Oscar

[Chris182]

Hi guys.

I am planning on putting an Oscar in my 180 liter tank and was wondering if

A. I could add a firemouth cichlid with him? Do they get on together etc

B. Would it be fine to add the Oscar and firemouth in this sized tank?

Cheers for help guys

Chris

Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium

 

[Itzblackmayne]

No your Oscar might meet his end because the fire mouth has teeth and both of them are mean fish

 

[mfdrookie516]

Your tank is too small for an oscar. they need at least a 4' tank, 55g minimum, but 55g is pushing it. Really, a 75g or larger tank is needed.

 

[neilanh]

Moving to the Cichlid forum, you'll get more responses there.

 

[HUKIT]

Your tank is too small for an oscar. they need at least a 4' tank, 55g minimum, but 55g is pushing it. Really, a 75g or larger tank is needed.

Agreed, this fish will grow a inch per month till they hit around 9".

 

[Fishguy2727]

Ditto, I consider a 75 minimal for oscars, in which you can have two if you raise them together and do enough water changes.

There are many cichlids in many sizes, there is bound to be something else that will work for you.

 

[Chris182]

Thanks for answers. I have a Malawi set up at the moment on a different tank, and already have the firemouth in the 180 tank. I wanted an Oscar and wad told by LFS that 180 is fine for an Oscar but didn't recommend the two together?

Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium

 

[Fishguy2727]

180 liters is not enough for an oscar, they get big, much bigger when properly cared for (12-15" or more). This is simply too large for that volume of water, regardless of shape.

 

[Itzblackmayne]

Have you ever been to a fish store and seen those oscars in the back of the store with deformations like no mouth of other problems like that it's because people think fish will stay the size of the tank wrong because instead of the fish growing outward they grow upward

 

[mfdrookie516]

That's usually caused by inbreeding or just natural defects... when a fish is in a tank that's too small, it will eventually just die.

 

[Fishguy2727]

Being in a tank that is too small will cause water quality problems which can cause a number of health problems like head and lateral line erosion. It is rare for too small of a tank to cause physical growth changes. It is not true that they grow up instead of out or that their outside stops growing but their internal organs don't.

 

[Itzblackmayne]

I'm sorry I work in a exotic fish store and I have seen it to many times, see oscars are hardy fish that will live throw all most any thing harsh water conditions and so on but these deformations happen when people buy oscars and they put them in a ten gallon tank and they grow to live in its surroundings. I have seen a lot of these fish, and I have seen a perfect Oscar leave my store and come back all most un recognizable and it's because they put them in to small of tanks and your right about other fish they will just die but oscars are not other fish you throw any thing in with an Oscar and it will prove that is not just a fish. And trust me this guy came in and got like five oscars I did not know what he was going to do with them so I sold them to him he put all of them in a 30 gallon tank and about 3 months later he came back and the pour oscars didn't loot like oscars ones mouth was gone and it's head was messed up and it was not for hole in the head. They were just messed up so trust me in what vie sead

 

[Fishguy2727]

Thanks for the input but please use sentences next time, I am pretty sure you had about 1/3 of the sentences in that paragraph as you should have had. Not trying to be a jerk but many people won't even read what you try to say if it is like that.