Advice on Oscar tank size, please

[Jacky12]

So much conflicting info online! Many saying a 55 G is ok for one, I very much disagree. I am in search of a 110 G to place in a custom built stand we’re making.

I can easily get a 55 G tank to be used as a temporary home for the baby Pink Oscar & move him to a 110 G. Would a few months or so in the smaller tank limit my fish’s growth? Should I wait for the 110 G?

I saw a pink Jack Dempsey to die for online today. They’re out of stock & I have an email in to the owner. He has a big online fish operation. I currently have a blue Jack and Orange Tiger Oscar, age 4-5, recently purchased, grew up together, in a 110 G. They get along great. So now I’m thinking of a similar pair instead of the one Oscar.

 

[Colin_T]

The smallest size tank for a single adult Oscar cichlid is 4 foot long x 2 foot wide x 18 inches high.

A lot of people will probably disagree with this but in my opinion, when fish are stuck in smaller than ideal aquariums, they do stop or slow their growth rate right down. Contrary to some information online, their organs do not continue to grow and become overly large compared to their body. The fish and their organs stay proportional unless there is a genetic issue or the organ becomes diseased and enlarged. Having said this, if fish are cramped into a small tank, they do suffer from stress and are more prone to diseases, and this can cause major health issues, including internal infections or organ failure. But if the tank is kept clean, they can live for years in a smaller than desirable aquarium. When fish are put into a bigger tank after a period of time in a small tank, they start to grow again.

Having a young Oscar cichlid that is only a few inches long in a 2 foot long aquarium for a couple of months, is not going to cause major issues assuming the tank is kept clean. But it would be preferable to have a decent sized tank for it to go into initially so it isn't cramped up and can grow at a normal rate.

 

[Jacky12]

I’m calculating your dimensions to be 12 cubic feet = 89.77 G. The 90 G would be my minimum. I much prefer the proportions of my 110 G, taller with same length & width. Looks good & my Jack and Oscar are doing well in there.

Oh, yeah! I was floored one day when 3 consecutive pet store employees told me (2 big box & 1 LFS) a fish’s internal organs will grow, but the skin won’t & the organs can bulge out, when the fish is kept in an undersized tank. I was looking for goldfish for my 125 G and these places had none i liked. The local SW fish shop had some gorgeous specimens. She said the other pet shop employees were nuts. All young kids working part time. This shop sells goldfish for outdoor ponds.

I think you’re right. Best I hold my horses & set up the 110 I want & then get Baby Oscar & maybe Pink Jack. I only paid $325 for the 110 I have. It included a stand and nice glass lid. The seller was moving west to Colorado. He said: When do you want it? I said: ASAP.
He said: I’ll bring it over now.
He arrived an hour later in a big truck with two strapping teenage sons. I lucked out!

 

[m.j.gomez]

So much conflicting info online! Many saying a 55 G is ok for one, I very much disagree. I am in search of a 110 G to place in a custom built stand we’re making.

I can easily get a 55 G tank to be used as a temporary home for the baby Pink Oscar & move him to a 110 G. Would a few months or so in the smaller tank limit my fish’s growth? Should I wait for the 110 G?

I saw a pink Jack Dempsey to die for online today. They’re out of stock & I have an email in to the owner. He has a big online fish operation. I currently have a blue Jack and Orange Tiger Oscar, age 4-5, recently purchased, grew up together, in a 110 G. They get along great. So now I’m thinking of a similar pair instead of the one Oscar.

Hello, I started my Oscars out in a 20gal. grow out tank. They were 1.5-2 inch when purchased, after a few inches in growth I transferred to 55gal. Then finally a 125.
Reason for this is that the oscar becomes more personable & interactive w/you. If you decide to do this make sure to keep water parameters pristine. You don't want to accidentally stunt. Hope this helps!!!!!

 

[Jacky12]

Hey, m.j.! Very helpful info as always. Thanks. I find your socialization comments most interesting. Even more so because I have empty 20, 29 & 30 G tanks sitting around. Hahaha

How old is your Oscar? Does he have tankmates?

I do keep the water clean, a 50% weekly water change, but I could do better if required. My husband fabricated a slick system from hosing and PCV piping. All I have to do is sit on my butt and Tweet and make sure the level doesn’t go too low or overflow. Easy!

I’m having difficulty finding the albino I want. Just called Pet Supplies Plus and he has a 1.5” one, mostly white with faint orange markings. He says it’s being treated for ich & will be available for sale late next week. Dang! Every time I’m in a chain pet store, half the tanks are under QT. One worker told me many fish arrive in tinted water that contains sedatives and many quickly die. I pointed out several dead guppies. She said first thing they do in the mornings is remove dead fish. This was at PetSmart.

At least the Oscar would be going into his own tank at first.. So I would not worry about him infecting my fish who never had ich or anything else, at least on my watch. But I still find this scary. Would you buy a fish fresh out of QT?

