stock question?

[lp26kwan]

i have a 3" BushyNose Pleco and just bought a 1.5" tiger oscar in my 36" long 30 gal tank. whatelse can i put in the tank? i prefer a Cichlid or 2. what kind tho?

 

[Fishyfanatic]

That oscar is going to get HUGE. The minimum tank requirement is 70 gal. Eventually you will need to upgrade. His peak size will be somwhere around 12 inches. If you plan to add Cichlids to the tank, South American cichlid's are a must. Nothing too small (that will fit into his mouth when he gets big).

 

[ChileRelleno]

Absolute minimum is a 55gal for a adult Oscar, prefer 75 gal or larger.
And you'll be needing it sooner than you think, O's grow at a average 1" per month their first year and are very very messy eaters/poopers, you'll need to have good filtration, atleast 10x turnover with HOB and 5x with a canister filter.
By the time you start thinking he's getting too big, he will be already due to the high bioload.
If you want to keep the Oscar ( they are great fish, very friendly) you'll have to get a bigger tank, period. Any thing less than a 75gal and the Oscar needs to be by his self IMHO.
You can keep other smaller Cichlids in the 30 gal, Bolivian Rams, Kribensis, Jade Eyed and etc...

 

[Fishyfanatic]

I agree with Chile. He will definately need a larger tank sooner than you think. They are beautiful fish, but you may want to consider taking him back to the lfs if you can't accomidate him with a larger tank. You can get many other types of South American Cichlid's that you will love.