Hello, I personally would take the oscar even though he may only have a few yrs left. I think you will also benefit from the experience. At least he'll have a chance at a longer healthier lifespan.What I do know is the likelihood is extremely high this fish will do better with me than most new owners.
A Oscar cichlid that sz will jump. Be sure to have some type of lid. Also i use a sports fishing net to move. Tried a colander once & got stuck by dorsal spikes.Awwww
So sweet of you to say.
He would only be in the 56 G for a few days. The husband thinks he can reinforce under the floor & reduce the height by Monday. He has Monday off. The stand is 39” vs the standard 30”. We need room above the tank to mount a big TV on the wall.
May I suggest a small meshing on net. I originally had a large mesh but switched to small because worried about damaging eyes of oscar. They protrude more than other fish.Oooh, great suggestion on the net. Def buying one tomorrow. The tank has a glass lid. I will weight it down. I have used pitchers, quart sized measuring cups etc to scoop out fish & axotles, nothing as large as this guy. The fishing net will be the best, given his size. I will be transporting him in a 12.5 G Coleman Cooler. I will observe how the owner pulls him from the tank.
You think I can kinda pour him from the cooler into the tank? I’ve done this with 5 gallon buckets of smaller fish. But the cooler is heavier & bulkier, so maybe that’s a bad idea? Probably best to be safe with the net, huh.
THANKS!
Thanks, Colin. I googled to learn Esky is an Australian brand of Coleman Coolers. The guy will be filling my cooler with his tank water. I will have newly conditioned water in the 56 G tank that he has to live in for a few days before going to a 125 G.
So I fill the 12.5 cooler with my tank water and then move Oscar? Is this done in one fell swoop or incrementally?
As Colin mentioned, lifespan is not determined by now until then but from the beginning until now. The rest of it's life may have nothing to do with how well you take care of it.More I read the more I see 10-20 years, higher numbers due to optimum care & water conditions. This he shall have.
See if it will eat Frozen fish like silversides. ( Thawed out first. ) You also want to get some roughage into the fish so along with the pellets and sticks, try some frozen prawn ( also thawed first. )We do not know the care of Pink Oscar from the beginning to now. That’s an unknown. I do know this fish will receive the best possible care until death do us part. I tried very hard today to convince the owner to keep him, since he’s very attached. I showed him the pic of my $200 125 G with the ugly stand and all the upscale equipment. He said he doesn’t have the space and wants SW. Pink (my name for him/her) is destined for a new home & best it’s mine. There are some real dunces in the local Facebook group that wanted her. One already had 4 Oscar’s, 3 severums & other smaller cichlids in a 90 G four feet long tank. Equally bad situations. I am putting together a 125 G explicitly for Pink. The husband worked on support 4x4 posts today & the tank will be running sometime Monday.
Hopefully I can benefit from Colin’s acclimation info & ongoing advice from y’all.
Here’s an issue that’s greatly troubling me. Pink is used to 12 feeders a week, large sinking pellets, & being hand fed Jumbomin sticks. Guys, I can’t do live feeding. Is there another way?
Veggies are roughage the same as the shells of shrimps and prawns are roughage. Oscars may not eat peas and carrots. Larger fish usually eat fish that eat vegetation so they get it through their foods. By not feeding the live feeders, you are eliminating the roughage, via scales and bones, the fish is probably getting now.I have never heard of Silverslides, will google. Shrimps/prawns were the first alternative that came to mind. I think mj Gomez mentioned feeding dojos cooked shrimp & chicken, not positive if it was him, but someone here who knows fish keeping.
By roughage do you mean vegetables? How about thawed peas & carrots?