 

[m.j.gomez]

Hey, m.j.! Very helpful info as always. Thanks. I find your socialization comments most interesting. Even more so because I have empty 20, 29 & 30 G tanks sitting around. Hahaha

How old is your Oscar? Does he have tankmates?

I do keep the water clean, a 50% weekly water change, but I could do better if required. My husband fabricated a slick system from hosing and PCV piping. All I have to do is sit on my butt and Tweet and make sure the level doesn’t go too low or overflow. Easy!

I’m having difficulty finding the albino I want. Just called Pet Supplies Plus and he has a 1.5” one, mostly white with faint orange markings. He says it’s being treated for ich & will be available for sale late next week. Dang! Every time I’m in a chain pet store, half the tanks are under QT. One worker told me many fish arrive in tinted water that contains sedatives and many quickly die. I pointed out several dead guppies. She said first thing they do in the mornings is remove dead fish. This was at PetSmart.

At least the Oscar would be going into his own tank at first.. So I would not worry about him infecting my fish who never had ich or anything else, at least on my watch. But I still find this scary. Would you buy a fish fresh out of QT?

The 2.5 year old red female I purchased at Petco. The 1.5 year old albino male I purchased online. The place is called That Fish Shop. I found on Amazon. Shipping was more than fish cost(fed ex overnight 40$). But very satisfied w/packaging, fish & shipping procedures.
I've had most of my pets for 4+yrs. So quarantining & sanitizing everything that goes in tanks is a must.
Speaking of quarantine make sure you have specific items just for your qt tank, water vacuum, test tubes, nets & rubber gloves. You don't want to accidentally cross contaminate if you have multiple tanks.

 

[Jacky12]

Oh! You have some beauties there. Never thought to look on Amazon. Most of my fish equip comes from there, excluding the tanks & stands. I was just at eBay, some guy there was getting awful reviews.

I’ve purchased several fish online. I like Imperial Tropicals in Florida and LiveFishDirect in Utah. Overnight UPS or FedEx was always $40. I paid less for 2 day USPS ($15-20) for guppies and a betta on eBay that came from Texas. I worried so much about the time, but that’s all the sellers offered & they said DOAs were rare.

Fish arrived fine.

Hey! Thanks for the sanitation reminders. I am careful to avoid transferring snail eggs, but not as much as you suggest. I’ll do better. Thanks!

 

[Jacky12]

I saw That Fish Place at Amazon. They want $79 for 3, shipping included. I went to their website, as no easy way I could see to ask questions at Amazon. They say 5 for the same price at their site. I only want one and I want a photo of the exact fish to be shipped. I sent an email. My guess is they will say no, but never hurts to ask. I would pay $79 for the one I can pre-approve, but didn’t volunteer the info. LOL
I think these pink ones are called red albinos, not sure.

 

[m.j.gomez]

I saw That Fish Place at Amazon. They want $79 for 3, shipping included. I went to their website, as no easy way I could see to ask questions at Amazon. They say 5 for the same price at their site. I only want one and I want a photo of the exact fish to be shipped. I sent an email. My guess is they will say no, but never hurts to ask. I would pay $79 for the one I can pre-approve, but didn’t volunteer the info. LOL

I think these pink ones are called red albinos, not sure.

If you go to Amazon & ask for live albino Oscar cichlid & scroll down till you find this add. Sorry don't know how to post a link!!!!!

 

[Jacky12]

Will do. Thanks. I’m beginning to think people are using pink LEDs over the pale albinos to get this pretty pink I’m seeing. Seriously. I have light strips
that do many colors, including pink.

 

[m.j.gomez]

Will do. Thanks. I’m beginning to think people are using pink LEDs over the pale albinos to get this pretty pink I’m seeing. Seriously. I have light strips
that do many colors, including pink.

I found item no.

 

[Andy Sager]

With the advent of all the "designer" tanks and oddball shapes, it's best to not follow the gallonage rule but follow the footprint of the tank. For example, a 4 foot 90 gallon tank will not give a large fish the same space as a 5 foot 90 gallon tank. A tank of any gallonage that is only 12 inches wide will not give a large fish a great place to turn around as a tank 18" or 24" wide would. All these things have to be taken into consideration when planning housing for larger species.


With Oscars, I had no problems keeping them in a smaller temporary tanks without stunting their growth but because they are such dirty animals, constant cleaning becomes necessary. Keep in mind that large fish species generally think like a large fish even when they are very small. It's built into their survival mode. So you don't want to house large species in smaller tanks for long.


As for socializing, Oscars are very sociable no matter what size tank they are in. In smaller tanks, it's easier for the human to engage with the fish but they will also engage in a larger tanks. ( They learn rather quickly who feeds their bellies. LOL ) They can be taught all kinds of things. (

)
mr. oscar rings bell's These are just copiers of a German man who taught his Oscar to ring a bell to get fed. That was in an old (1970s) TFH book about Oscars.


