Red Devil or Tiger Oscar

[Tikitikin]

Well I was at my LFS and I seen baby red devil and tiger oscar. The person at the store said they can live in a 55 gal for life. I wanted to get your opinion and advice. There will be only one in the tank either tiger oscar or red devil.

 

[Tikitikin]

Um the tank I have is a 55 gal with undergravel jet and freshwater sump. It will have gravel too. Didn't know if this would help in my choice? And again if I need to change anything, it won't be an issue.

 

[Myfisheatsyours]

Personally I'm an Oscar guy. Lots of personality and really easy to care for. You can find any info on them at oscarfish.com

 

[emerald76]

They would need at least a 75 gal. Red terrors are prettier than either IMO and live up to their name!

 

[Tikitikin]

Red terror in a 55 gal? Is that possible? I thought they grow out to be 18 inches.... again i may be wrong.

 

[emerald76]

Red terror in a 55 gal? Is that possible? I thought they grow out to be 18 inches.... again i may be wrong.

Red terror in a 75 gal
HUKIT knows tons about the fish you want

 

[Myfisheatsyours]

Iv had a tiger Oscar in a 55 for 15 years and it's fine. Red terror needs 75 gallon

 

[Borderlesscott]

I've also read that 75g is required for a single Red Terror, i would love a pair - HUKIT is your man for this post, I think he keeps them.

 

[HUKIT]

Red terror in a 55 gal? Is that possible? I thought they grow out to be 18 inches.... again i may be wrong.

No your right festae have no business in a 55g, I would keep a female in a 75g and a male in a 125g minimum. If I were you between those choices I'd lean towards the oscar. It's a tough road in a 55g due to deteriorating water quality so 1-2 50% weekly water changes will be mandatory. Oscars are prone to Head and Lateral Line Errosion(HLLE) which is caused by prolonged exposure to high nitrates and poor quality diet. Feed New Life Spectrum or Hikari Bio-Gold with load of water changes and your Oscar will live a long and happy life.

There are other fish in that size range as well if your interested in other options.

 

[Tikitikin]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I think I'm going for the tiger oscar in the 55 gal because they look pretty nice. They are all black but still have a light gray "tiger oscar" pattern on them. In the future, I do hope to have a 75 or even a 125 gal. I'm currently working on plans to make a big diy plywood aquarium.

 

[Tikitikin]

No your right festae have no business in a 55g, I would keep a female in a 75g and a male in a 125g minimum. If I were you between those choices I'd lean towards the oscar. It's a tough road in a 55g due to deteriorating water quality so 1-2 50% weekly water changes will be mandatory. Oscars are prone to Head and Lateral Line Errosion(HLLE) which is caused by prolonged exposure to high nitrates and poor quality diet. Feed New Life Spectrum or Hikari Bio-Gold with load of water changes and your Oscar will live a long and happy life.

There are other fish in that size range as well if your interested in other options.

It's ok. I don't have an issue with doing maintance and i plan to feed Hikari Bio-Gold and I'm always open to different stocking ideas. It's not like the tank is going anywhere soon.

 

[HUKIT]

I'm always open to different stocking ideas. It's not like the tank is going anywhere soon.

I'd look at Hypselecara temporalis, Uaru amphiancanthoides, Cichlasoma salvini, Tilapia buttikoferi, in the Amphilophus genus there is robertsoni, hogaboomorum and my personal favorite lyonsi. I could go on and on but these guys always come to mind first.

 

[Borderlesscott]

If I'd the space I would be banging my LFS door down for Salvini, look at HUKIT's pair - jaw dropping!

 

[Aski247]

And shocker... I'm one for the RD. not only do they grow smaller. As a Oscar kept In good conditions can reach the size a 55 is deep in roughly a year.

My RD has so much more personality then any Oscar I have kept in the past. Although the hyper aggression is what drew me to the RD but his other parts of his personality has absolutely blown my mind. My fish is like a small child. My tank is in my room, so he can often see me. If extended period of time goes by he will splash and smack the top of the tank as to say.. "come play with me!!!" he does this not only at feeding time but so often I truly believe he enjoys "playing" ie- finger chasing, playing with his golf ball. Or floating ping pong balls.

With all that said, water changes are always risky as he goes crazy when the water lv is lower biting the syphon as well as my hands. I never see this in any of my oscars. It truly is the most fun fish I have kept. I often wish I had done a breeding pair because my male would be pure evil then. Not that he's far off now.

Check my profile for some adult pics of a RD.

Don't get me wrong I like both fish and I know you will enjoy either decision.

And you O lovers I know they are chalked full of personality as well. was simply sharing my exp. with them.

 

[5x5]

And shocker... I'm one for the RD. not only do they grow smaller. As a Oscar kept In good conditions can reach the size a 55 is deep in roughly a year.

My RD has so much more personality then any Oscar I have kept in the past. Although the hyper aggression is what drew me to the RD but his other parts of his personality has absolutely blown my mind. My fish is like a small child. My tank is in my room, so he can often see me. If extended period of time goes by he will splash and smack the top of the tank as to say.. "come play with me!!!" he does this not only at feeding time but so often I truly believe he enjoys "playing" ie- finger chasing, playing with his golf ball. Or floating ping pong balls.

With all that said, water changes are always risky as he goes crazy when the water lv is lower biting the syphon as well as my hands. I never see this in any of my oscars. It truly is the most fun fish I have kept. I often wish I had done a breeding pair because my male would be pure evil then. Not that he's far off now.

Check my profile for some adult pics of a RD.

Don't get me wrong I like both fish and I know you will enjoy either decision.

And you O lovers I know they are chalked full of personality as well. was simply sharing my exp. with them.

I've never owned a RD, but that's interesting. I vote for RD over Oscar, just because I'm getting bored on my Oscar.

The H. temporalis mentioned above is also a good option. If you are planning on a single fish in the 55, you might as well do something more aggressive and take advantage of not having to worry about tankmates.

 

[HUKIT]

And shocker... I'm one for the RD. not only do they grow smaller.

Actually they grow larger than your average oscar, reaching 14". Plus when they reach size they are a larger bodied fish that a oscar as well. I think most don't see them this large but trust me I've seen some close to 14.5" with a kok the size of a tennis ball.

 

[Aski247]

Oh I agree they have the potential but to actually have one over 12" is really a rarity due to all the inbreeding and hybrids of RDxMidas. I even doubt mine will get over 12-13 and he's spoild rotten. and i admit if I did multiple wc's weekly he would most likely grow that large. But 1 a week is sufficient.

 

[Tikitikin]

Well HUKIT I give you props I like the A. Robertsoni and Salvini the most out of the list and hey maybe I may put them into my 55 gal and later save a few $ to buy me a 75 gal or bigger but I'm going to do more research before I buy. And I still like the Red Devil and Oscar too so I'm going to keep reading different opinions in order to make a smart decision. And Thanks again everyone for your replies!

 

[Ilovecichlids]

I had an Oscar in a tank that size for years! They are really cool fish, I'd go with an Oscar

 

[Mike jones]

Start training them when there young