Been Thinking about an Oscar...

[MichaelsLilGray]

I was thinking of adding a Oscar to my 55 Gallon for a while. The 55 is temporary till i move. When i move im building a 154 Gallon into an old entertainment center i have. But the current stock is...

4 bala's - 2 - 7" 1 - 5" and 1 - 3 1/2"
3 Clown Loaches - all 3 around 3"
Pleco - 8"
Opal Garaumi - 4 1/2"
Silver Dollar - 5"

Would an Oscar eat any of my other fish? or for that matter would this over populate my 55g?

Any input would be nice

 

[Johnny Tuttle]

It's my understanding tht your oscar would eat pretty much anything in the tank roughly its size or less.

I'd also wait til you actually have the new tank to get one--depending on compatability issues with your existing fishes.

 

[MichaelsLilGray]

well that sucks =( thanks for the answer though.. kinda needed it lol

 

[cogburn]

your other option would be to get the oscar rather small... he will quickly grow bigger than the other tankmates... but as long as nothing is under 3" he wont be able to fit the fish in his mouth and you should be fine... by the time the oscar is big enough to eat a fish that bala should be big enough to avoid certain death... another thing to watch out for... yes oscars are big voracious eaters... but theyre very timid as juveniles... so if you do get a small one keep a close eye on him and make sure he's not being bullied... i recently stumbled upon a lemon oscar... im setting up a 180 gallon in a few months but i couldnt let this lemon slip thru my fingers so i set up an emergency 10 gallon and it has the lemon and a tiger oscar in it... hopefully for only another month... maybe 2 tops... either way... theyre doing wonderfully in the lil tank... eating like horses and generally seem to enjoy themselves... oscars rule...

 

[Mudfrog]

The Oscar would not eat any any of those except maybe the Garaumi and that would not be till he's full grown. My old Oscar tried to eat my clown loach's but they have the defense to keep him from swallowing them and he spits them out. They would eventually get too large for him to eat as well.

Definitely do not get the Oscar yet, that tank is way overstocked as it is due to the Bala Sharks.

 

[MichaelsLilGray]

Well i bought a tiger oscar lol.. he is about 3 inches long.. same lenght as the curious clown loaches.. they are hovering around him wondering what gives LOL. All seems to be going well so far though.

 

[MichaelsLilGray]

im kinda hoping this tank isnt going to be stocked much longer as it is.. so im not to worried about the overstocking... that and its a 55g with the filtration power of 150gallons lol The Gaurami probably will be moved to the 29 g btw.

 

[Mudfrog]

im kinda hoping this tank isnt going to be stocked much longer as it is.. so im not to worried about the overstocking... that and its a 55g with the filtration power of 150gallons lol The Gaurami probably will be moved to the 29 g btw.

Whats the filtration like?

 

[MichaelsLilGray]

both hang on back filters... both around 70-80 gallons worth each lol

 

[Mudfrog]

Might look at adding a cheap canister filter like a Cascade 1500 or something. Oscars are very very messy and two filters rated at 70-80 gallon tanks more then likely will not be enough. Just my .02

 

[DallasFish]

Please don't keep him too long in that tank, too small and too many tankmates...

 

[MichaelsLilGray]

not sure how long im going to have him... he isnt using his rear fin at all. been in the tank now for 2-3 hours now. Just refuses to use them =/.. might be headed back to petsmart for a new one =/

 

[DallasFish]

For what its worth, mine sulks whenever something changes, going off to a corner and just "sitting" there. Maybe the baby is freaked out by all the tankmates?

 

[sumpnfishy]

I put a "small" red oscar in my 95 Gal once. He grew fast!

What he didn't eat, he bullied to death. Once he killed my 10" pleco (the last fish left) I got rid of him and went back to a community tank.

 

[MichaelsLilGray]

If and when he starts to bully.. ill just throw him in his own tank and be done with it.