As for the organs growing when the body doesn't, Ya know that the moon is made of cheese and there's a man living on it. That the Earth is flat and if you sail to the horizon, you will fall off. Once again, what you witnessed is just another example of people who should know ( but don't) advising someone who needs to learn but getting bad information.
So goes the adventures in the fish hobby. lol

 

[Colin_T]

As Andy mentioned, the footprint/ surface area (length x width) is more important than water volume. However, water volume is also important but surface area is what fish need. Fish swim left to right and only go up and down a bit. Having an aquarium that is 6 foot long x 3 foot wide x 2 foot high is much better than a tank that is 4ft long x 2ft wide x 4ft high. They hold similar amounts of water but the fish can move left and right more and that gives them more area to live in. It's a bit like living in a small unit with a really high ceiling vs a unit with bigger rooms but a normal height ceiling. You can move around in both units but the one with bigger rooms will let you turn around without hitting walls.

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I do keep the water clean, a 50% weekly water change, but I could do better if required. My husband fabricated a slick system from hosing and PCV piping. All I have to do is sit on my butt and Tweet and make sure the level doesn’t go too low or overflow. Easy!

With Oscars and other big cichlids, you want to do big water changes (75%+) at least once a week and several times a week is great, especially if you feed them a lot. You also need to gravel clean the substrate every time you do a water change to remove the waste. If the tank isn't kept clean, they regularly develop health issues like hole in the head disease, which is caused by Hexamita, which thrives in dirty tanks.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.

Filters also need to be kept clean and established biological filters should be cleaned at least once a month to reduce the amount of gunk in them. Oscars and other predatory fishes produce a lot of waste and it is high in protein, which causes lots of ammonia and lots of harmful disease organisms in the water. If the filters, gravel and water are not cleaned and maintained regularly, you can pretty much guarantee the fish will eventually get sick.

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At least the Oscar would be going into his own tank at first.. So I would not worry about him infecting my fish who never had ich or anything else, at least on my watch. But I still find this scary. Would you buy a fish fresh out of QT?

If you have two cichlids that you want to keep in the same aquarium, add them both at the same time, and try to have fish that are a similar size. If you add one fish to a tank and wait a month before adding another, the first fish will consider the new fish as an intruder into its territory and could attack and kill the newcomber. Adding them both at the same time gives both parties a chance to settle in without one having a home ground advantage.

 

[Jacky12]

Hey, Colin & Andy, thanks so very much for your useful posts. I’m checking out the tricks & bells. I taught my husband to ring bells, & jump though hoops, but the dogs have yet to master these skills.

 

[Colin_T]

Hey, Colin & Andy, thanks so very much for your useful posts. I’m checking out the tricks & bells. I taught my husband to ring bells, & jump though hoops, but the dogs have yet to master these skills.

LOL, I hope your hubby doesn't read these posts

 

[Jacky12]

What do you fish guys mean by saying Oscars and goldfish are “dirty” fish? Simply that due to their large sizes they eat and poop more whereas guppies can deposit 100 nanopoops on the head of a pin? My English Bull Mastiffs ate more & left larger piles than my little Frenchie, but I never thought of the big boys as dirty dogs. Except that one time I caught them with racy French poodle magazines.

 

[Andy Sager]

Hey, Colin & Andy, thanks so very much for your useful posts. I’m checking out the tricks & bells. I taught my husband to ring bells, & jump though hoops, but the dogs have yet to master these skills.

 

[Andy Sager]

What do you fish guys mean by saying Oscars and goldfish are “dirty” fish? Simply that due to their large sizes they eat and poop more whereas guppies can deposit 100 nanopoops on the head of a pin? My English Bull Mastiffs ate more & left larger piles than my little Frenchie, but I never thought of the big boys as dirty dogs. Except that one time I caught them with racy French poodle magazines.

Yes, big fish make big poo and since it's in water, big poo breaks down fast so you may not see it. Also, depending on the diet, the amount of protein in the poo can be high which makes for more dissolved ammonia when it breaks down. This is why they are considered " dirty" fish. Unlike your dogs which make a solid poo that you can clean up as left, you don't get that in fish.
In saltwater tanks, there is a "machine" called a protein skimmer ( a.k.a. Foam Fractioner) which helps remove the protein before it breaks down to help reduce the strain on the bacteria bed. (Sadly, unless things have changed, protein skimmers do not work or work well in freshwater. You can have a field day on the internet with this subject. )
So in reality, all fish are "dirty" in that they are swimming in the water they pee or poo in but large fish species leave more visible signs of the "dirt" hence being called dirty.

 

[Jacky12]

If Oscars are as smart as everyone says, think I can potty train her in the tank?

 

[Andy Sager]

If Oscars are as smart as everyone says, think I can potty train her in the tank?

You can always try but you better have some kind of vacuum system to keep the pile from getting too high and floating away.