fish is moved to a larger tank without major water quality issues. Do you know what your friend's maintenance and/or feeding schedule is? What kind of filtration does he have?

 

[black hills tj]

I'm not an expert by any means, but it seems he has claimed the entire tank as his own territory. Partially the owners fault due to not really raising him with other fish when the fish was smaller. But, I would try moving it to a new tank. Maybe even move it to a new tank for a period of time, add some fish to his existing tank and change it up a little bit, then move the oscar back in to the original tank and see how things go.

 

[severum mama]

:?

As a 55 gallon tank is too small for an oscar alone, I would not recommend adding tankmates. Also, keeping fish with tankmates while they are young is no guarantee that the arrangement will work out when the fish hit sexual maturity. It often doesn't work.

 

[ChileRelleno]

2-3 yrs old and only 5-7" 8O
Even if that's TL vs SL, that O is grossly stunted, and I'd say permanently stunted.
If it lived its entire adulthood in the 55gal there isn't any excuse for such deformity, his keeper is guilty of gross negligence in maintaining water quality.

DANG! I'd probably be a psychotic killer too if my life was that kind of hell.
And exactly how many fish has this friend let this O maul to death in the hopes of a compatible tankmate?
Sickening to let aggression go that far

Besides that, a 55gal is IMHO the absolute minmum for one adult O, solitary, no tankmates. I much prefer a 75gal as minimum and heavy filtration with strict attention to water quality.
...........................................................................................................

What can he do?

How about care for this poor creature for the rest of it's tortured life...
But then again, euthenasia might be a mercy...

This makes me very sad and angry.